Proposed Amendment to Copyright Act Passed Initial Legislative Review.　Criminal Sanction Proposed against Service Providers Providing Unauthorized Software Or Other Application for Downloads

The proposed amendment to the Copyright Act passed the initial legislative review at the 24 April 2006 meeting of the Economics Committee of the Legislative Yuan.  According to the proposed amendment, service providers providing unauthorized software or other application for downloads will be punishable.

 

According to the legislator proposing the criminal sanction against service providers, some service providers have earned illegal gains from providing unauthorized music or movie files for downloads at the expense of the copyright holders.

 

Under the current legal regime, end users who download unauthorized music or movie files may be imposed criminal punishment.  The service provider providing the platform and/or the relevant application, however, is let go free.  Once the proposed amendment is enacted, any person who provides to the public for transmission or reproduction another person’s work without the consent or authorization by the holder of the copyright in such work, and any person who receives interests from providing to the public any unauthorized computer program or application that may be transmitted or reproduced publicly may be sentenced to not more than two years in prison, detention and in lieu thereof or in addition thereto a punitive fine of not more than five hundred thousand New Taiwan Dollars (NTD500,000).

 

Further, according to the proposed amendment, if the convicted service provider continues the infringing act and receiving interests from it, the competent authority may order such service provider to correct its act within a given period of time.  Should the service provider fail to do so, the competent authority may order it to cease or suspend operation to avoid inadvertent Copyright Act violation by unintelligent end users.  (2006.04)

/EMA