AmoGood (谷阿莫), a Taiwanese YouTuber known for his irreverent movie reviews, has found himself in a legal battle after being sued for copyright infringement.
Video streaming platform KKTV Co and film company Autoai Design on Monday said that they are suing AmoGood for infringing on their intellectual property rights by using images from their films without notifying them in advance.
KKTV executive Yang Chih-kuang (楊志光) yesterday accused AmoGood of reproducing and spreading unauthorized content and for failing to give attribution when using images from the South Korean TV series W, which it distributed in Taiwan.
Photo: screen grab from YouTube
AmoGood has knowingly spread unauthorized content on YouTube, Facebook, Weibo and other online platforms, Yang said.
Yang declined to comment on the amount of damages sought, saying that the case has entered judicial proceedings.
Autoai Design said AmoGood has used images from at least four films that it has distributed and has affected the films box office receipts by making them “sound boring.”
AmoGood, whose YouTube channel has more than 987,000 subscribers, produces short videos using scenes from films while he sums up the plot, often in an offbeat and irreverent manner.
AmoGood on Monday defended his videos online, saying that he believes they do not violate the principle of fair use under copyright law, which allows people to use copyrighted materials for commentary, research, news reporting and other purposes without having to obtain permission from the copyright holder.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that it has started an investigation and that police searched AmoGood’s company on Wednesday.
Chang Chung-hsin (章忠信), a academic who specializes in intellectual property law, said that if AmoGood’s short videos are intended to mock and ridicule the original film, then he has a better chance of arguing that his videos are in line with Article 52 of the Copyright Act (著作權法), which stipulates that, within a reasonable scope, works can be quoted where necessary for comment or other legitimate purposes.
“However, if the videos are merely short film synopses, it will be harder for the YouTuber to claim fair use,” Chang said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS