Bilibili provokes Youku? Court: Infringement! Delete all!

[3] Compiled from: Qingdao Intermediate Court, People's Court Net
 
[4] Recently, the Qingdao Intermediate Court issued an injunction, ruling that the respondent must immediately cease infringing on the information network dissemination right of "Jade Spring Pavilion."

 
 

Case review
[5] The Qingdao Intellectual Property Court accepted a pre-litigation preservation case against the Bilibili platform. The applicants, Alibaba (China) Network Technology Co., Ltd. Qingdao Branch and Beijing Youku Technology Co., Ltd., with permission from the copyright holder, hold the information network dissemination right for the TV series "Jade Spring Pavilion." The applicants filed a pre-litigation injunction application with the Qingdao Intellectual Property Court, citing a large number of infringing videos on the Bilibili platform.

 
 

The Qingdao Intellectual Property Court reviewed the case and determined that the TV series "Jade Spring" was exclusively released on Youku Video, and the evidence on record could prove that the work was a popular drama. The Bilibili platform is a well-known domestic video bullet-screen platform with a large number of users and a wide reach. If the infringement was not promptly stopped, it would cause irreparable harm to the applicant, such as reduced traffic, decreased revenue, and weakened competitive advantage. Therefore, the court issued an injunction in accordance with the law, ordering the respondent to immediately delete videos on the Bilibili platform that infringed on the information network dissemination right of "Jade Spring" and to immediately take effective measures to filter and block users from uploading videos that infringe on that right.
 
 
Laws & Regulations
 
[5] "Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China"Article 10
Copyright includes the following personal and property rights:
……
(12) The right of information network dissemination, that is, the right to provide works to the public through wired or wireless means, enabling the public to obtain the work at a time and place of their individual choosing.
……
 
 
Regulations on the Protection of the Right of Information Network Dissemination Article 2
The right of information network dissemination enjoyed by the right holder is protected by the Copyright Law and these Regulations. Unless otherwise provided by laws or administrative regulations, any organization or individual that provides others' works, performances, or audio-visual recordings to the public through an information network must obtain permission from the right holder and pay remuneration.

 
 

 
[1] The author's perspective
In recent years, with the increasing integration of the internet into daily life and the rapid development of China's network information industry, the dissemination of right holders' works, performances, and audio-visual recordings through information networks has become increasingly common, leading to more disputes over the right of information network dissemination. Due to the global, interactive, and aggregative nature of network dissemination, the protection of the right of information network dissemination has become more challenging.
 
[1] For the reasons above, in the fast-spreading internet age, how to effectively stop losses in a timely manner is very important. In this case, the court issued a pre-litigation injunction promptly to effectively stop the infringement, which not only protected the legitimate rights of the copyright holder but also prevented further expansion of the rights holder's losses. So what is a pre-litigation injunction? It is a measure by which the court orders the infringer to cease relevant actions before a lawsuit is filed. The court has the authority, upon a party's request, to take timely and effective interim measures to prevent irreparable harm to the rights holder or the risk of evidence being destroyed.
 
[2] Nowadays, short video platforms, due to their fast pace and condensed content, better suit modern people's fragmented entertainment habits. Such platforms have been on the rise and are very popular. However, being widely popular does not mean one can act recklessly. If one infringes on others' rights for the benefit of their own platform, the audience will not approve, and the law will absolutely not allow it!