Is the act of "screen photography" sharing, or is it infringement?
Recently, the well-known singer Xue Zhiqian shared his experience of watching "Flying Life 2" on Weibo, and the 3 movie pictures shot in the cinema attached to the article caused the "theft" controversy. Xue Zhiqian's stealing photo appeared on Weibo's hot search, which sparked many discussions, and Xue Zhiqian posted two Weibo responses to this matter. Some netizens said that the content of Xue Zhiqian's pictures has no ** plot, nor is it used for commercial purposes, so it cannot be called "stealing", and there is no need to go online; Some netizens also said that refusing to "screen photography" is the basic requirement for watching movies, and it is indeed inappropriate for public figures to take the lead in stealing photos. In response to the controversy caused by "screen photography", a Red Star News reporter recently interviewed a number of viewers and industry insiders.
Xue Zhiqian's Weibo responded to the "theft" controversy.
There has been a long-standing debate about "screen photography".
When it comes to "screen photography", the audience is no stranger to it, and it has been mentioned many times by industry insiders in recent years, and it has caused controversy many times before. "Screen photography" usually refers to the act of using mobile phones and other devices to shoot movie images on the big screen during the audience's viewing in the cinema; If a film is pirated and disseminated, or even used for commercial purposes, it is called "piracy".
In January 2023, seven Spring Festival films including "The Wandering Earth 2" jointly issued a proposal to "advocate everyone to jointly resist piracy and strictly prevent piracy and piracy".
As early as October 2019, the movie "Young You" posted on Weibo, euphemistically persuading: "To keep the beauty, you don't need to raise your phone to the screen." and the people around you, reach a tacit understanding in the dark. Don't record or shoot, and guard the movie "Young You" together. ”
When "Slam Dunk" was released last year, many viewers took photos in the theater and posted them on social platforms, and "Slam Dunk" issued a proposal through the official Weibo, calling on the audience not to steal photos.
Mr. Deng, a movie fan, revealed that he had the behavior of taking a ** and posting it to Moments when he watched a movie, purely for sharing, and did not think about it so much. When "Slam Dunk" was released, some netizens posted the classic scenes of the film and said, "I took it and posted it to the circle of friends, which can be regarded as a commemoration of my lost youth." ”
Some viewers said that some people took out their mobile phones to shoot when watching a movie, which greatly affected the viewing experience of the audience in the back row, especially it was rude to turn on the flash to take pictures; At the same time, too much plot** also hurt the enthusiasm of other audiences.
Chengdu movie fans "fluently" often receive movie-watching activities, she said, in the past, the movie-watching activities would remind the audience not to shoot the screen after the official screening of the movie, and there would still be people who picked up their mobile phones to shoot on the big screen, "In the past, when it was stopped, it was still intimidated, but with the improvement of everyone's copyright awareness, now there is almost none." ”
Zhang Liang, deputy manager of Eying 1958 Film Management Company, said in an interview with a reporter from Red Star News: "In response to uncivilized behaviors such as 'screen shooting' and 'illegal filming and recording', its cinema has been taking action. In the civilized movie viewing promotional video before the screening, there are uncivilized viewing tips such as prohibiting smoking, playing **, and shooting screens. When there are enough people, staff will be arranged to patrol the hall during the screening, and if they see an audience filming, they will be reminded to stop before the meeting. It is hoped that the audience can be self-disciplined and jointly maintain a good viewing order.
Industry insiders: Screen photography when watching movies violates social morality.
Xue Zhiqian's pirated photography After the hot search fermented, CCTV Movie Channel and many movie big V bloggers have made legal popularization. Article 31 of Chapter 3 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of the Film Industry, which came into effect on March 1, 2017, stipulates that without the permission of the right holder, no one may make audio or video recordings of the film being screened. Where audio or video recordings are discovered, cinema staff have the right to stop them and request that they delete them; Those who refuse to obey have the right to request that they leave the scene.
In 2021, CCTV Movie Channel invited lawyer Zeng Wenwen, a partner of Beijing Tian Yuan Law Firm, to give a detailed explanation on "pirated filming". According to lawyer Zeng Wenwen, according to China's "Civil Code" and "Copyright Law", in addition to facing civil and administrative penalties, those who commit serious infringement of theft are more likely to be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
In daily life, people's behavior of taking pictures or uploading them to social ** platforms when watching movies is currently not clearly regulated by our law. Intellectual property lawyers explain that the key to infringement is whether it is used for commercial purposes. On February 7, the National Copyright Administration also released a "public service advertisement for the protection of theatrical film copyrights" on social platforms, clearly stating that "to protect film copyrights, please do not shoot screens".
In fact, in many countries and regions, "screen photography" is not only considered uncivilized, but even violates the law. It is reported that cinemas in Hong Kong, China, are strictly prohibited from filming and recording during screenings, otherwise they may be fined and imprisoned, even in the name of "studying".
Recently, a number of film directors have also talked about their views on screen photography. Dong Runnian, director of the movie "The Annual Meeting Can't Stop", posted "Oppose screen shooting, screen photography violates copyright law. Chen Yu, the screenwriter of "Man Jianghong" and "Solid as a Rock", shared his views on screen photography on Weibo: "Now from the laws and regulations, it is clear that you can't steal dynamic photography, and as for stealing photography, there seems to be no clear regulations. But from a legal point of view, it should be equivalent to banning the dynamic**, because they all infringe on the intellectual property rights of the producer and the creator, and from a physical point of view, isn't the dynamic ** composed of 24 shots per second**? Last year, Spring Festival movies such as "Man Jianghong" jointly issued a statement of "refusing to steal film".
Some industry insiders said that screen photography during movie viewing is not conducive to the protection of intellectual property rights, but also affects the feelings of other moviegoers, which is contrary to social morality. Film critic Tan Fei said: "Some screen photography is self-inflicted private behavior, and the worst thing is that some are used for commercial profit. I'm particularly disgusted with screen photography, and even I made a 'poisonous oath' in the circle of friends, whoever wants to post your screen in my circle of friends, I will block them all, and I found it very effective, since then, the circle of friends can't see who is screen shooting, but they later said that they probably blocked me. ”
Cai Chenyu, a lawyer from Shanghai Zhonghao Law Firm, said in an interview with a reporter from Red Star News that in daily life, most of the audience's screen shots are due to the attraction of the plot, and they do not pursue complete shooting, but only for personal appreciation and commemoration. However, if it is a large number of continuous photographs similar to video recordings, or the ** of the shooting obviously exceeds the limit of personal use, affecting the interests of the right holder, it constitutes infringement.
Red Star News reporter Zhang Shihao.