Movie Downloading to Be Legalized
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Some movies can now be downloaded legally from peer-to-peer (P2P) sites after an out-of-court settlement between the Korean Film Producers' Association (KFPA) and the Digital Contents Network Association, an association of P2P hosts.
P2P users will pay more than the current rate of 100-500 won per file in copyright fees.
The KFPA said the price of films would be graded according to the date of production and release, as well as the picture quality.
``Copyright holders have sued P2P hosts for illegal downloading,'' KFPA official Cho Gwang-hee said. ``But it may take years for both sides to settle disputes through legal battles. So both sides reached an out-of-court settlement.''
Filmmakers claimed that they sustained more than $230 million in losses due to illegal downloading. More and more fans watch the latest movies at home free of charge, the Korean Film Council said Wednesday.
According to its survey of 2,401 people, 86 percent have seen movies through the Internet and mobile devices. About 48 percent said they have downloaded movies illegally and 19 percent said they have uploaded them.
Last March, 35 filmmakers sued eight Web hosting companies, but the lawsuits were unable to prevent illegal downloading.
Once detected, an illegal download could cost perpetrators a 500,000-800,000 won fine, but the punishment has failed to root out the illegal trade.
There are online streaming services available such as www.daum.net's Cube sections, where the Web host pays for copyright and users can watch movies only through that site, but they are not as active as was first anticipated.
In America people can buy online videos, ranging from the latest TV dramas to CNN news, through iTunes or amazon.com. The number of downloads through these sites are considered an important barometer for classifying hit items.
In Korea, filmmaker Silkroad provided a pilot download service for its summer smash hit ``The Chaser'' through cine21i.com and attracted 300,000 clicks and 600 million won in profit. ``It means there is some hope and potential,'' Cho said.