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The IIPA, which represents the MPA, RIAA and other groups in the entertainment industry, wants China to take a stand against online piracy. This includes targeting pirate sites and applications. In addition, the Chinese government should encourage tech giant Baidu to take more responsibility by applying rigorous filtering technology and putting an end to repeat counterfeiters.

The US copyright industry generates billions of dollars in annual revenues and is widely regarded as one of the major export products.

Whether it’s movies, music, software, or other goods, American companies are among the market leaders.

American companies also have a clear presence in China which, with over a billion potential consumers, is a huge market. This offers huge potential, but there are also threats including various forms of hacking.

Several days ago, several of these threats were highlighted by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), which has copyright groups including MPA, RIAA and ESA among its members. IIPA raised concerns with the US Trade Representative in connection with the annual review China’s obligations to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The IIPA notes that China has made some progress recently, such as amendments to the copyright law introducing broadcasting and public performance rights for producers of sound recordings. In addition, the maximum punitive damages for copyright infringers in China have increased tenfold.

Criminal action against pirate sites

However, US copyright groups see much more room for improvement. Online piracy, for example, remains a major concern. They hope the Chinese government will step up its efforts on this front as well.

“The Chinese government should be encouraged to expand its resources and enforcement capabilities, depending on the scale of the evolving problem of online piracy,” writes IIAP.

U.S. copyright holders note that civil lawsuits are insufficient to address major piracy issues. Therefore, they call for enhanced and effective law enforcement actions against pirate sites and services.

China’s online piracy problems are vast, according to IIAP. They range from traditional torrent and hosting services, to a hybrid of the two, to more advanced streaming operations.

“Hacking websites remain a serious concern, including illegal download sites; P2P hacking sites; deep link sites; “hybrid” sites […] which offer both hosting and torrenting services; cyber lockers; Indexes, trackers or BitTorrent clients; forums; streaming sites; social media websites; and online auction sites selling pirated products.

Baidu

The problem of piracy is not limited to only dedicated pirate sites. Legitimate platforms are also problematic. The IIPA highlights in particular Baidu, which is the Chinese equivalent of Google, which offers a search engine but also various other services, including cloud hosting.

The rights holders wanted to cooperate with Baidu, but instead were forced to take legal action. Despite numerous complaints, the situation has apparently not improved much in recent times.

“Unfortunately, Baidu’s services continue to be used for hacking, and their notification and takedown system has been ineffective,” notes IIAP.

To get Baidu to act, IIPA wants the Chinese government to get involved. In addition to implementing rigorous filtering technology, the tech giant is also expected to take action against repeat violators.

“The Chinese government should encourage Baidu to do more, including improving the implementation of its opt-out tools, applying rigorous filtering technology to identify infringing content, and taking more effective measures to suspend or terminate infringers. repeated to ensure prompt removal of counterfeit content and links. “

Hacking apps and devices

Hacking apps are also a growing concern. This includes tools that bundle copyright infringing content stored on third party servers. Tackling these apps can currently be quite complicated under Chinese law.

Rights holders also view China as a major hub for the manufacture and distribution of devices that enable piracy. IIPA specifically mentions Ubox which offers access to pirated video on demand and has more than 500 agents and distributors worldwide.

“China is a leading manufacturer of multimedia hardware and accessories that can be modified to support the installation of counterfeit third-party applications, often preloaded on the device, allowing users to access pirated content. . A prime example is the “Ubox”, which is manufactured and distributed by Unblock Tech. “

Hacking games

The above is just a selection of the piracy landscape, which also covers other sectors such as academic publishers and the gaming industry.

For example, video game companies often have their work “cloned” or “plagiarized”. It is an endemic problem in China, warns IIAP, encouraging the country to use its enforcement framework to effectively address the problem.

The same goes for manufacturers and distributors of bypass devices such as mod chips. These allow hackers to play copies of games on their consoles. According to the IIPA, criminal action is also needed on this front.

“More targeted and transparent enforcement measures, as well as criminal and deterrent level penalties against manufacturers, suppliers and exporters of circumvention devices and software components are needed to significantly stem the downloading of games. counterfeit video, ”writes IIPA.

Overall, US copyright holders have a long list of wishes and requirements. These are not sent directly to China, but IIPA hopes that, through the US Trade Representative, they will get a place on the political agenda.

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A copy of IIPA’s submission to the US Trade Representative, which also covers a wide range of other intellectual property issues, is available here (pdf)