It is interpreted as copying or distribution of material that is protected by copyright, unauthorized by the copyright holder: music, books, software, films, etc. The right to possess intellectual property is protected by law in most countries.
What is piracy and counterfeiting?
Copyright infringement can be expressed by related concepts: counterfeiting (fake) and “piracy” (fake, but with respect to property copyrights). This is, of course, an offense based on the use of works of art, science and literature protected by copyright without the appropriate permission of the author or copyright holder, and this also includes a violation of a number of conditions specified in the agreement on the use of specific works.
Major types of copyright infringement
Most often, the following illegal actions are distinguished in relation to them:
- copying (duplication of books, records, etc.);
- distribution of the work (rental, sale, etc.);
- public demonstration;
- public performance of a work in concert halls, theaters, etc .;
- broadcasting it on radio, television, etc .;
- translation of a work into other languages;
- processing of the work (plagiarism).
In practice, types of copyright infringements derived from them, so to speak, “keep up to date”. Fraudsters, pursuing the goal of their own material enrichment, are engaged in the invention of not an original idea, but a unique way of assigning copyright to it.
In the current law enforcement, law enforcement and judicial practice, the degree of this offense is usually determined by the copyright holder. In this regard, any action that he does not like, or he considers it an obstacle to gaining superprofits, will be considered by the court without fail with the adoption of an appropriate decision regarding bringing (or not bringing) the offender to one or another responsibility.
Historical facts regarding the term “piracy”
Its first mention is usually attributed to 1603. A little later, the term "piracy" is found in the preface of Alfred Tennyson's poem "The Lover's Tale": "... recently undergone ruthless piracy."
Often it can be found in texts of legal acts, for example, in the English-language Berne Convention of 1886: "... counterfeit copies of a work are subject to arrest in any country of the Union in which this work enjoys legal protection."
The term "piracy" in the meaning of "copyright infringement" is not found in Russian-language texts of legal sources at the federal level, but it is used quite often in court documents, legal literature, and local regulations.
According to some sources, its use was identified with a journalistic stamp.
According to the founder of the free software movement, Richard Stallman, the term in question has become widely used to ignore traditional methods regarding software licensing, creating a false belief about its extremely negative color. According to him, he is subconsciously associated with maritime piracy, which, in turn, has always been associated with robbery, robbery, kidnapping, murder, taking hostages, sinking ships and other cruel crimes.
Reasons for Piracy
Firstly, it is a more cost-effective way of making a profit in comparison with the cost of the licensed source.
Numerous modern technologies have turned the process of copying information into a very affordable and cheap business.
In the past, legal manufacturers had natural protection: technical advantage and economies of scale. Anyone could manually rewrite the material or type it on a typewriter, however, both the quality and cost of this copy would be significantly inferior to the original versions.
To date, everything has changed dramatically. For example, a standard set of office equipment (printer, binder and computer) will easily allow you to make an analogue of a hardcover book publication, while its cost will be equal to the market price. It is the prospect of making superprofits that is the root cause of piracy.
It is usually prevalent in countries where the per capita income is quite low. Therefore, the main reason for piracy in these countries is the insolvency of the population (counterfeit prices are much lower than the cost of legal products).
The difference between piracy and plagiarism
It lies in goal setting. As for "piracy", here the violator seeks to obtain the greatest possible material benefit, not paying attention to the ethical and legal aspect of this offense.
In the case of plagiarism, it has another purpose - the recognition by the target audience of his work (unauthorized borrowed from the present author). Along with this desire, as a rule, there is also a commercial benefit.
What are the consequences of copyright infringement?
This phenomenon is quite common at present. If the subject has not received official permission to use someone else’s material, then we can say that there is a classic copyright violation. Under Russian law, civil and public liability is provided for this.
Public liability for copyright infringement is expressed as a punishment by the state in the form of levying fines or confiscation of property, or other measures.
She may be:
The intruder is involved only in one of the above. According to the law, both legal entities (without restrictions) and civilians (if the violation does not fall under the category of crimes: damage less than 50 thousand rubles) can be held administratively liable. Otherwise, they are already attracted directly to the criminal.
The basis for administrative responsibility is art. 7.12 Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, and for criminal - Art. 146 of the Criminal Code: "Infringement of copyrights."
