Issues related to free Internet download in China

According to data released January from China Internet Network Information Center, the number of Internet users in China has broken through 500 million already by the end of 2011, which increased by 28 million compared with the first half of 2011. By now, China has about a 38.3% Internet penetration rate, an increase of 3 percentage points compared with last year.

China's web culture and regulatory environment remain very different from those of other countries, and there are many unique characteristics of China’s Netizens. 70% of the Chinese users are under 30 years of age; they are the new “Shopaholic S”. But they usually do not pay for any software or eBook online, only for physical commodity and some games. Computer users can easily pirate software for less than $2, or download software like Tomato Garden free of charge. In addition, PC games are relatively easy to pirate and download for free; So many teenagers would do this rather than buy a game. The Chinese users can almost get everything from the Internet, including the best-selling novel, latest movie, music or software by totally free.

It sounds that this “free Internet environment” provides Chinese users with “great convenient”, but it’s not. Network tort already became increasingly pressing issue in China since this illegal download has hurt more and more people’s rights.
For example, Baidu, China’s biggest search engine, known for illegal downloads, involved in a lawsuit about copyright tort for one of its functions called “Baidu Library”, which allow people to upload and download literature for free. Thunder also is involved in similar lawsuit for supporting free downloads of movies and software. Actually, such " encroach copyright issue desk " had happened again and again in China.
In the passage, we will discuss three cases about issues related to free Internet download in China: The literal infringement of Baidu Library, the illegal free download of Thunder which related to P2P, and the Record Industry of China which has been destroyed.
The literal infringement of Baidu Library
In November 2009, “Baidu Library” launched. It is an open-platform document -sharing website that allows users to upload, download and read online. All the documents are uploaded by Internet users, Baidu promises won’t do any modify or edit these documents, and reminds users “Without the permission, no entity or person can make use of those materials”

This “completely open-platform” make tort out of control immediately. More and more writers find that their works have been uploaded on Baidu Library without allows of them. And everyone can download or read these literatures online totally free. This cause great angry of these writers, they send Baidu Library to court together. But things seem changed very little, since you can still find many novels and papers on the Internet now.
For some writers who lived by writing, these activities hurt them most. It should be normal for a writer earns millions, even tens of millions a year if there aren’t any piracies or illegal free download in China. But now there are only dozens writers can earn that a year. There are already some networks writers calling on everyone stop writing because they think they “labor in vain”.
One of the bestselling writers thought the rampant piracy enabled by the Internet undermines the very economics of creative industries. He makes an example about his friend, who is talented and love writing, but he finally decided to go back and ran the family business. “He thinks writers have no prospect in China. He can do it when he is young. But what if he is old? Can he still staying up all night and write for others to pirate his work?”or” China’s record industry has been destroyed by piracy, if the next is literature, the creativity of this country will die. We are writer, and we have to fight for our last fight”.

The illegal free download of Thunder
There is an incredible example: in China, copyright pirates are racing to get out their version of the latest Harry Potter film before the real one makes it to theaters. The pirates may be the one to blame for the illegal free download.

If there is a really great movie in theater now, and you don’t want to spend money on the expensive film ticket, then turn to Thunder and you will find it can be free downloaded; The Tomato Garden is close, but you can find about 2000 resources of Tomato Garden at Thunder; there is a charge for the office of Microsoft, but you can find some helps at Thunder. The Chinese Internet users have marked it a habit that the life online is free. Finally, Thunder has to swallowed bitter pill: it was sued to court due to provide illegal film download.

Thunder: “we’re just providing search and link services, and have not been implemented for infringement.”

In Thunder’s opinion, they are innocent because all the things are provided by the Internet users. We can almost be sure that these pilfer editions are not uploaded by Thunder. But at the same time, according to the Information Network Transmission Right Protection Ordinance, “Anyone who is authorized reproducing or distributing a sound recording or video recording or making it available to the public through information network shall, in addition, obtain permission from, and pay remuneration to, both the copyright owner and the performer.” Thunder doesn’t undertake the pilfer edition, but actually, Thunder is the directly beneficiary of this activity. Exactly, Thunder doesn’t arrive to examine obligation, not because they can't but they don’t want to.

