Research On Copyright Issues Of Video Sharing Sites

With the development of video transmission technology on the internet, the videosharing sites became an emerging industry. The success example from YouTube in the UnitedStates further had given birth to the great number of video sharing sites in China. Under theenvironment of virtual network, based on the business model as the core of User GeneratedContent, video sharing sites faced to the broad market space, while the huge risk of copyrightinfringement was taken, the development of whole industry was in legal troubles.The thesis was divided into six chapters. The research significance on copyright issues ofvideo sharing sites was elaborated in part one, and the development history of industry invideo sharing sites and representative legal issues in recent years were summarized. Thetheoretical viewpoints and judicial precedents at home and abroad were researched andsummarized.Through the analysis of the copyright dispute between Changsheng S&T Co.,Ltd. andTudou as well as Wei Jingshun in part two, the think about the infringement issue of videosharing sites was drawn forth, and three focuses of dispute reflected by cases were concluded,that is, the legal position of video sharing sites, identification in the infringement tort and theexemption clause of “Safe Harbor Rule”.Through elaborating the legal status of video sharing sites in part three, the maindevelopmental patterns and legal characteristics involved in the industry were probed into. Bycomparing video sharing sites with internet content provider, content publisher and contentseller, the special legal status for it was clarified.The part four focused on the copyright infringement of video sharing sites. From theperspective of information storage space provided by it, the types and character ofinfringement were analyzed, and responsibility affirmation of the relevant infringement wasfurther discussed, and the rationality of the indirect infringement undertaken by video sharingsites was discussed.The part five used “Safe Harbor Rule” as entry points to investigate the system design onthe interrelated provisions of law between China and the United States in detail. The duty typeand liability exemption condition of video sharing sites were studied through the case studiesand legislation comparison, in which the specific issue of “Safe Harbor Rule” in the case wasemphatically focused on.On the basis of the above analysis, the solution of copyright issue for video sharing siteswas discussed in the last part. The solutions were to establish the protection mechanisms to balance the interests of all parts from the two aspects of improving the legal system fornetwork copyright in China and enhancing risk-resisting ability of video sharing sites.