Category Archives: Protection

Is It Illegal for Microsoft to Use Firefox with Firebug Plugin in Evidence Preservation in China?

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According to news reports, Microsoft along with Autodesk, filed a lawsuit in the Foshan Intermediate Court (note: the link is in Chinese) against a renowned company admitted in Foshan City, claiming computer software copyright infringement. The plaintiffs stated that the accused company had been using their software without any licenses or approvals. Based on this, the plaintiffs demanded compensation of RMB 8 million yuan, elimination of influence, cessation of infringement, and an apology. This case is not black and white and the court certainly has its own opinions, but today I would like to take this chance to discuss how to determine the legitimacy of evidence collection in cases of computer software infringement.

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Tonghuashun VS. Wind and the Judgment Standards for Software Copyright Infringement in China

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(By Luo Yanjie) Recently, Wind Information Co., Ltd (“Wind Info”), a well-known stock speculation software developer in mainland China, made an official announcement that it would sue its competitor Zhejiang Hexin Tonghuashun (300033) to seek RMB 99.22 million yuan in compensation. According to Wind’s spokesman, “more than ninety-nine percent of its software’s function has been copied by Tonghuashun without any changes, including data, organizational structure, column names, connection mode, index, function, text interpretation, parameters, interface, operation or transfer method, and etc.” At present, the ninety-nine percent figure claimed by the spokesman refers to the interface, operation, or transfer method and database. Even if this claim is true, it is still not certain that Tonghuashun has infringed because the judgment of infringement depends on comparison of the source code of both parties’ software. Today, we would like to share the following information on the protection of software copyrights:

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Which Copyright Should Internet TV Operators Purchase?

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Analysis on the Prohibition of Xiaomi Box and Legal Issues Concerning Internet TV

(By You Yunting) Recently, Xiaomi Tech (the “Xiaomi”), a thriving Chinese smart phone maker, released its “Xiaomi Box” (the “Box”), which enables the user to play online video on their television. Moreover, it also supports TV, games, music, and photos. Strangely, however, the Box ceased its video service under the claim of system maintenance only one week after its release.

According to some media reports (note: the link is in Chinese), the Box is a kind of set top box, and according to the rules of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (“SARFT”), such products must first be administratively approved before they can be used in online TV. Despite the cooperation made with WASU, other content available from Xiaomi’s box, such as video from Sohu, Tencent, PPTV, or iFeng are against Notice No. 181 issued by SARFT, which regulates that each set top box can only provide content from licensed video providers.

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How to Judge the Copyright Holder of Musical Works

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 (By Luo Yanjie) Previously, we introduced how to determine the copyright holder of cinematographic works, and today we would like to continue by introducing how to determine copyright ownership of musical works. Similar to cinematographic works, we have confronted situations in infringement cases in which it is difficult to determine the copyright holder of musical work. For example, in one case the copyright conducted in mainland China was licensed by an overseas rights holder, but the name in the signed and issued license was different from what was written on the original CD. Although the issue might have come from a mistake in the translation, it still created a real obstacle for the rights holder. Now, let’s take a look on the way to determine the copyright holder of musical work in China.

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How to Judge the Copyright Holder of Cinematographic Work in China?

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(By Luo Yanjie) In a previous infringement case against cinematographic we handled, the plaintiff submitted several articles of evidence to the court, which showed that the work belonged to different copyright holders: according to a certificate issued by the Hong Kong Copyright Center, it was Copyrighter A’s property while the subtitle authorship rights belonged to Copyrighter B. And yet, as demonstrated by a license agreement, C shall be the exclusive holder of the copyright. That made the plaintiff argue for his ownership of the copyright. In fact, due to the complexity in determining copyright ownership, contradictory disputes like the one described above are quite common in actual practice. In today’s post we will share our understanding of the issue.

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How Long Is the Copyright Protection Period of Foreign Companies and Individuals in China?

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By You Yunting

A reader asked: Does Chinese law protects the copyrights of foreign companies and individuals? And, how long is the protection period? Today’s post will discuss this question.

I. The three requirements for granting copyrights to the works of foreign individuals or companies

Whether or not the work of a foreign person, company, or stateless person enjoys the copyright protection period depends on whether or not they qualify as a Chinese copyright holder. By Article 2 of China’s Copyright Law, one of the following three conditions must be met:

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Chinese Tech Websites Begin to Pay More Attention to the Copyright of Translated Work

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By You Yunting

The competition among Chinese tech websites is fierce, and in order to gain an advantage in the battle, many translate essays from American blogs into Chinese and publish them on their websites without permission from the author. Recently, apple4.us, a China-based tech blog, announced they will no longer translate essays without authorization. Furthermore, they will withdraw all past unauthorized translations and ask permission from the authors.

