Why MiHoYo Game Content Leaks May Not Constitute Criminal Copyright Infringement in China?

(By You Yunting) Recently, Chinese media reported that the video game developer miHoYo had filed a criminal complaint that someone cracked its game testing client and leaked unreleased character designs online. Following a criminal investigation, the police detained the suspects and determined to prosecute them for the crime of copyright infringement, as the unauthorised disclosure not only infringed miHoYo’s copyrights but also satisfied the statutory threshold for criminal prosecution due to the substantial volume of online views. From the perspective of protecting corporate rights and combating online infringement, the prompt intervention of the police is understandable. However, from the standpoint of the principle of modesty and the principle of legality, it is worth examining whether this case is appropriate for criminal prosecution. In the author’s view, such an act is better addressed through civil remedies rather than criminal proceedings.

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Analysis on the Assumption of Liability in the Serv-U Infringement Lawsuit in China

(By Luo Yanjie) Serv-U is a kind of widely adopted FTP server terminal software, and its main function is to help the transmission of documents on websites. Because the software is relatively small and the normal user has no way to sense the server terminal, many domestic websites in China are now using pirated Serv-U. For this reason, Rhino Software Inc., the developer of Serv-U has been continuously fighting against the piracy of its software, a story which has recently been widely reported. The list of companies sued includes LockLock from South Korea, as well as Netac and eMule, among others. The compensation claimed in these cases ranges from half a million yuan to 1.99 million yuan.

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