18 | Thursday, June 3, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY LIFE No time to Download backlash celebrate but feeling Moves to curtail use of movie clips on vlogs is latest measure to defend copyright, Xu Fan reports. hopeful is i Xin, a 22-year-old college student from East China’s Anhui province, started to allowed create vlogs on the popular Lshort video platform Douyin last On May 1, my compound’s year. Initially, Li considered it a pedestrian gate finally reopened. It hobby to shake off boredom during had been disabled at the start of distance learning caused by the the pandemic, with passage placed COVID-19 closure of campuses. in the hands of the redoubtable Li, Through self-learning of video our sleepy, yet sharp-eyed baoan, editing apps, the youngster who or guard. Now suddenly, we were goes under the nickname “Xiao Bei” free to come and go at will. The joy on Douyin has accumulated more with which I greeted this develop- than 1 million fans, with some of the ment surprised me, but perhaps most popular clips containing foot- Arnold Schwarzenegger was right age reedited from classic movies when, cigar between his teeth and and TV series. steely look in his eyes, he declared However, Li, who majored in that it is the “little victories that material engineering, didn’t make you feel great”. This one was realize that his passion for small, but it spoke of something making short videos would much larger. Per- have consequences. haps, I thought, we Recently, a string of have turned the cor- industrial protests and ner at last? government crackdowns That feeling — of against copyright infringe- life resuming its pre- ment of films and TV shows pandemic pace — has received widespread Warren was reinforced over attention, propelling video- Singh- the following days as sharing platforms and public Bartlett Beijing overflowed account operators to enhance Second with tourists. Never scrutiny. Thoughts — for I arrived in As a result, Li, like most vloggers March 2020 — had I on the country’s most popular short seen the streets so crowded, and video sharing platforms also includ- the cafes so full of chatter. As I ing Kuaishou and Bilibili, has scootered around, basking in the discovered the majority of his year’s first real warmth, I noticed works which cover scenes other changes. More people were from cinematic and televi- unmasked, barriers at hutong and sion titles, have been compound entrances were gone, removed. and QR codes had become option- Signifying China’s latest al. As China celebrated spring, it round of determination and effort truly felt like we’d been reborn. to protect intellectual property, the Admittedly, I didn’t arrive at the new storm to battle copyright best of times. Landing 12 days infringement started in April. before the borders closed to for- More than 70 top industrial play- CAI MENG / CHINA DAILY eigners after a long, masked flight, ers — including 15 film and televi- I was eventually deposited in front sion associations, 53 production of my designated quarantine hotel companies and five streaming plat- after an odyssey that involved forms — jointly released a state- Wang says he considers the state- much waiting, many temperature ment to ask for “collective and ment has evolved to more like a checks, serial swabbing, transiting necessary legal action” against pira- “battle” between the streaming to the pandemic processing center cy or infringement to protect copy- platforms and short video plat- and finally, registration by hotel right. forms to strive for market share, employees dressed like extras from The statement also appealed to adding that he wishes the two sides a television hospital drama. From all sectors of society to report, an output of around 1,000 feature- series as unoriginal works, remind- establish an effective system to Beijing Capital to the Huiqao delete or ban clips concerning length films. Coupled with the huge ing uploaders to avoid using unau- jointly protect copyright. Hotel in deepest Hepingli took 12 breach of copyright, as well as ask- amount of TV and online shows, thorized content. Bilibili has Statistics from the China Inter- grueling hours. ing video-sharing platforms and more and more young people prefer Infringement revised its copyright protection net Network Information Center When I relayed my experience such content producers to raise self- to watch introductive short videos usually refers to regulations, stipulating videos show that short-video watchers the following morning to overseas examination. as they don’t have enough time for should obtain permission from the and subscribers have reached more friends, few of whom had, at that Quickly stirring up heated debate a full viewing. cases which use copyright holders as well as the than 870 million in China as of point, experienced the virus con- online, the statement resulted in As one of the most prevailing authorized content stars appearing in the footage, December, rising from 821 million trol innovations which we were all more than 500 celebrities and veter- forms of such videos, a type of clip according to media. in 2019, the year when short video to become so intimate with, I field- ans including A-list actresses Yang called “watching a movie in five for commercial Despite the monthlong curb hav- consumers outnumbered those ed expressions of shock and soli- Mi, Li Bingbing and Zhao Liying minutes” recaps scenes from a two- profit. It’s hard to ing an impact, some industry insid- watching feature-length films for darity, as well as cautious signing their names to it on April hour-long feature movie with the ers and observers have a more the first time. enquiries as to the state of my 23. That and related topics earned vlogger’s voice-over and is usually judge if a common complex understanding. Yin Hong, vice-chairman of Chi- mental health. Was I quite sure, 830 million clicks on Sina Weibo. studded with teasing reviews. website user who Wang Hailin, a veteran script- na Film Association and a profes- several asked, if moving to China Two days later, the National Deemed a simpler yet more writer, reveals that he refused to sor with Tsinghua University, says in the middle of an epidemic was Copyright Administration respond- offensive practice quite possibly creates such sign his name on the statement he believes the statement will the most sensible choice? ed at a news conference to say that it involving copyright infringement, videos should be when asked to join the over 500 speed up copyright protection but Personally, I’d never doubted. will intensify its scrutiny of copy- some short video creators chop established and renowned figures may harm ordinary internet sur- Even as I enjoyed that last, care- right infringement, through prac- movies and TV series into short considered as a in late April. fers. free day in London, I wondered tices ranging from developing a pieces, and straightforwardly breach.” Wang explains that he was aware “Infringement usually refers to how much longer it would be system of handling complaints to “transport” these clips on their of these controversial short videos cases which use authorized content before reality hit. Back then, most urging short video distributors and accounts, using it as a shortcut to Yin Hong, vice-chairman, three years ago, discovering that a for commercial profit. It’s hard to of my compatriots still thought of China Film Association producers to ensure using content quickly expand their fan base. large number of such clips was judge if a common website user COVID-19 as an Asian problem, with permission. A source, who is reluctant to made under the encouragement of who creates such videos should be even though Italy and France were On April 29, the China Film reveal his name, says many of such online popularity for profit,” says copyright holders in a publicity considered as a breach,” says Yin. already being ravaged, but it Administration clarified their goal video makers download movies the source. ploy. He predicts that authorities and seemed obvious that the 34 kilo- to fight against breach of intellectu- from pirated websites or use soft- As a result of the monthlong curb But the rapid expansion of short platforms will explore more practi- meters of water between Dover al property. A statement released on ware capable of recording features on short-video infringement, Chi- video business has eaten up a big cal solutions and stipulations, sug- and Calais weren’t going to keep the regulator’s website highlights it on streaming sites to obtain the na’s major short video sharing plat- portion of the market share that gesting they curb infringement as this virus at bay. China was in the will continue to intensify the crack- footage. forms have tightened up self- previously belonged to streaming well as protect fans’ enthusiasm to midst of an outbreak, but at least down on film copyright infringe- “But a lot of such videos are just checks on such content, according platforms, or “long-video plat- spontaneously promote quality there, I thought, they had started ment, especially short videos such made for personal entertainment. to domestic media reports. forms” — which mainly stream work within their own short videos. taking the situation seriously. as those titled “watching a movie Some would insert advertisement For instance, Kuaishou has new- movies or TV series — after more Soon, it became my turn to within a few minutes”. links in such videos or use these ly labeled netizen-made “spinoff” and more young subscribers have Contact the writer at check on friends, offer solace and China’s huge movie market sees clips to increase their accounts’ or “remake” of movies and TV shifted to the short video platforms.