Countercurrent 1982

Chapter 1711 The Sony Case

In the next two days, the CES exhibition is still in full swing.

However, compared with the grand occasion on the first day, the flow of people began to drop sharply in the next few days, but at the same time, many dealers have already started to contact and negotiate with manufacturers to negotiate product orders.

Although the VCD and 486 computer of Tianyin Electronics attracted the attention of many people, there were not many dealers who came to Duan Yun for cooperation afterwards, and the effect Duan Yun expected was not achieved.

The main reason for this is that the playback effect of VCD is still not better than that of video recorders. American manufacturers willing to seek cooperation are only interested in the extremely low price of VCD products. In addition, VCD is suitable for large-screen TVs, such as 20 ~ On a 25-inch TV, the playback effect is better than that of a video recorder, and the performance is comparable to that of an expensive laser disc player. It is precisely because of this that it has attracted the attention of some dealers.

After several rounds of negotiations, the conditions offered by the American dealers did not satisfy Duan Yun. On the one hand, they lowered the price to a very low level, and they were only willing to pay about US$350 for each unit, which was a full US$100 less than the price offered by Duan Yun. , almost the same as the cost price. On the other hand, they asked Duan Yun to transfer the VCD patent rights, and they were only willing to provide an export order of less than 10 units, which was obviously unacceptable to Duan Yun.

In Duan Yun's view, these businessmen in the United States are a bit too shrewd, and during the negotiation process, they seem to regard a small number of orders as a reward to officials, and they speak arrogantly, obviously looking down on Chinese companies.

This couldn't help but make Duan Yun feel a little funny, but he didn't turn his back on him face to face, but politely rejected the other party's request.

Although the CES exhibition is an influential exhibition in the world, at present, when the relevant media has not had time to report on the world, many participating products have not rapidly expanded their popularity, and Americans still have nothing to do with VCD products. Know.

Therefore, in Duan Yun's view, as long as the media in the United States, Europe and other countries can promote VCD, sooner or later, more and bigger dealers will come to seek cooperation.

However, this trip to the United States also made Duan Yun see the difficulty of promoting VCD products in the United States, not only because of the problems of the product itself, but also because of many other important problems that need to be resolved.

The most difficult problem is exactly how to solve the provision of VCD disc content.

The main reason why VCD was popular in China back then was because of the prevalence of a large number of pirated discs. The entry of cheap video discs into the mainland market was an important factor that really quickly promoted the sales of VCDs, but in the United States, this is almost impossible. .

The United States has very strict protection of audio-visual patents. When Japanese video recorders entered the American market, they also faced difficulties.

The Sony case that appeared in the 70s reflected the legal ruling made by the United States on the intellectual property rights of audio-visual equipment such as video recorders, and it is precisely because of this that video recorders were widely popularized in the United States.

At the end of the 70s, Sony Corporation of Japan began to sell a video recorder named bebamax in the United States. This video recorder can record the program being watched through the TV, and can also record while watching a channel through the built-in contactor. The content of another channel can also automatically record the program of a specified channel according to the preset time through the timer player when the audience is not at home. In addition, this video recorder of Sony also has the function of pause and fast forward. When the audience is watching and recording, they can press pause to avoid recording the advertisements. When playing the video tape, they can press the fast forward button to skip the advertisements. This is great for content manufacturers and advertisers. Loss.

In 1976, U.S. Universal Film Production Company and Disney Production Company sued Sony Corporation in the District Court of the Central District of California, arguing that consumers used this video recorder to record their copyrighted movies without permission, which constituted copyright infringement.

While Sony manufactures and sells the VCR for the sole purpose of citing purchasers for recording television programs, including the movies it makes, it should act as a way to help infringers hold consumers accountable for copyright infringement, and the two studios seek damages Compensation, including Sony's profits from the sale of the recorder, and an injunction against the manufacture and sale of the recorder.

The final result was that on January 1984, 1, the U.S. Supreme Court made a financial judgment on the Universal Film Production Company sued Sony case with a majority of 18:5: in order to change the viewing time in the family, the use of video to record TV programs constitutes For the "fair use" of copyright works, Sony's sale of video recorders with substantial non-infringing purposes does not constitute contributory infringement. , a decision on two complex issues in copyright law.

The rules of fair use and contributing to infringement in the Sony case had a far-reaching impact in the following 20 years. Because Sony solved the copyright issues caused by high technology, in the following years, the United States related to online copyright infringement. Among the major lawsuits, the Sony case has become the object frequently cited by the parties in their arguments and in the court's judgments.

Back then, the Japanese video recorders attracted so many lawsuits just because they added a recording function. It is conceivable that if Duan Yun wanted to bring pirated VCD discs into the American market, the copyright fee he might have to pay would reach one Astronomical figures, and I will definitely face very serious criminal punishment in the United States. Unless I don't set foot in the United States for the rest of my life, I can spend my life in prison.

However, this kind of thing is not without a solution. VCD discs can be distributed by copyright organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America, and they only need to provide blank discs. In this way, the problem of copyright infringement can be avoided.

Although Duan Yun did not quickly find a suitable American partner, his trip to Las Vegas allowed him to meet many European media friends.

On the last day of the CES exhibition, Duan Yun rented a room on the top floor of the most expensive Palms Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, USA, for US$18, and hosted 80 guests from the United States, Europe and other countries. Many media reporters from radio stations, TV stations, newspapers and magazines.

A hotel worth 18 US dollars a night was beyond their imagination. Even in European and American countries, except for the rich and famous, few people could afford such an expensive hotel. But for Duan Yun Said that he wanted Tianyin Group and its own products to quickly increase the popularity in European and American countries, and spending a lot of money was the simplest and most direct way...

(End of this chapter)