Instead of having to pay a sum of money to go to theaters or watch movies on copyrighted websites such as Netflix, HBO Go, and Apple TV+…, a person can easily go to Google to find and watch a movie through non-owned websites of manufacturers, unofficially for the price of “free”. Because of “free”, and due to not clearly understanding intellectual property law and the dangers lurking afterward, many audiences are still not aware that watching movies without paying on these websites is wrong. VCD’s following article will state more clearly the reasons why audiences should not watch movies on “pirated” websites.
1. What is a “pirated” movie website?
The “pirated” movie website is not the producer’s official website but has re-posted those movies, TV shows, and entertainment programs without asking for permission or paying for the movie’s copyright from the manufacturers. These websites have copied, spliced, re-translated dialogue, shown and communicated cinematographic works to the public without the permission of the rights holders, and at the same time conducted the business of advertising products, and other services on the website and inserting ads into movies to gain illegal profits.
2. Are “pirated” movie websites operating illegally?
According to Article 14 of the Intellectual Property Law, “cinematic works and works created by similar methods” are protected by copyright. Posting movies publicly on “pirated” websites is a form of copyright infringement on cinematic works. Specifically, the above acts violate the right to distribute works and the right to communicate works to the public by wireless, electronic information networks, or any other technical means, including providing the work to the public in a way that the public can access at a place and time of their choosing (According to Article 20 and Article 28 of the Intellectual Property Law).
The act of not asking for permission or paying royalties but distributing and communicating the work to the public is an act that causes economic loss to the producer and those involved in making the cinematographic work. Not only that, but the above behavior also eliminates the development motivation of the film market in particular and the market of other creative works in general.
According to current regulations, this act can be administratively handled or even prosecuted for criminal liability (Article 211, Article 212 of the Intellectual Property Law) depending on the nature and extent of infringement, specifically:
- Regarding administrative handling, according to Article 15 and Article 17 of Decree 131/2013/ND-CP, the act of distributing pirated films can be fined from 10-30 million VND.
- Regarding criminal proceedings, the act of publicly showing and posting non-copyrighted cinematographic works is an act showing signs of the crime of “infringement of copyright and related rights” as stipulated in Article 225 of the Ministry of Justice. Criminal Law 2015 was amended and supplemented in 2017.
Therefore, it is illegal for pirated Vietnamese film sites to arbitrarily copy cinematographic works in domestic or foreign production, make Vietnamese captions and subtitles, and then post them for illegal profit without the permission of the owner (domestic or foreign) permission is an act of copyright infringement and must be held responsible before the law.
3. Reasons not to watch movies on “pirated” websites
“If entertainment movies are considered food for the mind, then pirated websites are toxic “restaurants” that sell dirty food. Even if they give it away for free, why give it away for free?” Therefore, audiences should not watch movies on “pirated” websites for the following reasons:
Firstly, watching low-quality “pirated” movies makes the viewer’s experience incomplete. When these websites steal movies from producers, of course, they will never guarantee sharp 4K or 1080 HD images like in theaters or online applications. At the same time, “pirated” movie copies can also be cut, re-edited, and have commercials inserted, making viewers uncomfortable.
Secondly, there are potential dangers for users on “pirated” movie sites. Many pirated movie sites have malicious code installed or come with links leading to sites containing malicious code to serve personal agendas. Many pirated movie sites also turn the movie site into a “general” site, along with the movie they also run ads offering online gambling, sports betting, especially soccer betting…
Thirdly, watching movies on “pirated” websites is aiding in wrongdoing. Watching movies without paying a fee means that studios and websites that buy movie rights do not make a profit, cannot compensate for the investment they made to produce the movie before, and do not have enough funds to pay for it. pay salaries to actors, directors, and those involved in film editing. In addition, cinematic works are the brainchild of the creators. Watching movies without paying makes the filmmakers feel that their efforts are not appreciated, thereby failing to create motivation. Creativity and development to create valuable works. In Vietnam, if there are still people who assist and do not thoroughly handle the above violations, the domestic cinema industry will no longer be able to compete with foreign cinema industries and will have no opportunity or motivation to develop.
Above is the article “Why you should avoid watching movies on the “piracy” web?“. We hope this article is useful to you.
