Commercial competition plagiarized the Ejiao Beauty Illustration, court ruled it infringed upon the copyright of the work

[2] Compiled from: Lixia District, Jinan City [5] People's Court [3] , China Intellectual Property News
 
Case review
In March 2007, the Shandong Provincial Copyright Bureau registered the copyright of the artistic work titled “Ancient Glue-Boiling Scene” in favor of Dong'e Ejiao Co., Ltd., with the company being both the author and the copyright owner. The work primarily consists of: one image depicting multiple people boiling ejiao in front of a large cauldron, referred to as the glue-boiling image; and another image depicting the tasting of ejiao, referred to as the glue-tasting image. Subsequently, Dong'e Ejiao Co., Ltd. obtained registered trademarks for the glue-tasting image and the glue-boiling image, both of which remain within their valid terms to date. During the trial, the plaintiff submitted a set of certificates to prove that the plaintiff had received a series of honors, including “Shandong Famous Brand.”

 
 

In December 2019, the plaintiff applied to a certain notary office for notarization of evidence preservation. Subsequently, the notary office sent two notaries to accompany the plaintiff's entrusted agent to a supermarket in Huaiyin District, Jinan City. The plaintiff's entrusted agent selected and purchased a box of ejiao, paid via Alipay, and obtained one printed receipt and three fixed-amount invoices. The manufacturer indicated on the packaging box was a certain food company in Changzhou. The notaries took photographs of the scene and the purchased items, and sealed the relevant items. Upon comparison, the decorative images on the packaging box of the accused infringing product were basically consistent with the character images and actions in the plaintiff's works involved in the case. During the trial, the defendant, a certain food company in Changzhou, produced a Product Removal Notice dated August 2020, stating that it required all sales units to remove the products involved in the case from shelves, and issued a sales list and an inventory quantity list, which the plaintiff did not accept.
 
 
[1] Relevant laws and regulations
[5] "Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 11 Copyright shall belong to the author, except as otherwise provided in this Law.
 
"Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Disputes over Copyright"
Article 7: Manuscripts, originals, legally published works, copyright registration certificates, certificates issued by certification bodies, contracts for obtaining rights, and other materials related to copyright provided by the parties may be used as evidence.
 
 
[1] Court Opinion
The Jinan Lixia District People's Court ruled that the defendant, a Changzhou food company, and a Jinan supermarket must immediately cease infringing the plaintiff Dong'e Ejiao Company's copyright in the "Ancient Glue-Boiling Scene" artwork on ejiao beverage products, and remove the "Ancient Glue-Boiling Scene" artwork from the allegedly infringing products in inventory. The defendant Changzhou food company was ordered to compensate the plaintiff Dong'e Ejiao Company a total of 30,000 yuan for economic losses and reasonable expenses; the defendant Jinan supermarket was held jointly and severally liable within the scope of 5,000 yuan. The first-instance judgment in this case has taken legal effect.

 

 
[1] The author's perspective
[1] The artistic works referred to in China's Copyright Law refer to two-dimensional or three-dimensional plastic artworks with aesthetic significance, such as paintings, calligraphy, and sculptures, which are composed of lines, colors, or other means. Copyright law protects the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves. Generally speaking, thoughts, concepts, theories, ideas, creativity, notions, and methods of operation fall within the realm of ideas and are not protected by copyright law.
 
[2] Artistic works differ from other works in that they require the work itself to have aesthetic significance, with their functional value lying in conveying visual experience. In this case, the "Boiling Glue Diagram" and "Tasting Glue Diagram" both add relevant elements to the physical objects and utilize colors, shapes, etc., reflecting the author's original intellectual labor and possessing a certain aesthetic appeal, thus constituting artistic works. Since copyright arises automatically upon the completion of the work and is protected by law after registration, a certain food company in Changzhou, having infringed upon others' copyright, must bear the corresponding legal consequences.