Newsletter
INTER-CUTTING OF CHANNEL ADVERTISING BY CABLE OPERATORS DOES NOT VIOLATE COPYRIGHT LAW
Our May 1998 issue reported a case where Star TV accused two cable system operators of publicly broadcasting advertisements not arranged by Star TV on its Star Chinese Channel, so that the Star Chinese Channel's programming and advertising could not be broadcast in their entirety. A court held that such acts infringed on Star TV's copyright.
Our September 1998 issue then reported a separate case in which Star TV leveled the same charges against another system operator. However, the court ruled that the arrangement and broadcasting of channel programming and advertising involves merely the simple compilation of materials rather than the creation of original works of editing. Furthermore, the time slots and duration of advertisements are usually governed by contract, so channel operators are unable to exercise originality with respect to advertising. The court, therefore, found the system operator not guilty.
The conflicting judgments of the two courts created confusion among cable channel companies and system operators. In an appeal filed by the two system operators, the Taiwan High Court recently ruled that the arrangement of the programming and advertising broadcast by Star TV is merely a result of motivations and directions of its business operations. The arrangement does not posses the intellectual component of an artistic creation necessary for a compilation work under Article 7 of the Copyright Law. The court therefore held that inter-cutting of advertisements by system operators is not a violation of the Copyright Law. In its judgment, however, the Taiwan High Court pointed out that channel companies may seek relief through civil proceedings if the action by system operators violates contractual duties.