Thunder’s situation has different with general search, instead, it belonging to “depth links”, all of its services are around the resources downloading. On its web page it says “hot film TOP50”, and even has comment section, which show that Thunder has involved in the activity of infringement. In view of these factors, the court held that Thunder Company not only objectively participated in the infringement, but also behaved in subjective fault. Accordingly, Thunder Company has to compensate for the loss of the plaintiff ￥150,000.

But things are not over. In another case, Thunder also provides other ways to free download. It’s called P2P, which is the short name of “peer-to-peer”. P2P's software does this by letting one surfer download directly from the other hard drive of any other P2P user connected to the Internet. With the popularity of the Internet and broadband technology to P2P technology as the core software products are more and more accepted and loved by netizens. But as a general rule of thumb, it is illegal to download commercially-released music and movies from P2P.

Briefly Speaking，the difference between P2P and traditional downloading is users are both uploading and downloading at the same time. It characters is the more the users, the faster will the download speed will be. By now, some of the popular download softwares are VeryCD, BitSpirit, Thunder, FlashGet, and so on. One of the most famous is Thunder.

Surveys show that they all have websites to collecting and releasing all kinds of software and video resources, and 80% of them are of unknown origin. A big reason why netizens are happy to download with P2P is that the pirated films, television shows and music are free. And we have two reasons to explain there are so many website provide illegal download. One is the owners of the websites want to take chance; they want to take use of “Hidden rules”. For example, they think under the P2P they don’t need to take responsibility because the documents are not transformed by their websites. On the other hand, the netizens think themselves are end users and do not have any business purposes, so they don’t have to take any responsibilities.

Actually, to the end users, other countries has some examples about the end users are held accountable, especially who download in the similar way with Thunder’s P2P. By now, there are also some examples in China. With the unprecedented development of the Internet, and a growing number of new technologies and new standards, hound down those responsible is becoming harder and harder. Many natizens don’t realize how they become infringers or help others become infringers. Since the kernel of this technology is acting as client/server for each other, every personal computer can become a server. The illegal download become more disperse, which brings more difficulties to manager.

The Record Industry of China which has been destroyed

The Economist reported: Suppose for a moment that the gloomiest predictions for the music business turn out to be correct. Efforts by governments and record companies to shut down file-sharing websites like the Pirate Bay fail. Piracy becomes so entrenched that people simply stop buying legitimate CDs. Improbable? But this worst-case scenario has already happened in China.

According to the International Federation of Phonographic Industries, which represents the global record makers, 99 percent of the music downloaded in China violates copyrights. For most of the past decade the music industry focused on litigation to try to prevent piracy, but the great loss cannot be changed. Many musicians earn less because the illegal free download. If professional musicians can't make money from their art, they will probably make less of it.

Not only for record industry, but for small and mid-budget movies, piracy is already making it harder to raise money.

The infringement of search engines is legally called aiding infringement. With economic development, the law also unceasingly consummates along with it, the people are more thorough to the legal value understanding. At the same time, network right infringement case quantity also can be large scale increases year by year.

But for the moment, the costs of intellectual property litigation are still very high in China. When a writer, a singer or a film producer try to protect his right, many website mangers often use “time wasting tactics”. They may think their market share is big and with many fixed consumers, so they do not need to be afraid of litigation. Instead, they think it can bring them more attention of people.

More important, the customers do not think it is illegal and depart from moral and ethical standards that the website provides these pirated films, television shows and music. This makes these illegal websites play a significant role by the support of “the will of the people”.

Another impediment in front of us is cause by the technology. Since the responsibility boundary fixes practice middle, network tort is extraordinarily difficult; it’s hard to check them one by one in China. In other country, you will be admonished by the school’s internet censor if you are found download free film illegal, so this kind of activity can be avoided effectively. But for China, there is still a long way to go.

--------------------------------------------
[ 1 ]. Source: The Economist, December 2, 2010