[3] Winning over 500 lawsuits in six years, "Ge You Slouch" can still make money
Compiled from: Jimu News, Southern Weekly
As of March 22, 2023, among 544 cases related to "Ge You Slouch," Ge You's winning rate reached 99.6%, with compensation totaling 7,594,392 yuan.
Case review
"Ge You Slouch" was a popular internet buzzword in 2016. Famous actor Ge You played Ji Chunsheng in the TV series "I Love My Family," and the character's relaxed posture of completely slouching on the sofa was named "Ge You Slouch" by netizens. Many new media accounts used this as a hot topic for marketing, and related memes were everywhere.
Searching for "Ge You Slouch" as a keyword on China Judgments Online reveals that from 2017 to March 22, 2023, there were 600 civil case judgment documents related to it, involving 544 cases. The cause of action in all cases was Ge You suing companies for using the "Ge You Slouch" photo, infringing on his right to肖像. Among the 544 cases, Ge You's winning rate reached 99.6%, with only two cases where the first-instance trial did not find the company infringing due to procedural flaws in evidence collection, and one judgment only required the company to apologize without compensation.
542 companies, while apologizing, compensated Ge You for economic losses and reasonable rights protection costs totaling 7,594,392 yuan.
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[1] The People's Republic of China
Civil Code
Article 1018: [Right to Portrait]
A natural person enjoys the right to likeness and has the right to legally make, use, disclose, or permit others to use his or her own likeness.
Likeness refers to the identifiable external image of a specific natural person reflected on a certain medium through images, sculptures, paintings, or other means.
Article 1019: [Negative Rights of Portrait Right]
No organization or individual may infringe upon another person’s right to portrait by means of vilification, defacement, or falsification through information technology. Without the consent of the portrait right holder, no one may produce, use, or publicly disclose the portrait of the right holder, unless otherwise provided by law.
Without the consent of the portrait right holder, the owner of the portrait work may not use or publicly disclose the portrait of the right holder by means of publication, reproduction, distribution, rental, exhibition, or other means.
[1] The author's perspective
Ge You not only gained fame early on for his acting but also became popular again years later due to his "Ge You Slouch" in the drama. However, it must be said that Ge You has a very high awareness of rights protection. Although the "Ge You Slouch" meme is everywhere on the internet, Ge You still firmly defends his right to肖像. Whether for profit or legal principles, this persistent spirit is worth learning from.
In fact, news of celebrities' portrait rights being infringed upon is no longer surprising. Setting aside the added value of celebrities' portraits, as ordinary individuals, they also have their own portrait rights and can refuse others' unauthorized use of their images. Although it is common for celebrities to sue over portrait rights, it is rare for Ge You to have filed nearly 600 lawsuits in six years and won almost all of them. Netizens jokingly remarked, "Ge You really makes money even while lying down this time."
