In order to further publicize the achievements in combating infringement and piracy and to give full play to the exemplary and guiding role of typical cases, the National Copyright Administration of the People’s Republic of China has released the “Top 10 Cases of Combating Copyright Infringement and Piracy in China 2023”. The case concerning infringement of copyright in artistic works by Shanghai Junku Information Technology Co., Ltd. against Universal City Studios LLC, handled by Lusheng Law Firm as counsel for Universal Pictures, has been honored as one of the selected cases.
Brief Introduction of the Case
Shanghai Junku Information Technology Co., Ltd. operates the website “Dazuo.com”. Without the permission of the copyright owner Universal City Studios LLC (“Universal Pictures”), it had long used web crawler technology to capture artistic works and related materials disseminated online, and provided to the public and its members online browsing and download services for artistic works such as “Minions” and “Kung Fu Panda”. The website affixed copyright notices without authorization, misleading users into believing that its content had been lawfully licensed. Lusheng Law Firm, acting on behalf of Universal Pictures, filed an administrative complaint against this infringing conduct.
In September 2023, based on clues from the administrative complaint, the Law Enforcement Corps of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism conducted an investigation into the case. In November 2023, pursuant to Article 53 of the Copyright Law, the Law Enforcement Corps of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism imposed an administrative penalty on the company, issuing a warning and a fine of RMB 100,000.
Typical Significance
The infringer aggregated, through technical means, high-value artistic works in which Universal Pictures enjoys copyright, and set up a paid download function for profit; the infringing content could only be located through keyword searches and became the source of downstream secondary infringement, seriously damaging the brand value of the right holder and the order of the legitimate licensing market. After accepting the engagement, Lusheng promptly carried out evidence preservation, infringement analysis and legal argumentation, accurately identifying the infringing entity and the nature of the infringing acts, and, in coordination with the Chengdu Copyright Administration and the Shanghai Cultural Law Enforcement Corps, activated a cross-regional cooperation mechanism.
This case constitutes a concrete action by copyright administrative enforcement authorities to regulate the legitimate image licensing market. The investigation and handling of infringing and pirated acts involving animated artistic works fully reflects China’s copyright enforcement orientation of strictly protecting and equally protecting the lawful rights and interests of both Chinese and foreign copyright holders.
———— Case-handling Team ————
WANG Shan
Director of Shanghai Office, Co-head of Dispute Resolution Practice
Lusheng Law Firm
Ms. Wang Shan is currently the Director of Lusheng’s Shanghai Office and Co-head of the Dispute Resolution Practice, based in Shanghai. Ms. Wang is a distinguished expert in the field of intellectual property protection. Her practice covers trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, trade names and unfair competition, and she has accumulated over 20 years of practical experience.She serves numerous world-renowned companies, many of which are from the media and entertainment, sports, fashion and luxury, automotive, technology, chemical, and chain catering industries. She has successfully represented many dispute cases with extensive social impact and cases involving damages in the tens of millions of RMB. Many of these cases have repeatedly been selected as “Top Ten Intellectual Property Cases of Chinese Courts” released by the Supreme People’s Court and as annual typical cases by courts at various levels, and have been included in lists such as “QBPC: Top Ten Cases in Intellectual Property Protection” and “China Business Law Journal: Deals of the Year”.Ms. Wang has been widely recognized by many international legal ranking institutions and authoritative media, including Managing IP, Benchmark Litigation, World Trademark Review, IAM (Intellectual Asset Management), among others, and has been listed in rankings such as “Managing IP: Top 250 Women in IP” worldwide.
Email: cwang@lushenglawyers.com
ZHANG Qing
Attorney
Lusheng Law Firm
Ms. Zhang Qing has practiced in the field of intellectual property for many years, providing legal services to numerous multinational enterprises and well-known domestic and foreign companies in various sectors, including media and entertainment, toys, sports, the Internet, daily chemical products, automotive and aviation, and copyright-related industries. She has handled and participated in various types of intellectual property litigation cases involving trademarks, unfair competition, copyright, and design patents, and has also provided legal advice on intellectual property portfolio planning and management, IP enforcement, and IP risk prevention and control, thereby resolving various types of intellectual property issues in both contentious and non-contentious contexts.
Email:czhang7@lushenglawyers.com
