The first case involving wechat screenshot generation software copyright infringement in China

Shenzhen Special Zone News recently, the people's Court of Nanshan District concluded a series of cases of copyright infringement and unfair competition disputes between Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Tencent computer system Co., Ltd. against a network technology Co., Ltd. in Shenzhen. The defendant was awarded a compensation of 750000 yuan. This series of cases is the first one in China to identify that the development and operation of false wechat screenshot generation software constitutes copyright infringement and unfair competition.

The plaintiff Tencent technology company developed wechat software and authorized the plaintiff Tencent computer company to operate. The website of "a screenshot" operated by a defendant's network company and nine mobile applications such as "a screenshot" and "a dialogue generator" allow users to edit and generate a series of false screenshots including wechat home page, wechat dialogue, wechat red packet and the like or substantially similar to wechat scene interface. The defendant claimed in the website and application software involved in the case that "the marketing artifact used by wechat businesses" and "the effect of chat transfer is 100% the same", and released the teaching video or guide for making false screenshots.

After hearing, Nanshan court held that wechat expression, wechat payment icon, wechat red packet detail page, etc. involved in the case, reflected a certain degree of personalized choice and original expression in terms of color and line matching, proportion, arrangement and combination of graphics and words, which had aesthetic significance, formed an art work and protected by copyright law. Without permission, the defendant provided the same or only slightly different patterns in the website of "a screenshot" operated by the defendant and the nine application software involved in the case, so that the users of the software can obtain the same or substantially similar pages with the artistic works involved in the case at the time and place they choose, infringing the plaintiff's legal right of information network communication Shall bear the corresponding civil liability. Moreover, the defendant's behavior of making profits by providing false screenshots generating tools that harm two plaintiffs, consumers and public interests violates the principle of good faith and business ethics, disturbs the market order and constitutes unfair competition.

Nanshan court ruled that the defendant should immediately stop infringing the plaintiff's right of information network dissemination and unfair competition in the application software involved in the case, and compensate two plaintiffs for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling 750000 yuan. After the sentence of first instance was pronounced, neither the plaintiff nor the defendant appealed. Now the series of cases have come into force.