So, the latter is the result of a more serious violation: commercial acts committed on a large scale, the result of which was unauthorized use of the copyright object or related rights, as a result of which an income of more than 50 thousand rubles was received. or 250 thousand rubles. (in case of especially large size).
Civil liability for copyright infringement comes into force only if the victim wishes. In this case, the violator either pays the appropriate compensation to the author, or compensates the damage or loss of profit.
Legal Aspect of Copyright Protection
In our country, it is provided by the law of July 9, 1993 N 5351-1 “On Copyright and Related Rights”, more precisely, its fifth section - “Protection of Copyright and Related Rights”, which includes three articles on this subject (48, 49, 50).
So, in article 48 the law on copyright infringement is prescribed, which contains the following information:
- Regarding actions leading to criminal, administrative and civil liability.
- That both legal and physical persons are recognized as violators for non-compliance with the requirements of the above law.
- Regarding the decoding of which copies of the phonogram and works are counterfeit.
What are the penalties for copyright infringement?
For this, in our country there is a corresponding article (146) in the Criminal Code - “Violation of copyright and related rights”.
It stipulates that the punishment for copyright infringement is one of the sanctions imposed on the convict (depending on the type of his actions).
In the case of attribution of authorship (plagiarism), one of the following penalties will follow:
- Mandatory work, which can last from 180 to 240 hours.
- Fine for copyright infringement in the amount of 200 thousand rubles.
- Arrest for a term of three to six months.
Subject to the illegal use (storage, acquisition, transportation) of counterfeit copies, the following sanctions are imposed:
- fine for copyright infringement (200 thousand rubles or income, including wages for a period of up to eighteen months);
- compulsory work (180 - 240 hours);
- arrest (up to two years).
Infringement of copyrights (article by the UKRF) by a group of conspiracy persons or by an organized group, or by a person who has used his official position, or in especially large amounts threatens with the following sanctions:
- imprisonment (up to 6 years);
- a fine (up to 500 thousand rubles or other income, including wages for three years).
Which method is considered the most common in the framework of copyright protection?
Of course, this is compensation for damage caused. Compensation for copyright infringement is an alternative way of protection in comparison with the recovery of damages. In other words, the copyright holder has the right to demand either payment of compensation or recovery of losses.
However, it is worth considering the fact that the reliability of the calculated amount of loss in the case with respect to copyright infringement is difficult to confirm due to a number of reasons.
As for the recovery of compensation, it is not necessary to prove its size here, as a result of which it is much easier and simpler to protect the author's rights.
Types of Refunds
Compensation for copyright infringement may be established in the amount of:
- 10 thousand - 5 million rubles. (taking into account the nature of the violation, its duration, consequences, the degree of guilt of the offender and other important circumstances);
- double the value of the right to use a work (license) when taking into account alternative benefits;
- double the cost of counterfeit copies of the work.
When establishing this or that amount of compensation, the judge is guided by the principles of justice and reasonableness (Clause 3 of Article 1252 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
Content of copyright claim
It depends on their type. As a rule, claims are usually divided into property and non-property, however, based on the specifics of copyright, it is difficult to distinguish the interests of a particular author according to this principle, therefore they are often grouped in one process.
The following rights belong to a non-property type:
- addressed;
- authorship;
- on recall and publication of a work;
- to protect your existing reputation.
A claim for copyright infringement can be sent both to the courts and to the bodies of inquiry and preliminary investigation working in this area.
A non-property claim may include the following requirements:
- recognition of exclusive rights (for example, recognition of co-authorship);
- on establishing the fact of the defendant’s false authorship;
- on restoration of the original provision of the law (before its violation);
- on suppression of actions that create a threat of future violation of the law or already violate it;
- publication of the court decision regarding the violation (at the expense of the violator);
- compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
A property copyright infringement lawsuit may include the following requirements:
- collection of royalties (royalties);
- on compensation for losses caused by the fact of copyright infringement;
- on the recognition of the unreasonableness of enrichment (presented to the co-author who unreasonably appropriated someone else's fee).
Video piracy as a good example of copyright infringement
This term is used to denote the illegal distribution of copied material (TV shows, films, etc.) through discs, tapes, and the Internet. Video piracy can be aimed at both making a profit (selling counterfeit goods in stores, stalls, etc.) and non-profit results (sharing video products with friends, etc.).
