Copyright infringement: examples. Responsibility for copyright infringement

It is interpreted as unauthorized copyright holder copying or distribution of material that is protected by copyright: musical compositions, books, software, films, etc. The right to own intellectual property is protected by law in most countries.

What is "piracy" and counterfeiting?

Violation of copyright can be expressed by conjugate notions: counterfeiting (forgery) and "piracy" (counterfeiting, but with respect to proprietary copyrights). This, of course, is an offense based on the use of works of art, science and literature under copyright protection, without the appropriate permission of the author or copyright holder, and also the violation of a number of conditions fixed in the contract on the use of specific works.

Main types of copyright infringement

Most often, the following illegal actions are taken against them:

• Copying (replication of books, records, etc.);
• Distribution of the work (rental, sale, etc.);
• Public demonstration;
• Public performance of the work in concert halls, theaters, etc.;
• Broadcasting it on radio, television, etc .;
• Translation of the work into other languages;
• Processing of the work (plagiarism).

In practice, derivatives from them types of copyright infringement, so to speak, "keep pace with the times". Scammers, pursuing the goals of their own material enrichment, are engaged in the invention of not an original idea, but a unique way of assigning copyrights to it.

In the current law enforcement, law enforcement and judicial practice, the extent of this offense, as a rule, is determined by the rightholder. In this regard, any action that he does not like or considers it an obstacle to receiving excess profits will be considered by the court without fail with the appropriate decision in relation to attracting (or not attracting) the offender to any responsibility.

Historical facts concerning the term "piracy"

The first mention of it is customary to refer to 1603. A little later the term "piracy" occurs in the foreword of the poem by Alfred Tennyson "The Lover's Tale": "... recently undergone ruthless piracy."

Often it can be found in the texts of legal acts, for example, in the English-speaking Berne Convention of 1886: "... counterfeit copies of the work are subject to arrest in any country of the Union in which this work enjoys legal protection."

The term "piracy" in the sense of "copyright infringement" in Russian-language texts of legal sources of the federal level does not occur, but it is used quite often in judicial documentation, legal literature and local regulations.

According to some sources, his use was identified with a journalistic stamp.

According to the founder of the free software movement Richard Stallman, the term in question was widely used to ignore traditional methods of software licensing, creating a false belief about its extremely negative coloration. According to him, he is subconsciously associated with sea piracy, which, in turn, has always been associated with looting, robbery, kidnapping, murder, hostage taking, sinking ships and other cruel crimes.

Causes of piracy

First, it is a more cost-effective way of making a profit in comparison with the cost of a licensed primary source.

Numerous modern technologies have transformed the process of copying information into a very accessible and cheap business.

In the past, legal producers had natural protection: technical advantage and scale effect. Anyone could manually rewrite the material or fill it with a typewriter, however both the quality and cost of this copy would be substantially inferior to the original versions.

To date, everything has changed dramatically. For example, a standard set of office equipment (printer, binder and computer) can easily make an analog of the book edition in a soft cover, while its cost price will be equated to the market price. It is the prospect of obtaining superprofits - the root cause of piracy.

It is, as a rule, common in countries where the per capita income is rather low. Therefore, the main reason for piracy in these countries is the insolvency of the population (the price of counterfeit is much lower than the cost of legal production).

The difference between "piracy" and plagiarism

It consists in the goal-setting. As for "piracy", the offender seeks to obtain the greatest possible material benefit, not paying attention to the ethical and legal aspect of the offense.

In the case of plagiarism, he has another goal - 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 commercial profit.

What is fraught with copyright infringement?

This phenomenon is quite common now. If the subject has not received an official permission to use someone else's material, then we can say that there is a classic copyright infringement. Within the framework of the Russian legislation, civil and public responsibility is foreseen.

Public responsibility for copyright infringement is expressed by punishment from the state in the form of fines or confiscation of property, or other measures.

She may be:

• Criminal;
• Administrative.

The intruder is involved only in one of the above. According to the law, both legal entities (without restrictions) and civil ones can be brought to administrative responsibility (if the violation does not fall under the category of crimes: damage less than 50 thousand rubles). Otherwise, they are directly involved in criminal proceedings.

The basis for administrative liability is Art. 7.12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, and for criminal - art. 146 of the Criminal Code: "Violation of copyrights."

