Page 146 - 2017 White Paper
P. 146
7 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
across the country and has a high reference value for million yuan. Beijing High People’s Court sustained the
handling similar cases. judgment of the first instance.
Chen Zhe v. Yu Zheng 2. Comment
1. Case brief The case aroused a lot of attention in China. The
judgment was based on the standard of “substantial
Chen Zhe, pen name, Qiong Yao, completed the similarity” for literature and instructed how to distinguish
script Stigma of Plum Blossom, which was not published between the concepts of thought and expression in the
in hardcopy form. Yiren Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (“Yiren selection of plot and how the plot is expressed via the
Company”) shot the TV series Stigma of Plum Blossom chosen medium. The result of the case characterizes
according to the script Stigma of Plum Blossom with China’s growing protection of copyrighted material and
21 episodes and broadcast the first time in Taiwan on should encourage creativity in the film and television
October 13th 1993 and in Mainland China on April 13th industry.
1994 (HNTV). The content of the TV series were highly
consistent with the script. Blizzard Entertainment Shanghai
Wangzhiyi Technology Development Co.,
The novel Stigma of Plum Blossom was adapted from Ltd. v. Chengdu Qiyou Technology Co., Ltd.
the script Stigma of Plum Blossom and was completed on
June 30th 1993. It was released in Taiwan on September 1. Case Brief
15th 1993 and in Mainland China in the same year. The
main plots were basically consistent with the script of Blizzard Entertainment was the copyright owner of
Stigma of Plum Blossom. The author of the novel Stigma the massively popular videogame World of Warcraft,
of Plum Blossom was Che Zhen. Yu Zheng was the author and Shanghai Wangzhiyi Technology Development Co.,
of the script “The Place: The Lost Daughter”. The script Ltd. was the exclusive operator of the game in mainland
spawned 20 episodes in total and was completed on July China. The two Plaintiffs sued Chengdu Qiyou Technology
17th 2012 and was initially published on April 8th 2014. Co., Ltd. (“Qiyou Company”) on the basis of copyright
The TV series “The Place: The Lost Daughter” was shot infringement. Qiyou Company was operated by Beijing
according to the script“The Place: The Lost Daughter”. The Fenbo Times Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Fenbo Times
script “The Place: The Lost Daughter” had two versions: Company”) and was offering a game by the name of
one uncut that was broadcasted on the internet in 44 Warcraft for download with the assistance of Guangzhou
episodes, and one broadcast on television on HNTV on Dongjing Computer Technology Co., Ltd. (“Dongjing
April 8th 2014. The script of“The Place: The Lost Daughter” Company”). Fenbo Times Company’s actions constituted
was comparable to the script of Stigma of Plum Blossom, unfair competition, for the game it was offering for
the former possessing a stronger relationship between download used the same name and art style that was
the characters and a more complex storyline. being used by the Plaintiffs in World of Warcraft. The two
Plaintiffs requested an injunction to stop the Defendants
Chen Zhe claimed that the infringing contents mainly from infringing upon its copyright and for damages
focused on the first half of the script “The Place: The Lost totaling 10 million yuan. The Guangzhou Intellectual
Daughter”. Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court Property Right Court granted the injunction and the
determined that Yu Zheng, etc. had infringed upon the defendant’s request for reconsideration was denied.
right to adaptation and ordered the various producers
of the TV series “The Place: The Lost Daughter” to 2. Comment
immediately stop copying, releasing, and broadcasting
the television series. The scriptwriter Yu Zheng published This case is an example of strict adherence to the
a letter of apology in noticeable places including Sina, law in terms of granting an injunction. The Court noted
Sohu, LETV and IFENG, and made a public apology to the granting of the injunction was “active and cautious,
Chen Zhe. Yu Zheng and the various producers jointly reasonable and valid” and considered whether the
compensated Chen Zhe for his economic losses and Plaintiffs would suffer irreparable damages if the injunction
reasonable expenses for litigation in the amount of five was not granted. The fact that the infringing game was
clearly diverting traffic from the Plaintiffs’ videogame in
146
across the country and has a high reference value for million yuan. Beijing High People’s Court sustained the
handling similar cases. judgment of the first instance.
