Porn free: Taipei court denies IP protection for adult content
CNA and Staff Reporter 2013-03-22 15:13
DVDs at an adult video store in Taipei. (Photo/Chen Chun-wei)
Prosecutors in Taiwan said Wednesday that Taiwanese firms that use Japanese-made pornographic films to make profits online have not breached the copyright of their producers.
The Taipei District Court's prosecutor's office announced it will therefore not press charges against Elta Technologies and 10 other firms that the Japanese studios accused of violating their copyright.
Prosecutors quoted Japanese complainants saying they had hired directors, performers, make-up artists and other professionals to make the films which express the directors' ideas as well as the actors' uniqueness. As a result their films should enjoy the protection of Taiwan's laws governing intellectual property rights, a statement said.
While Taiwan's Supreme Court rulings recognize copyright for creative works of literature, science and arts, they do not do so for pornographic films.
The prosecution said most of the adult films feature various forms of sex, scenes that aim to arouse viewers' desires, and so should be categorized as pornography.
Since pornographic films are not protected under the law, prosecutors said they cannot find any evidence in support of the accusations that the Taiwanese firms infringed upon the filmmakers' copyrights.
The prosecutors said their investigation also shows that the Taiwanese firms posted warning signs and blocked minors from entering their websites to view the films.
These precautionary steps indicated that they had likewise not violated the law banning the spread of obscene images and videos, according to the prosecutors.
Another reason the prosecutors decided not to indict the accused was that the Japanese complainants have dropped their case against two of the 11 companies which use their films to charge customers who download them online.