So, the latter is a consequence of a more serious violation: commercial actions committed in a large amount, which resulted in unauthorized use of an object of copyright or related rights, which resulted in income of more than 50 thousand rubles. Or 250 thousand rubles. (In the case of an especially large size).

Civil liability for copyright infringement comes into effect only if the victim so desires. In this case, the violator either pays the appropriate compensation to the author, or reimburses the harm caused or the lost profit.

The 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).

Thus, in Article 48, a law on copyright infringement has been enacted, in which the following information is indicated:

1. Concerning actions leading to criminal, administrative and civil liability.
2. The fact that for non-compliance with the requirements of the above law, both legal entities and individuals are recognized as violators.
3. As for decoding what copies of the phonogram and works are counterfeit.

How is criminal liability for copyright infringement regulated?

To do this, in our country there is a corresponding article (146) in the Criminal Code - "Violation of copyright and related rights".

It prescribes that the punishment for copyright infringement is one of the sanctions imposed on the convict (depending on the nature of his actions).

In case of attribution of authorship (plagiarism) one of the following punishments will follow:

1. Mandatory work, which can last from 180 to 240 hours.
2. Penalty for copyright infringement in the amount of 200 thousand rubles.
3. Arrest for a period of three to six months.

Under the condition of illegal use (storage, purchase, transportation) of counterfeit copies, the following sanctions are imposed:

• Penalty for copyright infringement (200 thousand rubles or income, including wages for the period up to eighteen months);
• Obligatory work (180 - 240 hours);
• Arrest (up to two years).

Copyright infringement (article УКРФ) by group of the co-ordinated persons either the organized grouping, or the person using the official position, or in especially large sizes threatens with following sanctions:

• Deprivation of liberty (up to 6 years);
• A fine (up to 500 thousand rubles or other income, including wages for three years).

What method is considered the most common in the protection of copyright?

Of course, this is compensation for the damage caused. Compensation for copyright infringement is an alternative way of protection in comparison with recovery of damages. In other words, the right holder has the right to demand either payment of compensation, or recovery of damages.

However, it should be taken into account that the reliability of the calculated loss in the case concerning copyright infringement is difficult to confirm due to a number of reasons.

As for the recovery of compensation, there is no need to prove its size, so it is much easier and easier to protect the author's rights.

Types of Refunds

Compensation for copyright infringement can be set in the amount of:

• 10 thousand - 5 million rubles. (Taking into account the nature of the violation, its term, consequences, the degree of guilt of the offender and other important circumstances);
• Double the cost of the right to use the work (license), taking into account the alternative benefits;
• Double the cost of counterfeit copies of the work.

In determining the amount of compensation, the judge is guided by the principles of fairness and reasonableness (clause 3 of Article 1252 of the GCRF).

Content of copyright claim

It depends on their kind. As a rule, claims are divided into property and non-property, however, based on the specifics of copyright, it is difficult to distinguish the interests of the particular author on this principle, therefore they are often grouped in the same process.

The non-property type includes the following rights:

• addressed;
• authorship;
• To withdraw and publish the work;
• To protect the existing reputation.

The claim of copyright infringement can be directed both to the courts and to the bodies of inquiry and preliminary investigation working in this direction.

A non-property claim may include the following requirements:

• On the recognition of the exclusive right (for example, on the recognition of co-authorship);
• On the establishment of the fact of the defendant's false assertion;
• On the restoration of the original provision of the law (before its violation);
• On the suppression of actions that create a threat to the future violation of law or are already violating it;
• Publication of the adopted court decision regarding the violation (at the expense of the offender);
• Compensation for moral damage.

A claim for copyright infringement of a property nature may include the following requirements:

• On collecting the fee (author's fee);
• On the compensation of damages caused by the fact of copyright infringement;
• On the recognition of the groundlessness of enrichment (presented to a co-author who unreasonably appropriated another's fee).

Video piracy as a clear example of copyright infringement

This term is used to denote the illegal distribution of copied material (TV shows, films, etc.) through disks, tapes, and the Internet. Video piracy can be aimed both at making a profit (selling counterfeit in shops, stalls, etc.), and for non-commercial 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 quality of the recording in this case may differ significantly from that of the licensed copy, but it is not necessary.

