Abstract:
On September 3, according to Blue Whale News, some netizens recently posted a "Welcome back old users" email sent by "Renren Film and Television" to old users. The email said, "We can finally meet on the APP." At present, "Renren Film and Television" has been renamed "Renren Film and Television Share Wonders", and the relevant APP can be downloaded from the iOS App Store, Android Store and other channels. The APP information shows that the size of the application is 94.0MB, and the applicable age is 16 years and above. The publishing company of this APP is Wasu Media Network Co., Ltd.
Jieme News downloaded the APP and found that the page showed that a 7-day membership was given away, and the subsequent monthly membership fee was 25 yuan/month. At the same time, there is also a special "Return Benefit for Old Users" on the "My" page. You can receive the return gift package for old users by filling in the activation code sent by email.
On the homepage of the APP, you can see that film and television programs are divided into American dramas, British dramas, Korean dramas and Japanese dramas. At present, "Everyone's Movies and TV Sharing Wonders" still mainly focuses on foreign film and television works. The homepage recommendations include "Football Coach Season 4", "Four Hands", "Green Lantern Corps" and other popular foreign film and television works.
The APP currently has a score of 4.9 in the Apple App Store. Some users left messages saying that "the official version of Renren Film and Television is finally here", while others said that they "downloaded it with feelings". Many users also expressed their welcome to the return of Renren Film and Television.
According to current news reports, staff from Renren Film and Television said that the project had been prepared for a long time, and now it is officially launched. In cooperation with Wasu Media, the film sources on the APP are all genuine purchases.
As a very representative and iconic platform in the field of domestic Internet film and television content, Renren Film and Television was formerly a private subtitle group. In its early years, it accumulated a large number of loyal users with its timely translation of overseas dramas and clear resource classification. It has also been at the center of industry disputes for a long time due to copyright issues.
The predecessor of Renren Subtitle Group, "YYeTs Subtitle Group", started in 2003. It was initially composed of a group of online translation enthusiasts. In 2006, Liang Liang and others established the "YYeTs" website, which mainly provides free download services for subtitles of overseas film and television works. With the rapid increase in the number of users and pageviews, the website has gradually become a well-known subtitle group website in China.
Since 2018, the Renren Film and Television Subtitle Group has operated and developed multiple websites and clients. It has set up and rented servers at home and abroad in its own name, and downloaded film sources or directly recorded them through overseas piracy forum websites without the authorization of the copyright owner. It hired Xie Moujia and others to organize translators to translate, proofread, and then upload them to the server after suppression, thereby providing users with online viewing and downloading services, and collecting website membership fees in the name of accepting "donations."
On September 8, 2020, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau launched an investigation into copyright infringement by the Renren Film and Television subtitle group.
In February 2021, the Shanghai police issued a notice and uncovered a major cross-provincial case of copyright infringement of film and television works by the "Renren Film and Television Subtitle Group", involving more than 16 million yuan. The police arrested 14 suspects headed by Liang, investigated and dealt with 3 companies involved, and seized 20 mobile phones and 12 computer hosts and servers used in the crime. In November of the same year, the court sentenced the defendant Liang to three years and six months in prison for copyright infringement and fined him 1.5 million yuan. This case has also become a landmark event in the field of domestic copyright protection, directly pushing the entire private subtitle group industry into a comprehensive compliance adjustment stage.
On November 22, 2021, Liang Yongping, the founder of Renren Film and Television Subtitle Group, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison by the Shanghai People’s Procuratorate for copyright infringement and a fine of RMB 1.5 million.
In August 2024, one month after regaining his freedom, Liang Liang (also known as Liang Yongping), the founder of Renren Film and Television, released a personal apology video on the official Weibo of Renren Film and Television Subtitles.
In the video, Liang Liang said that Renren Film and Television was founded and destroyed by himself. After three and a half years of education and reflection, he has become deeply aware of his own problems and mistakes, and apologized to the public for the negative impact he caused. He revealed that he has been free for about a month, and has recently been busy retrieving and cleaning out his old things, and is preparing to sell hard drives, computers and other equipment second-hand, including two i9 CPU hosts, 6 Dell R720 host servers, 20 8TB SAS hard drives, 56 6TB SAS hard drives, Dell MD1100 array cabinets, special air conditioners for computer rooms, 10G optical switches, enterprise-class routers, etc.
He said, "All the data was recovered. I was filled with emotion when I saw these data. I have collected resources for more than ten years... Unfortunately, I don't have the copyright, so I stared at the screen for a long time, and finally decisively cleared all the data. This hardware is actually useless, and now I want to get rid of it."
In the time since then, Renren Film and Television has never returned to the public eye in a formal capacity, and many old users are still discussing its follow-up trends on various social platforms.
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