|
Jeboo, MPA settle Internet cafe piracy case |
|
|
|
Written by Patrick Frater
|
|
Thursday, 06 March 2008 |
HONG KONG – A Chinese online service and a Shanghai Internet café have settled with the Motion Picture Association in an historic case concerning infringement of movie rights in China's fast-growing online sector. The MPA said it had "reached a global settlement on February 28, 2008 with Beijing Jeboo Interactive Science & Technology Co Ltd (Jeboo) and two co-defendants, resolving all pending litigation between the parties." MPA had charged Jeboo with unauthorized use of 20 Hollywood movie titles including "Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead man's Chest" and "Hitch" (Variety, Nov 23, 2007.) "The defendants confirmed the cessation of infringing activities, apologized for their prior actions, pledged forbearance against future infringement, and paid a significant amount to the plaintiffs as compensation," the MPA said. Although the case cited specific titles belonging to MPA members the forward pledge extends to all MPA titles from all six Hollywood studios. With fast Internet connections to home computers still something of a rarity, China has a massive and highly developed Internet Café culture, where consumers spend many hours, often in groups watching movies.Cafes pay a monthly subscription fee to Jeboo or other similar platforms for the installation of a LAN system, with Jeboo providing daily updates of content that includes movies TV shows, sports, music, general entertainment and cartoon programming designed specifically for internet cafes daily. Internet cafes allow users to watch or download the titles inside their cafes, but users cannot generally access the 'Jeboo Bar' menu from their own computers. Although most of the content offered on the Jeboo Bar is authorized, the MPA member company titles were not. Terms of the settlement will be endorsed by the Shanghai No. 2 People’s Intermediary Court in the form of a civil conciliation statement. "This court-supervised settlement affirms the sovereignty of the Chinese judiciary for the prompt and equitable resolution of intellectual property rights disputes, which should be gratifying to copyright owners around the world," Frank Rittman, VP and Asia-Pacific regional counsel for the MPA said. China says its laws are adequate and that it is now increasingly cracking down on piracy. Since 2006, the MPA has successfully concluded 42 complaints involving 135 counts of infringement in China, resulting in damages and cost awards in excess of RMB 2 million ($277,000.)
|
Variety Asia RSS
Kaiju Shakedown RSS