From millions to hundreds of thousands, why Li Jiaqi's commercial value has plummeted

Compiled from: Tencent News, Qianjiang Evening News
 
Case review
As a well-known beauty blogger, "Lipstick King" Li Jiaqi is a signed talent under Meiwan (Shanghai) Network Technology Co., Ltd., with high exposure rates and tens of millions of followers across multiple platforms.

 
 

With the rise of live-streaming e-commerce, Li Jiaqi's exceptional sales ability and high social recognition have attracted the covetous attention of unscrupulous merchants.
 
In September last year, Bi and Lu registered and established Meiwan (Hangzhou) E-commerce Co., Ltd. and Jiaqi Film and Television Culture Development (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. in Hangzhou. Without authorization, they used Li Jiaqi's name to produce, promote, and sell "Li Jiaqi's Selection" self-heating instant food, convenience food, and snack series products, printing Li Jiaqi's portrait and name on the product packaging. Many consumers were misled into making purchases.
 
Shortly after the products entered the market, some loyal fans of Li Jiaqi discovered that this series of snacks was not produced by Li Jiaqi, but that the merchants had misappropriated his portrait, name, and other information. Fans gradually purchased some infringing products and mailed them to Li Jiaqi to assist him in protecting his rights.

 
 

In fact, Li Jiaqi has never cooperated with the aforementioned two companies.
 
In March this year, Li Jiaqi sued the two companies, demanding an immediate cessation of infringement, a formal apology, and compensation for economic losses and rights protection costs totaling 1.06 million yuan.
 
On August 26, the Hangzhou Xiaoshan Court heard the case of a personality rights dispute.
 
 
Relevant legal provisions
Article 110 of the General Principles of Civil Law
Natural persons enjoy rights such as the right to life, bodily integrity, health, name, portrait, reputation, honor, privacy, and marital autonomy. Legal persons and unincorporated organizations enjoy rights such as the right to name, reputation, and honor.
 
 
[1] Court Opinion
The court held that in this case, Li Jiaqi, as a well-known beauty blogger, has commercial value in his name and portrait. The two defendant companies, knowing that Li Jiaqi's name and portrait had commercial value, used his name and portrait without his consent in promotional materials, product names, product packaging, and commercial business cards for commercial operations. This behavior infringed on Li Jiaqi's right to name and portrait, and they should bear civil liability.
 
Regarding Li Jiaqi's claim for economic losses and维权 costs of 1.06 million yuan, the court held that since Li Jiaqi did not provide evidence to prove the losses suffered from the infringement or the benefits gained by the two defendants from it, the court, based on factors such as Li Jiaqi's fame, the degree of fault of the two defendants, the circumstances and duration of the infringement, the consequences of the damage, and the reasonable expenses incurred to stop the infringement, determined the economic losses to be 160,000 yuan.
 
On September 8, the court issued a judgment in the case, ordering Jiaqi Film and Television Culture Development (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. and Meiwan (Hangzhou) E-commerce Co., Ltd. to immediately cease all acts infringing on Li Jiaqi's right to portrait and name, recall and replace products and promotional materials using the plaintiff's portrait and name; issue a written clarification and apology to Li Jiaqi; Jiaqi Film and Television Culture Development (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. must immediately stop using the word "Jiaqi" in its company name; and compensate for economic losses of 160,000 yuan.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
In this case, Li Jiaqi, as a well-known beauty blogger, naturally has commercial value in his name and likeness. Moreover, given his current popularity and fame, he can rival many major celebrities, and the commercial value of his name and likeness should be higher than that of ordinary people. Therefore, many netizens believe that the court's ruling of 160,000 yuan in compensation is too low, arguing that such a low cost of infringement is insufficient to deter unscrupulous merchants from exploiting celebrity influence for profit.
 
In my view, first, the main forms of infringement of the right to a name include: unauthorized use of another's name; impersonating another's name, such as using someone else's name to steal educational opportunities; using another's name in illegal ways or in violation of public order and good customs, such as deliberately mispronouncing someone's name. The main forms of infringement of the right to a portrait include: unauthorized use of another's portrait without consent, such as in advertisements. In this case, although the defendant used Li Jiaqi's name without permission and placed his portrait on product packaging, which indeed infringed on Li Jiaqi's right to a name and portrait, Li Jiaqi, as the victim, also needed to provide evidence of losses incurred from the infringement. Since Li Jiaqi did not provide specific losses or evidence of the defendant's gains from the infringement, the court found it difficult to accurately measure the compensation. Therefore, the court ultimately considered multiple factors and ruled a compensation of 160,000 yuan. In this case, Li Jiaqi sought 1.06 million yuan in compensation, but the court only awarded 160,000 yuan. Although the result fell far short of expectations, it still legally protected Li Jiaqi's rights.
 
Thus, when facing infringement, it is not only important to quickly take legal action, but also crucial to collect and preserve evidence. Otherwise, even if the court confirms the infringement, the economic compensation may not be ideal.