Online video sharing: an alternative channel for film distribution? Copyright enforcement, censorship, and Chinese independent cinema

Regarding piracy as a crime of stealing copyright holders’ rightful profits, many creative industries, such as the film, music, and gaming industries, are battling for tough administrative and legal enforcement against copyright infringement. However, there is a counterargument that piracy could benefit copyright holders in the form of free promotion. Given China’s tough censorship on film content, this paper investigates how online piracy complicates the distribution of independent films in China. The advance of cyber technology and high-speed Internet access has not only fuelled the spread of online film sharing but also encouraged public participation in the debate of the complex relationship between piracy, copyright, and censorship. Taking Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin (2013) as a case study, this paper evaluates the alternative business models for Chinese independent cinema as put forward by Chinese netizens