No Infringement of SONY TV’s Unauthorized Cartoon Playing

By Luo Yanjie

In our past post “How Sony Can Avoid Copyright Risk”, we gave our legal opinion in the copyright infringement charged against SONY. And in that case, SONY integrated the function of networking in a type of its TV products, by which the consumer could watch the cartoon produced by an animation company after registering its TV and the application for an account on an appointed websites under the instruction of SONY. The animation company sued SONY and the website in Beijing after detaining the infringement.

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Suggestions from Chinese Writer on the Modification on Copyright Law

The modification on China Copyright Law is under preparation, and as news reports, for the promote of internet prosperity and infringement combat, Ms. Zhang Kangkang, the vice president of Chinese Writers Association and China Literary Copyright Protection Association suggested on the law modification recently:

I. To legally determine the fault ascertainment standard of Safe Harbor Rule

Ms. Zhang suggested to drafted the standard of “known or shall be known” as the legal standard of the ISP fault ascertainment, meanwhile, the obligation of ISP shall also be listed in the modified law while no too high obligation shall be set.

Bridge IP Law Commentary’s opinion: There’s no legal standard on the ascertainment of ISP fault in Copyright Law, with the standard is referred to partly in the Article 36 of Infringement liability law, “Where no measures have been taken by IPS on knowing the infringement or violation by users against others, the ISP shall take the joint liability with the infringer.”

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Legal Commentary on the case of Founder VS P&G and Chinese Character, II

—Analysis on the law Nature of the Works of Word Stock

Today’s essay follows “Legal Commentary on the case of Founder VS P&G and Chinese Character, I”

(2) The Founder Word Stock is the composite works

The Stock here refers to the Founder Word Stock composing all the individual words in it rather than the stock software. The new works come from the selection or arrangement of the existing works is called the composite works. In our opinion, it’s necessary for Founder to apply the copyright registration for the whole Stock since only focusing on the determination of the copyrighted works over the Stock Software or the individual words is not enough. And such registration could benefit the protection over the Stock against any other infringement, such as to print a book or magazine in the script in the Stock with no license.

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Legal Commentary on the copyright infringement case of Founder Electronics VS P&G, I

—Analysis on the law Nature of the Works of Chinese Character Word Stock

Highlight: Today and tomorrow, Bridge IP Law Commentary will introduce and analyze you the case of script copyright conflict between Founder and P&G, and also the system of word stock works behind the case. And the following is the first half—the introduction on the case and the part analysis on the nature of the works of word stock.

On the morning of 5th July, 2011, the appeal of the Founder Electronics (HKEX:0418, 0618) was rejected by the No.1 Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing in its case of the script copyright conflict against P&G (NYSE: PG), and the decision of the first hearing was supported. The final judgment maintains an ambiguous attitude towards the determination of “飘柔”, the localized name of the Rejoice brand of P&G , to be a fine art works, neither to support it or opposite it.

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How Sony Can Avoid Copyright Risk?

Highlights: The article analyzes the case that SONY sued for the infringing content of internet Video-On-Demand service integrated in TV set and the provisions of port principles in China Copyright Law.

It is reported that SONY (TYO: 6758, NYSE: SNE), along with a VOD website, was sued by a Chinese cartoon company (the “copyright owner”), and Beijing Dongcheng District People’s Court has accepted the suit.

As news­ reports, the copyright owner claimed that SONY integrated the internet unicast service software in certain type of its TV set. Furthermore, with SONY’s TV set instruction, the consumer could watch the content of infringing program after registering the serial number of TV online and an account with a website in sequence.

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