(Yicai Global) April 27 -- China's intellectual property authorities will increase their scrutiny over user-generated videos involving copyrighted content.

The National Copyright Administration of China will crack down on short videos to stop unauthorized editing and publishing of TV series, movies, and music videos, Yu Cike, director at a copyright bureau under the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, said on April 25.

"Works shall not be disseminated and used without permission," said Yu. "This is a basic principle stipulated by the Copyright Law. Absolutely, the principle also applies to film and TV series."

The NCA will improve its complaint handling mechanism, and encourage entertainment companies to jointly manage movie copyright issues, said Yu.

Anti-Piracy Initiative

The sector has been plagued by piracy. Over 70 movie and TV institutions, including the China Television Art Exchange Association and the China Television Drama Production Industry Association, as well as more than 500 professionals in the field, published an initiative on April 23 to fight IP violations caused by short videos.

Those who simply upload original clips of movies and TV shows on platforms such as Douyin, Kuaishou, and Bilibili cannot survive in the future as they need to add their own creative input, a person who makes short videos told Yicai Global. But the government hasn't introduced specific regulations on editing such content, the person added.

However, new blockbusters are not likely to disappear from short-video platforms. Movie and film producers need these popular platforms for marketing, according to industry insiders.

Moreover, movie buffs and Netflix fans like the concise format. Sometimes it is convenient to watch a five-minute video so that one can focus on the highlights while getting a picture of what happened during the whole episode as that saves time, a consumer told Yicai Global.

The tightening regulation could benefit firms that own platforms for both short and long videos, according to China Industrial Securities International Financial Group. For example, Tencent’s short-video platform WeSee could make use of Tencent Video's longer works, allowing for differentiated content from Douyin and Kuaishou.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi