Research On The Copyright Issues Of News Aggregator Search Platform

The new technologies including the news aggregator search platform are double-edged sword to us, which on one hand make people’s lives more convenient and efficient, on the other hand give the challenge to the existing legal regulation. It prompts criticism from the original news media because it depends on aggregating news products from other news media to get profit, rather than issue original news products. On one hand, the original news media think that news aggregator’s behaviors of transcoding and setting deep linking without permission violate their copyright and information network transmission right. On the other hand, when news aggregator provide others news product, it usually shields the commercial interests attached on the original website such as advertising and other promotional modules, so it has the possibility of unfair competition. But the academic circles have not form a unified understanding on the above-mentioned dispute. Meanwhile Copyright Law of our country has not clear definition on the concept of copyright and information network transmission right. Different courts will hold different understandings to the concept, so the referee standards are varied in different courts.According to the analysis in this paper, transcoding is divided into permanent copy and temporary copy. It has reached a consensus that permanent copy constitute copyright tort at home and abroad. But Copyright Law of our country has not clear provision whether temporary reproduction infringes the copyright. "The EU Copyright Directive" and the developed countries bring the temporary copy into broader concept of copy right attached appropriate rights restrictions, so Internet users will have a free behavior within the permitted scope without tort liability. But only reserve the works temporarily on the server can realize form conversion from WEB to WAP. In addition, the temporary transcoding is real-time, when users close the procedure, the server will immediately delete the temporarily stored data files, so news aggregator itself does not become an independent provider of content. Based on our country’s current development situation, we should encourage the development of the Internet industry and provide a free development environment, so it isn’t necessary to develop a strict standard for temporary reproduction technology. Due to the problem whether setting deep linking violate information network transmission right, the author think clearly define the concept of information network transmission right. There are three views about “providing works” element of information network transmission right in academic and judicial practice, i.e. “server standard”, “user perception standard” and “substance appearance standard”. Our country should apply "server standard." On one hand, “server standard” can be accordant to the concepts in current legal norms of our country and “WIPO Copyright Treaty”. Compared with “user perception standard” and “substance appearance standard”, "server standard" is more objective and beneficial to unify the referee effects between different judges. Does news aggregation behavior belong to copyright restrictions or exceptions? Only personal non-profit use, reporting current events, etc. can apply to the rational use and be exempted from tort liability according to current Copyright Law of our country. While the new products polymerized by news aggregator are not limited to the specified objects of rational use, so rational use can’t be regard as defense. The relevant judicial interpretation provides that the medium of legal license is limited to between traditional newspapers and traditional newspapers, not included Internet media. So network media, such as today’s headline news aggregator, unable to apply legal permission to defense.Since it has not clearly definition about news aggregation in Copyright Law, there are no effective regulatory measures in the law. But traditional news publishers spend a lot of human and financial resources in the process of gathering information and writing the news. It isn’t beneficial to enhance the enthusiasm of the original news website and the healthy and orderly development of press and publication industry if the works created by original news website be free to use. Therefore our country should reference experiences of Newspaper publisher right system established by Germany and Spain and Japanese anti-unfair competition pattern to perfect our country’s legislation: first, broaden the present neighboring right based on the actual development of our country; second, regulate the news aggregation search behavior according to anti-unfair competition law by formulating the relevant operable and specific clause. When the issues related to aggregation search can apply to neighboring rights system and anti-unfair competition system simultaneously, it is prioritized to apply to Copyright Law,because copyright has been specialized protection in separated legislation. The Anti-Unfair Competition Law provides supplementary specification as a fallback provision in the field that copyright law can not be adjusted. Only the coordination of neighboring rights system and anti-unfair competition system can better balance the benefit between news aggregator media and traditional news publishers so as to achieve the purpose of win-win cooperation.