Here is the whole story: Lawrence Li (李如一), an author for apple4.us, translated What Is and Is Not a Technology Company by Alex Payne without authorization and posted it on apple4.us. An editor of Donews, a tech blog under Qianxiang, asked Mr. Li and another apple4.us writer, Hu Wei, for authorization to reproduce the translated essay. Despite never giving confirmation, Mr. Lee later found that Donews had reproduced the essay.

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Unauthorized Derivative Work Still Receives Protection Under China’s Copyright Law

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By Luo Yanjie

The copyright holder of Pleasant Goat (喜羊羊), a popular Chinese cartoon figure, recently brought actions against the unauthorized use of the character in Flash games on several game websites. According to Chinese copyright law, the copyright holder must give permission to use art in a game, otherwise it will result in infringement. This is easily understood. But, if such an unauthorized game is then used on another website without the original developer’s consent, does this infringe the interests of the game developer? Today’s post will discuss this problem. In my opinion, even if the game developer used the cartoon character to create software without authorization from the copyright holder, the software still receives protection under the Copyright Law, but its protection has definite limits.

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Is It Lawful for News Websites to Demand Payment of Fees for Google and Baidu Searches

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(By You Yunting) According to a report in the New York Times, as also reported by some European websites, Google is recompiling its searched news results as a news page. It may be said that this method could infringe the copyright of the original publishing websites and, as a result, Google should pay fees for the websites. This idea has received support from both the French and German Governments, yet Google believes that its behavior fully conforms to the law, and thus should not have to pay any fees. In China, the main search engines Google and Baidu provide this kind of news search service, and today’s post will discuss whether it is lawful for news websites to claim fees from the search engines.

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Introduction to Copyright Protect on Clothing Design in China

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By Luo Yanjie

The clothing has been long seen the most afflicted field of IPR infringement, and in addition to the common trademark infringement, the pass off on the design or model developed by others is also ubiquitous. To pass off the design of the clothing is of no way to be protected by trademark law, for which shall be covered by the copyright law. Considering the clothing itself is not the statutory protective object in law, how to protect the design of clothing is also among the long argued topics. In today’s post, we would discuss over the issue.

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Is It Illegal to Unlock or Jailbreak iPhone and iPad in China?

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By You Yunting

A friend asked me a question: why by the latest USA legislature, to unlock iPhone shall be against the law, while it is permitted by law to do so for iPad? This question is complicated on essence, and it actually involves two restrictions designed by Apple on its devices.

On the initial launch of iPhone, the exclusive operating partner of Apple for its new device in USA was AT&T, and therefore it built the capability into the phone so as to ensure only the AT&T would be service network. Later on, as detained a slow internet speed, such a SIM lock was soon been unlocked, and from then on other operator could serve the users with iPhone.

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Supreme Court Loosened Procedural Standards of Evidences Collected Outside China

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By Luo Yanjie

The so-called overseas evidences refer to those evidences developed outside China. In IPR cases, for most right holders are admitted in foreign countries, we have seen a high chance of overseas evidences’ showing up. By Article 11 of Rules on Civil Evidences (the “Rules”):

“If the evidence submitted by the party is developed outside P. R. China, they shall be notarized by the authority where it is collected, and be witnessed by Chinese Embassy or Consulate there; or to be verified through the procedures agreed in the convention between the country and China”.

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Analysis on Copyright Risks of Duowan YY Music

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By Luo Yanjie

According to a recent news report (note: the link is in Chinese), the Huanju Inc (namely duowan.com), the holding company of YY.com submitted the prospectus to SEC of USA, applying for the IPO in NASDAQ for $ 100 million funding, and the code of it is YY. As indicated in the prospectus, the achievements of YY music have been the most bling-bling part. YY music is actually the music channel of YY instant messenger, introduced in March of 2011, and mainly broadcasting live shows of music performance. The performer could interact with the spectators by Karaoke, singing match or live videos. Furthermore, amounts of virtual products are available on YY music, which could be got on payment or as gifts. Yet to the statement of someone skilled in the art, the mode of YY music is facing the copyright risk. Today’s post would share our opinions on the issue.

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Key Points to Foreign Company’s IPR Litigation Preparation in China

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By Luo Yanjie

With the development of economy, China pays more and more attention to the protection of intellectual property. But whether the patent, trademark or copyright, a lot of high value intellectual property rights belong to foreign companies. Facing the still serious infringing situation, the civil lawsuit is still the most common and reliable means to strike infringement. As for foreign investors, what deserves the attention when preparing lawsuit materials? Today we would like to share the topic with readers as follows:

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