Draft of the amendments to the Copyright Law provides severe punishments and heavy fines; few associations alleged such draft as bad law; legislators suspected pressure from the U.S.; whether such draft will be passed in this session remains variable
E030424Y3 May. 2003（E44）
The draft of the amendments to the Copyright Law was first examined by the economic and technical session of the Legislative Yuan yesterday. The draft substantially raises criminal punishments on illegal acts. According to the draft, an offender who infringes on another’s copyright by reproduction as means of livelihood, or a person who sells or distributes pirated disks will be deemed committing offense which is indictable not only upon complaint, and he may be punished with a prison term of not less than six months and not more than five years. In this connection, some legislators questioned that the punishments are too heavy as such punishment are equivalent to those imposed on an offender who commits “arson or subornation for killing” and they considered that the outcome was pressured by the imminent announcement of the “Special 301 Priority Watch List.”
However, Taiwan Anti-Piracy Alliance and Anti-IP-Bad-Laws Action Alliance yesterday advanced their attack-and-defense fight. They respectively issued press releases, supported the amendments to the Copyright Law, or performed action plays before the Ministry of Justice. They requested the government to immediately suspend amendments to the law to prevent the nationals’ rights and benefits from being damaged again and again.
Taiwan Anti-Piracy Alliance indicated that the piracy rate of Taiwan ranks the first among countries of which GNI is US$10,000. The pirates have earned extortionate profits but they have made all nationals pay bitter cost. If there are still no amendments to the law, the pirates will empty the most valuable base of the industry in Taiwan.
Nonetheless, “Anti-IP-Bad-Laws Action Alliance” formed by student associations and social groups expressed that the provisions contained in the recent draft of amendments to the Copyright Law as examined by the Legislative Yuan in respect of “temporary reproduction,” “broadening the scope of offenses indictable not only upon complaint,” “technological protection measures” and “the right of communication,” etc. will affect the nationals’ life considerably.
