經通國際智慧產權事務所

The Tokyo Olympics had drawn a significant number of Taiwanese viewers, and the discussion on set-top box audiovisual content infringement has thus arisen. The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs emphasizes that, in accordance with the Copyright Act, manufacturing, importing, or selling set-top boxes that stream infringing audiovisual content is a violation of the law and is punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a fine of $500,000 NTD. TIPO once again appealed to the public to avoid using set-top boxes from unknown sources and support legal copyrighted content in order to ensure quality audiovisual content.
 

In recent years, some set-top boxes or applications that are available on the market have provided users with convenient access to infringing websites that offer illegal audiovisual content, thereby reaping huge profits and gravely harming the rights of copyright owners or legally authorized OTT service providers, which further hinders the development of the content industry in Taiwan. TIPO points out that in order to put a halt to this illicit activity, subparagraph 8 of Paragraph 1 of Article 87 and Article 93 of the Copyright Act were passed and implemented on May 1st, 2019, stating that violators are punishable by a sentence of up to two years imprisonment or detention, or in lieu thereof or in addition thereto, a fine of not more than $500,000 NTD.
 

TIPO states that the following circumstances are punishable by law:

1. To publish applications that aggregate illegal audiovisual network links (commonly known as “binge-watching apps” 追劇神器) on Google Play Store, Apple Store, other platforms or websites, etc. for the public to download.
2. To provide guidance, assistance, or preset paths for the public to download, although not involving the aforementioned illegal applications, are also deemed illegitimate actions. Set-top boxes, for example, albeit having no prohibited apps built-in, remain illicit given that they provide instructions or presets for users to install and use.
3. To manufacture, import, or sell equipment or devices preloaded with such illegal applications, e.g., the set-top boxes with built-in apps on the market.

After the passage of the abovementioned amendment, a number of cases of manufacturing illegal set-top boxes have been referred to judicial authorities for investigation or trial. In addition, in order to rectify the order in the market as soon as possible, TIPO coordinates with online platforms and sales channels to remove illegal set-top boxes and strongly urges the public to support and watch our 2020 Tokyo Olympics national team through legal streaming services.

Intellectual Property Office Ministry of Economic Affairs, R.O.C.