The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) said it is considering amending the Copyright Act (著作權法) to deny Internet users access to Web sites that contain illegally downloaded or uploaded content.
The amendment would enable the IPO to demand Internet service providers (ISPs) or telecoms carriers block users’ access to such sites, IPO director-general Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
The IPO believes that such an amendment could pass a legislative review in the next session and become effective next year, Wang said.
The IPO is also mulling amendments that would require ISPs or telecoms carriers to warn users that entering such Web sites might infect computers with viruses.
The office has targeted specific Web sites, including China-based gougou.com and kankan.com, labeled by the US as the world’s two largest sources of illegally obtained intellectual properties.
Asked if the IPO would ban Taiwanese Internet users from watching movies on PPS.tv, a Chinese peer-to-peer streaming video network software popular in Taiwan, Wang said there is room for discussion on whether the software streams illegally uploaded movies.
“The IPO may establish a special committee to review these Web sites. The bottom line is to protect people’s intellectual property and we will listen to their voices as well,” Wang said.
Under the new amendment, the IPO would act to block users’ access to suspicious Web sites within 10 days of identifying the sites, she said.
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