Audi car trends due to plagiarism, Andy Lau suffers backlash from endorsement.
Compiled from: China Consumer News, China.com Culture
Case review
May 21 is the Grain Full solar term, and an Audi car commercial featuring the well-known artist Andy Lau went trending. However, on the night the commercial was released, Kuaishou blogger 'Peking University Man Ge' posted a rights protection video titled 'What It Feels Like to Have a Script with Over 100 Million Views Patented.' In the video, a 2021 video posted by 'Peking University Man Ge' is compared line by line with the Audi commercial, directly pointing out that the Audi video script is a complete copy.
On May 22, in response to the rights protection video posted by Kuaishou blogger 'Peking University Man Ge,' Audi issued a statement on its official Weibo account, stating that it noted the discussions regarding the text infringement in a short video released on May 21. Audi sincerely apologized for the inconvenience caused to Mr. Andy Lau, Peking University Man Ge, and other related parties due to insufficient supervision and lax review in this incident.
Audi also stated that the video was submitted and executed by the creative agency M&C Saatchi. Adhering to the principle of not avoiding problems, Audi has instructed the agency to promptly address the issue of the alleged copyright infringement in the copywriting and provide the public with a satisfactory response. At the same time, before the facts are officially clarified, all of Audi's official channels will completely remove the video.
On the afternoon of May 22, First Automobile-Volkswagen Audi's creative agency, Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (M&C Saatchi), also issued a statement, admitting a lack of copyright awareness, directly using the 'Beida Mango' copy without communicating with the copyright owner, expressing deep apologies, and promising to make every effort to compensate the original author for the loss.
[5] "Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 38
When performing using someone else's work, the performer shall obtain permission from the copyright owner and pay remuneration. When an organizer organizes a performance, the organizer shall obtain permission from the copyright owner and pay remuneration.
[1] The author's perspective
The above provisions indicate that the organizer of a performance must obtain permission from the copyright owner and pay remuneration. FAW-Volkswagen Audi's creative agency, Shangsi Advertising (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., used the copy of the Kuaishou blogger 'Beida Mangu' without permission from the copyright owner, which constitutes infringement. Well-known artist Andy Lau, as a 'performer,' participated in the performance of this advertisement, was innocently implicated, and his reputation was also seriously harmed.
Therefore, in this case, apart from the copyright infringement dispute between 'Beida Mango' and FAW-Volkswagen Audi and Shangsi Advertising (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Andy Lau can also claim that FAW-Volkswagen Audi and Shangsi Advertising (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. should bear corresponding responsibility for his right to reputation.
