Dongcheng Court Judge Wang Zhigang
Assistant Judge Ji Yulin of Dongcheng Court
"Together to the future", the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics is imminent, and various licensed goods are continuing to be new and hot... As a world-class event, the Winter Olympics have attracted the attention of the world and contain huge economic benefits. The Dongcheng Court in Beijing reminded that while striving to achieve a double harvest of economic and social benefits, it is also necessary to be vigilant against disputes caused by some acts.
"Piracy" is easy to breed
The Winter Olympics are open to audiences all over the world, the traffic is huge, and the rights holders often invest a lot of financial and material resources to obtain relevant rights, including the right to broadcasting organizations, broadcasting rights, and information network dissemination rights. Once it encounters "piracy", it will lead to traffic decline and user stickiness being destroyed, thus seriously damaging the expected interests and market share.
In contrast, the cost of "piracy" is low, and the "firewall" of the right party is easy to crack. Through the capture of signals, recording and broadcasting screens, or unauthorized "framed links", direct "black chains", etc., the forms of piracy are various. At present, with the popularization of online rights protection and the increasingly convenient acquisition of online evidence, "piracy" is bound to be subject to more effective legal constraints.
The judge suggested that spectators should choose an official platform when watching the event, and at the same time pay attention not to record and disseminate the video of the event at will, so as to avoid "unconsciously" copyright infringement. In addition, the media should also increase publicity to guide the public to establish copyright awareness and form a virtuous circle. Platforms and copyright owners can increase the use of artificial intelligence for risk monitoring and evidence collection, and leverage technologies such as blockchain and DRM (digital copyright protection) to help copyright protection in the fields of infringement monitoring and judicial rights protection.
"Rubbing heat" false propaganda
It is mainly manifested in violation of the Provisions of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the Advertising Law, the Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols, etc., and the misleading online and offline false publicity, such as fabricating some connection with the Olympic Games or athletes, causing the audience to mistakenly believe that there is a specific connection between the publicity body and the Winter Olympic Games, so as to obtain improper benefits.
Specifically, the first is to directly and publicly use the Olympic words, emblem logos, etc. for commercial publicity without authorization, such as using "helping the Winter Olympics" as a slogan, directly using the Olympic five ring logo on the packaging, etc.; the second is the "hidden market behavior" of non-sponsoring enterprises that mistakenly believe that the company has some kind of connection with the Olympic Games, such as some companies holding large-scale activities with the theme of "blessing Beijing, blessing the Olympics", which is easy for consumers to associate the brand with the Olympic Games; third, maliciously preemptively registering Olympic trademarks, domain names, etc.
Such "free-riding" and "rubbing heat" behaviors can easily lead to consumers misidentifying the source of goods, which will adversely affect the activities of the Olympic Organizing Committee, which may involve false publicity, trademark infringement and unfair competition.
The judge advised consumers to polish their eyes, pay attention to discerning details, and try to avoid being misled by such "free-riding" behavior. In addition, departments such as intellectual property protection and market supervision and management may increase the intensity of publicity, marketing supervision and punishment in the fields of portals and self-media platforms in accordance with the law, and tighten the "tight curse" of false propaganda.
Illegal production and operation of "indiscriminate charging"
Olympic-related licensed manufacturers and operators are authorized by the Olympic Organizing Committee to produce and operate, and there are clear standards and regulations for product quality. At present, the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee has developed more than 5,000 licensed products in 16 categories, including precious metal products, badges, plush and other material toys.
Although the Winter Olympics have not yet opened, some unscrupulous merchants have tried to take advantage of the momentum of the Winter Olympics to obtain illegal benefits, manufacture related goods and sell them without authorization, seriously disrupting market order. The relevant acts involve copyright and trademark infringement, and in serious cases, they may constitute the crime of illegal business operation.
The judge suggested that consumers should pay attention to identifying sources and channels when purchasing products, choose formal channels with quality assurance to purchase products related to the Winter Olympic Games, avoid damage to rights and interests, and once "stepping on the thunder" can protect their rights through judicial channels; market supervision and management departments can increase the inspection of key places such as scenic spots and wholesale markets around the competition area, focus on souvenirs, toys and other products, establish administrative and judicial cooperation in the investigation and implementation of the Winter Olympics, and carry out risk prevention and control of the whole chain.
It is foreseeable that the relevant departments will clarify key sites and key areas for special rectification, increase the intensity of inspection, supervision and punishment, and promptly transfer suspected criminal acts to judicial organs. For market entities, only by enhancing the awareness of rights and standardizing operations according to law can we achieve stability and long-term development.
Article/Reporter Song Xia