Copyright Law Worries Game Companies
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Government officials insist that the country’s new anti-file sharing provisions will finally allow entertainment and publishing industries their fair share of the online content gold trail. Computer game companies, however, would prefer to say that the Internet doesn’t need that much copyright protection.
Unlike other major copyright owners in movies, television and music, who represent the biggest backers of the new rules, online game companies have been relying on the user-generated buzz from their fan sites and independent Web communities to promote their products.
The revised copyright law prevents gamers from capturing game images or videos on the sites, and online game companies are concerned whether this will hurt marketing efforts.
The message boards at gamer communities such as Ruli Web (www.ruliweb.nate.com) are flooded with questions and complaints from users who are wondering what is and isn’t allowed under the new regulations.
``To put it clearly, users can upload the screens shots or videos of the games to Web communities or their blogs if they took the photos and videos themselves,’’ said an official from an online game portal site.
``The problem is that much of the user content in gamer communities are either copied or manipulated versions of original materials sourced from gaming sites here and abroad or from blogs. These postings are certainly punishable under the new rules and I think the effect could be huge.’’
The revised copyright law, which went into effect last week, grants authorities the power to suspend Web accounts of Internet users involved in the illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property for up to six months.
Users accused of illegally moving copyrighted content will be subject to the ``three strikes'' rule, having their Web accounts severed after a third violation.
Online game publishers have maintained a close relationship with Web communities, which help generate excitement for their products right from the pre-launch testing phase.
Aside from posting images and videos of games, fans on Web communities have also been expressing their creativeness and humor through game-themed cartoons, novels and parody posters.
And game companies, rather than being too uptight about intellectual property, have been encouraging these activities, some of them even managing events to reward gamers coming up with the best user-generated content.
It remains to be seen whether the new copyright rules will mean the slow death of these unofficial fan sites.
Industry sources say that a number of online game publishers and gamer Web sites are currently negotiating an agreement over the use of copyrighted material. One of the ideas being tossed around is adopting a certification standard that states the conditions for the legal sharing of licensed content.
``The new copyright law is inconvenient for the game industry in many ways, but we believe that there will be adjustments in the future,’’ said an official from an online game company.
``There is no doubt that the unofficial fan sites will have to find new business models with the enforcement of the new regulatory system.’’