In the first case, a pirated version of the film may appear long before the official release (for example, there were cases when the working version of the film stolen from the film crew was already on sale).
The recording quality in this case may differ significantly from that of a licensed copy, but this is not necessary.
In our country, video and audio piracy are the most common examples of copyright infringement, but by no means the only ones.
There are specially designed conventions in the form of abbreviations added to the main file names that indicate the type of copy made.
They have the form:
- "Screen" (CAMRip - CAM). As a rule, such material was shot in a movie theater by an ordinary viewer; it has a rather low quality.
- Telesync (TS). A better copy, most often shot by a cinema worker using a professional camera mounted on a tripod.
- "Roll" (telecine - TC). The quality of the footage is usually above average. This survey is also carried out by a cinema employee, but by means of a television sensor.
- Leak of the working version (workprint - WP). It is characterized by the average quality of material filmed in a film studio.
- Leakage of a promotional copy (DVD screener - DVDSCR and Screener - SCR), which is distributed to film critics, film press, etc. The quality is also average.
- DVDRip is characterized by high quality copies obtained from video rental or retail stores.
- R5 DVDRip - a copy intended for the countries of the second and third world.
- HDTVRip, CATVRip, TVRip, SATRip - the copied material was received from the broadcast.
- BDRip (Blu-ray Disc Rip) - this counterfeit is of very high quality, it is obtained by copying a BD disc from video rental.
- VHS Rip is a very poor quality copy obtained from video tapes.
In addition to video piracy, examples of copyright infringement such as audio piracy, counterfeit software, computer games, and video games can be highlighted.
The most common offenses in this aspect
The following cases of copyright infringement can be distinguished:
- non-payment or partial payment of a fee;
- publication of a work without the appropriate consent of the author;
- copyright infringement regarding the inviolability of his work;
- lack of indication of the name of the present author.
And this is not a complete list of this type of offense. However, it is precisely these cases of copyright infringement, especially the reluctance to indicate the true author, that flourish in modern society.
Important procedural features regarding the initiation and judicial review of copyright infringement cases
Firstly, they are considered private prosecution cases (instituted at the request of the victim).
Secondly, in order to initiate them, the victim must file a complaint directly with the court, which must indicate the following: the period of time of the offense, by whom it was carried out, in which place, what was the result of this unlawful action and what specifically reinforces the victim’s arguments regarding the involvement of the offender to accountability.
Thirdly, the court does not have the right to dismiss the complaint received either because of its insignificance, nor due to the lack of substantial evidence, or for any other reason.
If there is a refusal to initiate a criminal case, then it must be procedurally executed by a judge’s decision, and the reasons for such a decision should also be stated.
Fourth, copyright infringement cases are not suspended due to reconciliation of the parties. The proceedings on them proceed in a general manner (with a preliminary investigation being carried out by the prosecution authorities).
Fifthly, if copyright infringement is recorded for the first time, and information about the identity of the offender and the nature of his actions indicate a high probability of correction without criminal measures, the court may decide to terminate this criminal case with the further transfer of all materials on it to consideration of a friendly court.
According to statistics, measures of criminal liability in relation to the offense under consideration are rarely implemented.
Large-scale and convenient Internet services with music without copyright
A large number of music tracks, as well as accompaniments, are copyrighted, and their public posting on third-party sites is prohibited.
In our country, a bill has been passed regarding the protection of copyright resources from illegal actions such as copying and distribution. - , .
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, :
- Youtube.ru;
- Freemusicarchive.org;
- Creative Commons, danosongs.com, audionautix.com sweetsoundeffects.com;
- Rutube.ru;
- Jamendo.com.
In which countries is this offense common?
According to statistics, this kind of violation of the interests of the considered category of copyright holders is often found in countries such as Russia, China, Mexico, Ukraine, Brazil and Indonesia.
The main reason for this phenomenon are economic interests, in particular:
- Monopolist rightholders sell intellectual property at very high prices, which in most cases are not comparable with the consumer opportunities of the target market segment.
- There is a differentiation in the standard of living in these countries into which intellectual property is imported (the price does not correspond to the average level of wages, the level of obligatory taxes, etc. is not taken into account), although prices for licensed products are considered quite acceptable within the producer country.