Chen Zhe v. Yu Zheng 2. Comment
1. Case brief The case aroused a lot of attention in China. The
judgment was based on the standard of “substantial
Chen Zhe, pen name, Qiong Yao, completed the similarity” for literature and instructed how to distinguish
script Stigma of Plum Blossom, which was not published between the concepts of thought and expression in the
in hardcopy form. Yiren Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (“Yiren selection of plot and how the plot is expressed via the
Company”) shot the TV series Stigma of Plum Blossom chosen medium. The result of the case characterizes
according to the script Stigma of Plum Blossom with China’s growing protection of copyrighted material and
21 episodes and broadcast the first time in Taiwan on should encourage creativity in the film and television
October 13th 1993 and in Mainland China on April 13th industry.
1994 (HNTV). The content of the TV series were highly
consistent with the script. Blizzard Entertainment Shanghai
Wangzhiyi Technology Development Co.,
The novel Stigma of Plum Blossom was adapted from Ltd. v. Chengdu Qiyou Technology Co., Ltd.
the script Stigma of Plum Blossom and was completed on
June 30th 1993. It was released in Taiwan on September 1. Case Brief
15th 1993 and in Mainland China in the same year. The
main plots were basically consistent with the script of Blizzard Entertainment was the copyright owner of
Stigma of Plum Blossom. The author of the novel Stigma the massively popular videogame World of Warcraft,
of Plum Blossom was Che Zhen. Yu Zheng was the author and Shanghai Wangzhiyi Technology Development Co.,
of the script “The Place: The Lost Daughter”. The script Ltd. was the exclusive operator of the game in mainland
spawned 20 episodes in total and was completed on July China. The two Plaintiffs sued Chengdu Qiyou Technology
17th 2012 and was initially published on April 8th 2014. Co., Ltd. (“Qiyou Company”) on the basis of copyright
The TV series “The Place: The Lost Daughter” was shot infringement. Qiyou Company was operated by Beijing
according to the script“The Place: The Lost Daughter”. The Fenbo Times Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Fenbo Times
script “The Place: The Lost Daughter” had two versions: Company”) and was offering a game by the name of
one uncut that was broadcasted on the internet in 44 Warcraft for download with the assistance of Guangzhou
episodes, and one broadcast on television on HNTV on Dongjing Computer Technology Co., Ltd. (“Dongjing
April 8th 2014. The script of“The Place: The Lost Daughter” Company”). Fenbo Times Company’s actions constituted
was comparable to the script of Stigma of Plum Blossom, unfair competition, for the game it was offering for
the former possessing a stronger relationship between download used the same name and art style that was
the characters and a more complex storyline. being used by the Plaintiffs in World of Warcraft. The two
Plaintiffs requested an injunction to stop the Defendants
Chen Zhe claimed that the infringing contents mainly from infringing upon its copyright and for damages
focused on the first half of the script “The Place: The Lost totaling 10 million yuan. The Guangzhou Intellectual
Daughter”. Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court Property Right Court granted the injunction and the
determined that Yu Zheng, etc. had infringed upon the defendant’s request for reconsideration was denied.
right to adaptation and ordered the various producers
of the TV series “The Place: The Lost Daughter” to 2. Comment
immediately stop copying, releasing, and broadcasting
the television series. The scriptwriter Yu Zheng published This case is an example of strict adherence to the
a letter of apology in noticeable places including Sina, law in terms of granting an injunction. The Court noted
Sohu, LETV and IFENG, and made a public apology to the granting of the injunction was “active and cautious,
Chen Zhe. Yu Zheng and the various producers jointly reasonable and valid” and considered whether the
compensated Chen Zhe for his economic losses and Plaintiffs would suffer irreparable damages if the injunction
reasonable expenses for litigation in the amount of five was not granted. The fact that the infringing game was
clearly diverting traffic from the Plaintiffs’ videogame in
146
