Fake ROK TV app’s drama ends

The Jiangsu Provincial High People’s Court has publicized its verdict on five people found guilty of violating the copyright of a large number of TV dramas and films. The five were sentenced to prison with reprieves, and imposed fines ranging from 130,000 yuan ($17,935) to 1.19 million yuan.

Sometime last year, local media outlets reported to Wuxi police about an app that provided free online access to unauthorized Korean films and TV dramas, apart from downloading services. After a year’s investigation and judicial process, the offenders have been brought to book.

The case demonstrates China’s determination to strengthen intellectual property rights protection.

The app in question was available in the app stores of several smartphone brands from July 2019 to August 2020, during which time it provided access to illegal copies of 795 South Korean drams and 2,127 entertainment videos from the Republic of Korea; it made a profit of 2.21 million yuan from advertisements that went with the dramas and videos.

Later, the real South Korean Drama TV app announced on its official microblog account that it was a fake entity that had broken the law and been fined. They themselves had not been fined for anything. It’s very worrying if a fake company used the original company’s logo, passed itself off as a legal app and escaped the market’s scrutiny to make profit.

It is the responsibility of smartphone app market platforms to check any illegal service provided by apps to users. The law makes it amply clear that the market can suspend apps for any illegality and call the police. The fact that the illegal companies made money through advertisement increases the responsibility of the authorities. It is time they strengthened monitoring of apps to make the business sustainable.