Business Tools Blog

I just read an interesting post from Defense Tech.

China Threatens Olympic Cyber Attacks

Click on the link to the article above for full content, in short, the article says:

Chinese officials publicly stated they will “punish” Internet Web sites, Re-broadcasters and other “new media” that replay the 2008 Olympic Games and related events without the authorization of state-run China Central Television.

I can’t read Chinese, but I used Google translator to read the original Chinese statement:

《通知》指出，通过互联网和移动平台非法转播奥运赛事及相关活动的行为，将纳入国家版权局、公安部、工业和信息化部共同开展的“2008年打击网络侵权盗版专项行动”，对未经许可转播奥运赛事及相关活动的互联网和移动平台，将依法严厉查处。

“Copyright Bureau, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Information Industry and jointly launched the “2008 Network to combat piracy, the special action”, not The broadcast license Olympic competitions and activities related to the Internet and mobile platforms will be severely punished according to law.”

While I am all for a good headline, China’s statement looks a lot more like the FBI warning I get before I watch movies on DVD, than the threat purported on Defense Tech’s site.  My take away from China’s statement is that they will enforce their copyright law.

I DON’T think they are saying … rebroadcast the Olympics without our permission and neither you nor your site will ever be seen again.  But just in case China is saying that … I want it on the record, that this site will not be rebroadcasting the Olympics in any way, shape or form.

I am very interested in how China will enforce their copyright.  In a digital age, sharing information is very easy to do, and very hard to stop.  How many videos do you think will be published on YouTube?

In case you were wondering - YouTube lays out the consequences (nope they don’t threaten to make you, your website, or even your YouTube account disapear).

“Anytime YouTube becomes aware that a video or any part of a video on our site infringes the copyrights of a third party, we will take it down from the site. We are required to do so by law. If you believe that a video on the site infringes your copyright, send us a copyright notice and we will take it down. If you believe that we have removed a video that you uploaded in error and that you are the copyright owner or have permission, you can file a counter notice and let us know. Accounts determined to be repeat infringers may be subject to termination. Users with suspended or terminated accounts are prohibited from creating new accounts or accessing YouTube’s community features.”

Heads up China. Reporting to YouTube does require a few bureacratic steps.  You might want to open an account now, just so you are ready.  You will need to send written notice or submit your complaint online.  Youtube does not provide an SLA (service level agreement) on how quickly they will process your complaint.

DMCA Complaints
YouTube, Inc.
901 Cherry Ave.
Second Floor
San Bruno, CA 94066
Fax: 650.872.8513
Email: copyright@youtube.com

To expedite our ability to process your request, complaints may now also be submitted online at http://www.youtube.com/copyright_complaint_form. You will need a YouTube account in order to utilize this tool.