Online video sharing: an alternative channel for film distribution? Copyright enforcement, censorship, and Chinese independent cinema

Feng, Lin

Abstract

Regarding piracy as a crime of stealing copyright holders’ rightful profits, many creative industries, such as the film, music, and gaming industries, are battling for tough administrative and legal enforcement against copyright infringement. However, there is a counterargument that piracy could benefit copyright holders in the form of free promotion. Given China’s tough censorship on film content, this paper investigates how online piracy complicates the distribution of independent films in China. The advance of cyber technology and high-speed Internet access has not only fuelled the spread of online film sharing but also encouraged public participation in the debate of the complex relationship between piracy, copyright, and censorship. Taking Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin (2013) as a case study, this paper evaluates the alternative business models for Chinese independent cinema as put forward by Chinese netizens.

Citation

Feng, L. (2017). Online video sharing: an alternative channel for film distribution? Copyright enforcement, censorship, and Chinese independent cinema. Chinese Journal of Communication, 10(3), 279-294. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2016.1247736

• Acceptance Date: Aug 24, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Nov 13, 2016
• Publication Date: Jul 3, 2017
• Deposit Date: Oct 17, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: May 21, 2018
• Journal: Chinese journal of communication
• Print ISSN: 1754-4750
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 279-294
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2016.1247736
• Keywords: A Touch of Sin; Jia Zhangke; Chinese independent film; Censorship; Piracy; Copyright; Social media; Internet
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/444174
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17544750.2016.1247736
• Additional Information: This is the accepted manuscript of an article published in Chinese journal of communication, 2017. The version of record is available at the DOI link in this record.
• Contract Date: May 21, 2018