China Copyrights: No, You Can’t Call It Fair Use

Formally, China’s copyright laws have been in line with those of the United States and other developed countries since China became a signatory to the Berne Convention in 1992 and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in 2001. But it’s hardly news that you can get a pirated copy of pretty much any movie, CD, or book in China with only a modicum of effort. Years ago you could find bootleg DVDs outside nearly every supermarket and mall in the country. Nowadays it’s more difficult to find such sellers, but not because of China’s efforts to curtail counterfeit goods; it’s because the market has moved to the Internet.

But as China’s homegrown media companies like Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent continue to pay serious money for the rights to stream tv shows, movies, and other copyrighted material, more lawsuits are being filed in Chinese courts seeking to enforce China’s copyright law, and more official efforts are underway to reduce the amount of pirated material available in China. A (slightly) more subtle form of copyright infringement is still thriving, however: creative works that coopt key elements from copyrighted material, from storylines to characters to music cues and beyond. Television shows in China will make a few slight changes to a copyrighted format and then insist it is an entirely new creation, as with The Voice of China last year. It’s not always clearly a copyright dodge, either; the popular Chinese singing competition I Am a Singer (我是歌手) is an official licensee of a copyrighted  Korean format – or was, until the title and format were altered recently in the midst of China’s unofficial restrictions on Korean content. Presumably it is no longer considered a Korean-content show, which as a side benefit probably means the show cannot be held liable for copyright infringement.

Chinese manufacturers have long excelled at taking the key elements of an existing product and incorporating them into a “new” product. So it’s no surprise that the same thing happens in entertainment. It’s been happening for decades with the most famous story in China, the 16th century novel “Journey to the West,” which has been adapted into a movie or tv series dozens of times. We complain in America about the overwhelming number of sequels and superhero movies, but at least most of them have a different plot. This would be like having one of our greatest stories – you know, like Point Break – remade multiple times in different formats every year for forty years.

It’s important to understand, however, that Chinese law prohibits the unauthorized use of a copyrighted work, or elements thereof, unless such use falls under one of the twelve specific exceptions listed in Article 22 of China’s Copyright Law:

(1) personal use;

(2) “appropriate” quotation in order to introduce, comment on, or explain;

(3) media use to report current events;

(4) republishing or rebroadcasting of another media entity’s story;

(5) publishing or broadcasting a public speech;

(6) translation or reproduction of a scientific work solely for use in teaching or research;

(7) use by a government entity “to a justifiable extent for the purpose of fulfilling its official duties”;

(8) reproduction of a work in its collections by a library, museum, etc. for display or preservation purposes;

(9) a free live performance;

(10) copying, drawing, photographing or video-recording a public artwork;

(11) translation of a Chinese citizen’s work from Mandarin into a Chinese minority language, for distribution in China; and

(12) transliteration of a published work into braille for publication.

The above exceptions are similar to the American concept of “fair use,” a doctrine that allows for unlicensed use of copyrighted material under certain conditions.

Although not always interpreted consistently, China’s fair use exceptions are quite limited. When you’re watching a Chinese reality show and hear a dozen music cues lifted from American pop songs, that’s not fair use. When you’re watching a Chinese television show that seems exactly like Mad About You, that’s not fair use either. That leaves copyright infringement (the former) and legal licensing of a copyrighted format (the latter).

As the value of copyrighted material in China increases, it’s increasingly important to take a broader view of IP protection. Licensing TV shows to China is a big and growing business. Anti-piracy efforts are still important, but it’s even more important to have a properly drafted license agreement. And to take legal action when you find another media company using your copyrighted material. If you don’t protect your own IP, who will?

China Copyrights: No, You Can’t Call It Fair Use

A Call To Action for Ad Agency New Business

A call to action is an important element for generating inbound leads.

Inbound marketing earns the attention of prospects and makes your agency easy to be found primarily through content. By creating interesting and helpful content, written for a specific audience, you help draw prospects to your site.

Website traffic is very important. It’s the initial step, but you don’t want prospects to just read your content, you want to ignite engagement with them. To do this you must spend time developing a strong and clear call-to-action (CTA).

According to some studies, over half of website visitors leave within 15 seconds. For a landing page, you have less than 5 seconds. Every call to action must immediately answer two primary questions:

1. What do you want prospects to do?
2. Why should they do it?

First, what do you want prospects to do?

A call to action provides focus for your website and gives direction to your visitors for what you want them to do next. A lot of businesses and agency websites don’t doing this.

70% of websites lack any call to action. Small Biz Trends

A lot of agencies are getting this wrong. They outline their services, showcase their work but their weak or nonexistent calls to action are costing them leads.

I’ve reviewed hundreds of agency websites from a new business perspective. That’s part of what I do. Most fail to give prospects a clear direction on what to do next other than to contact info@youragency.com. They’re missing new business opportunities because they give little or no attention to creating a clear call to action of what they want their prospects to do next.

Your website visitors are looking for information and they’re looking for help. They’re researching ways to work with you. But, your readers busy and they don’t have the time to figure out what you want them to do as a first step. An effective CTA will eliminate the guesswork.

Secondly, why should they do it?

Answering the next question should emphasize the benefits. What is in it for them? What is their takeaway? How does this next step make their job easier?

Calls to action such as “Call for a free consultation” or “Sign up for our newsletter” doesn’t motivate your readers. The words “free consultation” has come to mean “sales pitch,” and “signing up for your newsletter” is giving you permission to sell stuff. Greg Digneo

The focus changes from the action itself to what the visitor gains from taking the action. Lead with benefits instead of your credentials and capabilities.

Here are a few additional tips for effective CTAs:

• Spend the majority of your writing time creating an appealing CTA headline. It’s that important.
• Calls to action should be short and straight to the point. The best CTA is usually the simplest.
• Using social proof, testimonials, case studies, etc, near your call to action can increase conversion rates by 68.7 %.
• Keep your calls to action above the fold. Website visitors don’t scroll down, they spend 80% of their time above the fold.
• Be sure to use your social network such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for your calls-to-action.
• I recommend to my clients that they use a dedicated landing pages that identifies an initial step for a new client. It could be a brand audit or market audit, a discovery workshop. If you’re looking to generate leads, a landing page is the critical tool you need to find success.
• Remember to make the next step for prospects as painless as possible. If your sign-up request is to long, 86% of visitors will quickly leave a page. A key mistake is asking visitors for too much personal info too soon.
• Instead of using info@youragency.com or the use of an inquiry form, allow prospects to connect directly with a person.

An additional resource that you might find helpful is Hubspot’s 101 Example of Effective Calls-To-Action

photo credit: call to action via photopin (license)

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A Call To Action for Ad Agency New Business

Samsung Responds To Investors’ Call For Change

South Korean electronics giant Samsung (SSNLF) has issued a response to pressure from investors seeking changes in the company. The company released a lengthy statement detailing how it was working to satisfy shareholders. In the statement, the company said it was looking at ways to optimize its long-term value. Investors have been calling for the […]
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Samsung Responds To Investors’ Call For Change