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.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,