Nowadays, technology and the internet are increasingly developing, accessing entertainment content has become easier than ever. At that time, pirated movies appeared as a complex phenomenon, attracting the attention of many people. However, watching pirated movies is not simply an act of entertainment; it also raises many ethical and legal questions. Besides short-term benefits, viewers may face unforeseen risks and consequences. So, is watching pirated movies really illegal? The following article from VCD will help you.
1. What kind of movies are pirated movies?
Pirated movies can be understood as unauthorized copies or copies without copyright ownership of cinematic works. These movies are often copied, distributed and distributed illegally without the consent of copyright owners or authorized units.
Currently, the situation of watching “free” movies online is becoming popular, making illegal copying and distribution of movies a big problem. Pirated movies often come from copying from different sources including foreign websites or even from Vietnamese websites that have purchased copyrights to show movies according to regulations and show them for free on that website.
Pirated movies not only harm the film industry but also pose risks of information security for viewers because accessing pirated websites can lead to fraud or malware infection.
This situation causes many problems for the film industry, not only reducing revenue but also affecting the rights of directors, actors, producers and workers in the industry. Failure to comply with copyright laws also causes unfair competition between legal film production and distribution units.
2. Is watching pirated movies illegal?
Currently, the Intellectual Property Law 2022 and other related laws do not have specific regulations on watching pirated movies. Therefore, watching pirated movies is not considered a violation of the law. Therefore, it is not subject to any legal sanctions.
However, if the pirated movie viewer performs actions such as sharing or distributing copyrighted content, then the pirated movie viewer may be held legally responsible according to the provisions of the law.
Accordingly, Article 17 of Decree 131/2013/ND-CP stipulates the level of penalties for acts of infringement of the right to communicate works to the public as follows:
Acts of infringement of the right to communicate works to the public
1. A fine of VND 15,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for acts of communicating works to the public by wire, wireless, electronic information networks or any technical means without permission from the copyright owner as prescribed.
2. Remedial measures:
Forcing the removal of copies of infringing works for acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article.
Therefore, if a person watching pirated movies shares or disseminates copyrighted content on websites, it is considered an act of infringement of intellectual property rights. Specifically, infringement of the right to communicate works to the public can be subject to an administrative fine of 10 million to 30 million VND depending on the severity of the violation. In addition, remedial measures may also be applied, such as forcing the removal of copies of infringing works.
At the same time, viewers of pirated movies who share or disseminate copyright-infringing content may be prosecuted if there are sufficient elements for criminal prosecution. Pursuant to Article 225 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended by Point a, Clause 52, Article 1 of the Law amending the 2017 Penal Code, which stipulates the crime of infringing copyright and related rights, pirated movie sites that show movies without copyright permission may be subject to a maximum fine of 1,000,000 billion VND to 3,000,000 billion VND or suspension of operations for a period of 06 months to 02 years if they are commercial legal entities.
Commercial legal entities that violate the law may also be fined from VND 100,000,000 to VND 300,000,000, banned from doing business, banned from operating in certain fields or banned from raising capital from 01 year to 03 years.
It can be seen that strict control and handling measures according to the law need to be implemented to prevent the increase of pirated movies on the internet, while protecting the legitimate rights of relevant parties in the film industry. In addition, raising users’ awareness of the risks of watching illegal movies is also an indispensable factor in the process of solving this problem.
Above is the article “Is watching pirated movies illegal?” sent to you by VCD. We hope this article is useful to you.
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