China's Top Ten Copyright Cases and Events of 2024: Observations from Chinese Academia and Practice

Written by Dr. Leslie (Liang) Xu IP Expert and collaborator of the China IP SME Helpdesk.

Recently, the International Intellectual Property Research Center of Peking University and the Beijing Lawyers Association jointly led an initiative to select the top ten representative and influential copyright cases in China for 2024.

The selection process included online solicitation, expert recommendations, and working group collections. The selected cases cover issues such as copyright problems arising from new technologies, disputes over copyright ownership and infringement liability, and innovations in adjudicating copyright cases and the application of technology. Notably, copyright problems in AI large model training, infringement issues involving virtual digital humans, and generative AI services are at the forefront and among the hottest topics in digital age copyright protection. Meanwhile, the determination of originality and infringement liability for different types of works has always been a controversial focal in Chinese judicial practice. These cases reflect the latest developments and trends in the field of copyright in China.

The specific cases are as follows:

1. Ruling on China's first virtual digital human infringement case

The case explored legal issues such as the legal status of virtual digital humans, copyright ownership, protection of the right of communication by information networks, and identifying unfair competition behaviors. The court held that virtual digital humans, as products of artificial intelligence technology, reflect the developers’ interventions and choices in their computing and learning abilities, and therefore do not enjoy copyright and neighboring rights.

2. The world's first ruling on a generative AI service copyright infringement case

For the first time, this case provided a judicial response to the issue of infringement identification and legal liability of AI service providers. The judgment clearly stated that AI service providers have the duty to establish a reporting mechanism, warn of potential risks, and provide clear identification. For infringement behaviors, AI service providers should take measures such as keyword filtering to prevent their services from continuing to generate infringing works that are substantially similar to copyrighted works.

3. The Supreme People's Court launched the "Copyright AI Intelligent Review" pilot project

"Copyright AI Intelligent Review" is an important initiative in the construction of China's digital courts. Utilizing image search technology and a massive data pool, it achieves three functions: image duplication check, innovation reference, and infringement analysis, to solve issues such as the identification of original ownership and similarity comparison in image copyright cases. This opens up an exploration of improving the quality and efficiency of intellectual property adjudication through a "digital" revolution in China.

4. The first ruling on a "connected car" copyright infringement case in China

The judgment clearly identified that the provider of the car system participated in and provided customized content for in-car video playback application software and offered paid membership packages, and, in cooperation with the content provider, implemented copyright infringement behaviors, constituting joint infringement. This case clarified the standards for infringement determination and the boundaries of responsibility in a connected car environment, providing strong guidance and serving as a model for handling copyright disputes in connected car or other emerging technology scenarios.

5. Ruling on the copyright ownership and infringement dispute involving o a historical literature compilation work

This case is a typical example of a historical literature compilation work suffering from infringement and applying punitive damages. It clarified the standards for determining the originality of intellectual achievements in historical literature under the Copyright Law, emphasizing that compilations of historical literature with personalized expression and high originality can constitute compilation works protected by the Copyright Law.

6. Global attention on copyright issues in AI large model training

AI large model training involves the use of a large number of works. How to reasonably and effectively solve the involved copyright issues, such as the requirements for disclosing training data and enhancing the transparency of the artificial intelligence industry proposed by some countries and organizations, has gained widespread recognition. Although there are no clear provisions in China’s Copyright Law on this matter, Chinese scholars, civil organizations, and official institutions are actively exploring suitable solutions for China.

7. Reversal of the retrial decision in a Netdisk infringement case

Cloud storage has extremely wide applications in China and has become a fundamental industry supporting the transformation of the digital economy. While providing efficient storage services to users, cloud disks also increase the risk of users infringing on others' rights of communication by information networks. The judgment in this case defined the boundaries of responsibility for cloud storage service providers, acknowledged the neutral role of network service providers, and emphasized the balance between copyright protection and network service innovation.

8. Ruling on the copyright infringement dispute between a fashion company and a clothing store

In Chinese judicial practice, there has always been controversy over the copyright protection of works of applied art, especially how to determine their originality. This case proposed specific standards for determining the originality of works of applied art in the field of clothing design, stating that only when the aesthetic value of the clothing can be separated from its practical function can it be protected as a work of art under the Copyright Law. This case also provides important reference and guidance for the copyright protection of other similar works of applied art.

9. Retrial of the copyright infringement dispute involving the provision of audiovisual works on-demand services at business premises

The judgment clarified that hotels and inns, when providing on-demand services for film and television works, do not constitute infringement if they do not place the film and television works on the information network nor provide member accounts or passwords for related playback software, but only set up playback devices purchased through legal channels in guest rooms. This ruling provides rule guidance for hotel and inn operators to legally provide viewing services and clarifies the boundaries of responsibility for operators in the hotel industry when providing such services.

10. The AIPPI World Intellectual Property Congress adopted the 2024 AIPPI Hangzhou Resolution.

For the first time in its 127-year history, a resolution was adopted in China, discussing the principles of parody in the field of copyright. For China, the successful hosting of this conference marks a new starting point for its deep participation in global intellectual property governance, reflecting the historic achievements of China's intellectual property development and promoting exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and foreign intellectual property communities.