In our country, video and audio piracy is the most common examples of copyright infringement, but not the only ones.

There are specially designed symbols in the form of abbreviations added to the main file names, which indicate the type of copy made.

They have the form:

1. "Screen" (CAMRip - CAM). As a rule, such material will be shot in the cinema by an ordinary spectator, it has a rather low quality.
2. Telesync (TS). A better copy, filmed more often by the employee of the cinema with the use of a professional camera installed on a tripod.
3. "Roll" (telecine - TC). The quality of the footage is usually above average. This shooting is also made by the employee of the cinema, but already by means of a telecine sensor.
4. Leakage of the working version (workprint - WP). Characterized by the average quality of the material captured in the film studio.
5. The leak of the promo copy (DVD screener - DVDSCR and Screener - SCR), which is distributed to film critics, film press, etc. The quality is also average.
6. DVDRip is characterized by high quality copies obtained from video distribution or retail stores.
7. R5 DVDRip is a copy designed for the countries of the second and third world.
8. HDTVRip, CATVRip, TVRip, SATRip - copied material is obtained from TV broadcast.
9. BDRip (Blu-ray Disc Rip) - this counterfeit is very high quality, it was obtained by copying the BD disk from the video distribution.
10. VHS Rip is a copy of very poor quality, obtained from videocassettes.

In addition to video piracy, there are still examples of copyright infringement, such as audio-piracy, counterfeit software, computer games and video games.

The most common offenses in this respect

The following cases of copyright infringement can be distinguished:

• Non-payment or partial payment of the fee;
• Publication of the work without the author's consent;
• Violation of copyright in respect of the inviolability of his work;
• No indication of the name of this author.

And this is not a complete list of this kind of violations. However, it is these cases of copyright infringement, especially the reluctance to indicate the true author, so thrive in modern society.

Important procedural features regarding the initiation and consideration of copyright infringement cases

First, they are considered to be cases of private prosecution (they are initiated at the request of the victim).

Secondly, to initiate them, the victim must file a complaint directly with the court, in which the following should be indicated: the time period of the offense, by whom it was carried out, in what place, what was the result of this illegal action and what exactly are the arguments of the victim regarding the offender's involvement To account.

Thirdly, the court has no right to leave the proceedings without complaint because of its insignificance, neither due to lack of substantive evidence, nor 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, it must also state the reasons for such a decision.

Fourthly, cases of copyright infringement are not suspended due to the reconciliation of the parties. Proceedings are conducted in a general manner (with preliminary investigation by prosecutors).

Fifth, if the infringement of copyrights is recorded for the first time, and the information on the identity of the offender and the nature of his act indicate a large proportion of the likelihood of his correction without the application of criminal measures, the court may decide to terminate this criminal case with further transfer of all materials on it to Consideration of a comradely court.

According to statistics, measures of criminal responsibility for the offense under consideration are rarely realized.

Large-scale and convenient Internet services with music without copyright

A large number of music tracks, as well as accompaniments have copyright, and their public posting on third-party sites is prohibited.

In our country, a bill has been adopted to protect copyright resources from such unlawful acts as copying and distribution. In this regard, hosting providers are blocking sites, which revealed the fact of copyright infringement.

Music without copyright infringement is music content that is freely distributed and can be downloaded without any violation.

For today it is possible to allocate such scale and convenient services with music without restrictions, as:

• Youtube.ru;
• Freemusicarchive.org;
• Sites under the leadership of Creative Commons, including danosongs.com, audionautix.com and sweetsoundeffects.com;
• Rutube.ru;
• Jamendo.com.

In which countries is this offense prevalent?

According to statistics, this kind of violation of the interests of this category of right holders is often found in such countries as Russia, China, Mexico, Ukraine, Brazil and Indonesia.

The main reason for this phenomenon is economic interests, in particular:

1. Rightholders-monopolists realize works of intellectual property at very inflated prices, which in most cases are not correlated with the consumer capabilities of the target market segment.
2. There is a differentiation in the standard of living in these countries, in which intellectual property is imported (the price does not correspond to the average level of wages, the level of compulsory taxes is not taken into account, etc.), although the prices of licensed products are considered quite acceptable within the producer country.