China News Service:

I want to ask Mr. Yu this question. The issue of film piracy during the Spring Festival this year has aroused widespread concern in society. What actions has the National Copyright Administration taken to combat piracy? In addition, what further governance actions will the National Copyright Administration take against such issues in the future? Thank you.

Yu Cike:

Thank you for your question. Chinese theaters screened eight domestic films during the Spring Festival, which were widely popular, and the films also set new box office records for the Spring Festival film season. However, it is true that the issue of film piracy has also triggered widespread concern in society. In order to maintain good copyright order and ensure the healthy and prosperous development of the film industry, the National Copyright Administration has taken many effective measures along with the State Film Administration, the Ministry of Public Security, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, strengthening copyright protection of theatrical film releases.

First, we cracked down rigorously on stealthy recording and the spread of piracy and infringement. The National Copyright Administration and the Ministry of Public Security formed a special task force to check 11 key provinces and cities such as Beijing and Jiangsu province, conducting case investigations, cracking down on covert recordings and various websites, apps and e-commerce platforms that spread pirated movies. Currently, we have cracked down on 22 major cases of pirated theatrical film releases with help from public security organs. Among them, we hunted down a major stealthy recording case in Yangzhou city, Jiangsu province, knocking out a criminal gang that pirates theatrical releases and arresting 52 suspects.

Second, we dealt quickly with infringing web links. We increased the monitoring of film piracy, carefully screened public reports, and quickly deleted unlawful information. Until now, we have deleted more than 30,000 links of pirated Spring Festival films, with help from the relevant government departments.

Third, we increased copyright pre-warning protection. Since March, the National Copyright Administration has released two lists of key released films protected by cinema copyrights, bringing 15 theatrical releases (including 7 overseas films) under our pre-warning protection, requiring relevant network service providers to take effective measures to deal with infringement and piracy in a timely manner.

Fourth, we promoted social co-governance of copyright protection. We promoted the establishment of a theatrical releases copyright protection alliance on April 26, World Intellectual Property Day, and guided producers, distributors and commercial websites to carry out copyright cooperation to take full advantage of collective action to protect IP rights.

Next, the National Copyright Administration will carry out special action on theatrical releases copyright protection, further increase efforts to crack down on infringement and piracy of theatrical releases, strengthen self-discipline and actions of rights protection in the film and television industries, and promote relevant internet enterprises to take the lead responsibility. At the same time, regarding the current situation that a large number of small piracy websites have servers located outside of China, we will strengthen cross-border law enforcement cooperation with relevant countries and regions to jointly crack down on internet infringement and piracy. Thank you.