According to the Beijing Court Trial Information Network, on November 3, Beijing Tingtao Network Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Tingtao Company") and Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as |" Wahaha Company") related infringement of works information network communication rights dispute first instance legal documents published. Wahaha was sentenced to 8,800 yuan in damages for the infringing use of art works.
Source: Beijing Court Trial Information Network
The plaintiff, Tingtao Company, claimed that it was found that the defendant Wahaha Company reproduced and disseminated a total of 11 art works of Tingtao Company on its WeChat public account "Wahaha Micro Academy". Wahaha Company disseminated and used Tingtao's fine art works without permission, infringing the plaintiff's right to disseminate information on the internet of the works involved in the case.
On June 29, 2020, Tingtao Company applied for evidence collection through the Internet at the Joint Trust Timestamp Service Center, and the depository page showed that the WeChat public account "Wahaha Micro Academy" (WeChat ID: ×××) published the article "Personal Quality 65 - If You Have It, It Means That You Are Degenerating" on December 18, 2015, using 11 works involved in the case, which are contained at the end of the article" (Copyright Note: This article is quoted from the WeChat public account of "Midir Benchmark learning", the picture comes from the public network, If there is any infringement involved, please contact the editor and delete it immediately after confirmation)". At the time of evidence collection, the account of the WeChat public account "Wahaha Micro Academy" (WeChat ID: ×××) is mainly Wahaha Company. After verification, the fine art works involved in the case have been deleted.
The court held that, according to the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Dispute Cases over Copyright, the manuscripts, originals, legal publications, copyright registration certificates, certificates issued by certification bodies, and contracts for obtaining rights submitted by the parties concerned with copyright can be used as evidence. In this case, based on evidence such as the work registration certificate submitted by Tingtao Company and the screenshot of the published page, in the absence of contrary evidence, it can be determined that Tingtao Company is the copyright holder of the 11 art works involved in the case, and enjoys the corresponding copyright of the pictures involved in the case, including the right of information network dissemination. Except in the circumstances provided for by law, others must not use the pictures involved in the case without permission.
The court stated that Wahaha Company used the works involved in the case without the permission of Tingtao Company in the WeChat public account it operated, infringing the information network dissemination rights enjoyed by Tingtao Company for the works involved in the case, and should bear tort liabilities such as stopping the infringement and compensating for losses. During the trial, because the pictures involved in the case had been deleted, Tingtao Company withdrew its litigation request for Wahaha Company to stop the infringement in court, and this court no longer handled it.
The court pointed out that with regard to the specific amount of compensation for losses, this court determined that the amount of wahaha company's compensation was 8800 yuan as appropriate, taking into account the number of art works involved in the case, the difficulty of creation, originality, market value, and the use of Wahaha Company, the number of uses, the scope of impact of the infringement and other factors. With regard to attorneys' fees, the plaintiff did not submit an agency agreement or proof of payment of attorneys' fees. Upon inquiry, if the plaintiff and the agent in this case have a batch of litigation representation cases, under the circumstances that the plaintiff cannot clarify the agreed circumstances of the lawyer's fees in this case and the actual amount incurred, it should bear the adverse consequences of the inability to adduce evidence, and this court will not support the plaintiff's litigation claim. With regard to the evidence collection fee, the plaintiff should submit the relevant evidence to pay the fee, but did not submit it, and this court will not support its claim.
The court concluded that, in summary, in accordance with Article 10, Paragraph 1, Article 48, Paragraph 1, and Article 49 of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, and Article 90 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the judgment was as follows: Within seven days from the effective date of this judgment, the defendant Wahaha Company shall compensate the plaintiff Tingtao Company for economic losses of 8,800 yuan; and reject the plaintiff's other litigation claims. If the obligation to pay money is not performed within the period specified in this judgment, the interest on the debt during the period of delayed performance shall be doubled in accordance with Article 253 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China. The case acceptance fee is 200 yuan, which is borne by the plaintiff 127 yuan (paid) and the defendant 73 yuan (paid within seven days from the effective date of this judgment).