From "life-and-death struggle" to working hand in hand, what happened between Douyin and iQiyi?
Compiled from: Shenzhen News Network
Case review
On the morning of July 19, Douyin Group announced a partnership with iQiyi, one of the "iQiyi, Youku, Tencent Video" trio. Douyin stated that in the future, users on platforms under Douyin Group, including Douyin, Xigua Video, and Toutiao, can engage in secondary creation of these works. It is worth noting that both parties have made specific agreements on short video secondary creation forms such as commentary, remixing, and clipping, jointly promoting the standardized use of long video content intellectual property.
Interestingly, just last year, iQiyi had a dispute with Douyin over copyright issues.
On April 9, 2021, over 50 film and television companies, five major long-form video platforms, and film and television industry associations issued a joint statement, calling on short video platforms and public account operators to respect originality and protect copyright, and not to engage in unauthorized editing, clipping, reposting, or dissemination of related film and television works.
On April 23 of the same year, more than 70 film and television media units and over 500 artists issued another joint initiative, urging short video platforms to actively participate in compliant copyright content governance and immediately begin cleaning up unauthorized clipped, reposted, quick-view, and compilation content of film and television works.
In response to the film and television industry's collective rights protection, regulatory authorities responded promptly. On April 25 last year, Yu Cike, Director of the Copyright Administration Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department, stated at a State Council Information Office press conference that the National Copyright Administration would continue to intensify efforts to combat copyright infringement in the short video field, resolutely cracking down on unauthorized reproduction, performance, and dissemination of others' film, television, and music works by short video platforms, self-media, and public account operators.
[5] "Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 48
For the following infringing acts, depending on the circumstances, civil liability such as cessation of infringement, elimination of adverse effects, apology, and compensation for losses shall be borne; if public interests are also harmed, the copyright administrative department may order cessation of the infringing act, confiscate illegal gains, confiscate and destroy infringing copies, and impose fines; if the circumstances are serious, the copyright administrative department may also confiscate materials, tools, and equipment mainly used for producing infringing copies; if a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law:
(1) Reproducing, distributing, performing, screening, broadcasting, compiling, or communicating to the public via information networks a work without the permission of the copyright owner, except as otherwise provided in this Law;
(2) publishing books for which another person has exclusive publishing rights;
(3) Reproducing or distributing sound recordings or video recordings of a performance, or communicating the performance to the public via information networks without the permission of the performer, except as otherwise provided in this Law;
(4) Reproducing, distributing, or communicating to the public via information networks sound recordings or video recordings produced by the producer without the permission of the producer, except as otherwise provided in this Law;
(5) Playing or rebroadcasting radio or television without permission, except as otherwise provided by this law;
(6) Except as otherwise provided by laws or administrative regulations, intentionally circumventing or destroying technological measures adopted by copyright owners or related rights holders to protect their copyright or related rights in works, sound recordings, video recordings, etc., without permission from the copyright owner or related rights holder;
(7) Except as otherwise provided by laws or administrative regulations, intentionally deleting or altering electronic rights management information in works, sound recordings, video recordings, etc., without permission from the copyright owner or related rights holder;
(8) Producing or selling works falsely attributed to others.
[1] The author's perspective
The two incidents occurred over a year apart, but the outcomes were vastly different. From the initial irreconcilable opposition and public condemnation, long-form video platforms like iQiyi were defending their copyright interests, while short-video platforms like Douyin, from inception to popularity, relied on concise content to capture attention, catering to modern fast-paced needs. Users watching TV series or movies in fragmented segments on Douyin would no longer subscribe to long-form video platforms to follow the full episodes, gradually harming the interests of long-form platforms, copyright holders, and actors, leading to the aforementioned collective boycott.
Thus, the recent cooperation between Douyin and mainstream long-form video platforms like Sohu and iQiyi, as well as the earlier partnership between Kuaishou and LeEco in June, not only indicates a trend of collaboration between short and long-form video platforms but also reflects a mutually beneficial future. Joint efforts not only meet diverse market demands but also change the previous situation of going it alone, fostering growth and benefiting the video industry as a whole.
