A law punishing copyright infringements involving the sale or public distribution of reproductions on optical disks with a minimum six-month prison term is constitutional, the Council of Grand Justices ruled on Friday.
The council issued the ruling after being asked to consider the constitutionality of sentencing someone for selling pirated copies of copyrighted DVDs.
In 2014, a man surnamed Liu (劉) was charged with selling copyrighted Japanese pornographic DVDs for NT$13 each out of a storefront, with police saying that he earned NT$30,000 to NT$40,000 (US$1,074 to US$1,432) per month.
Photo copied by Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
A court ruled that Liu was guilty of contravening Article 91 of the Copyright Act (著作權法), which stipulates that copyright infringements involving reproduction onto an optical disk are punishable by a six-month to five-year prison term, and a fine of NT$500,000 to NT$5 million.
Liu’s lawyer said that the punishment was disproportionate with the crime and harmed his client’s constitutional rights.
Other copyright crimes are punishable by a maximum three-year prison term with no minimum prison term or fine, the lawyer said, questioning the imposition of a minimum term for breaches specifically involving optical disks.
The law says that copyright infringements involving optical disks are prosecutable without complaint, meaning that a defendant faces criminal charges even if they reach an agreement with the copyright holder.
Liu’s lawyer said that application of these laws also harmed Liu’s constitutional rights and requested an interpretation.
However, the council issued Constitutional Interpretation No. 804, which said that criminalizing “reproduction” of copyrighted materials “clearly conforms with the principle of the law,” and that minimum sentencing for pirating disks “does not violate the guarantees of personal freedom and equality stipulated in Article 8 of the Constitution.”
Piracy of optical disks being prosecutable without complaint is also not unconstitutional, it said.
The council said it also recognized that optical disks are no longer the main medium of pirated content, and that lawmakers should amend the law so that it does not fall behind progress.
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