Page 303 - A Study on the Role of UGC Platforms in Copyright Law：An Intermediary-oriented Approach

Appendix 8 Interview Record (Participant G)

Appendix 8 Interview Record

(Participant G)

Date: August 24, 2016
Venue: ZiYou KongJian Western Restaurant, Tianhe District, Guangzhou
Interviewee: Participant G, a judge in an Intellectual Property Court in China
Interviewer: Huang Weijie

a. General information
Huang: What category of works confronts the most disputes? Literary works, musical works,
photographs, videos or other else?
Participant G: From the perspective of quantity, we have a large number of copyright
infringement cases over photographs. As the litigation law provides, one picture, one
copyright case. But most of these cases are lack of technical significance and brought as
“series of cases”, i.e., one claimant against several different defendants. Attention should
be paid to the cases that involved live online game competition, live webcast of sports
events, and live-streaming performers (the so-called “Wanghong”).
Huang: Are there many copyright disputes regarding remix, such as remixing different
songs? What are the legal problems in these cases?
Participant G: There are not so many disputes concerning remix. Most defendants just copy
others’ works and infringe copyright owner’s reproduction right.

b. The right of preparing derivative works & The right of reproduction
Huang: What’s the difference between the right of preparing derivative works and the right
of reproduction?
Participant G: The right of preparing derivative works and the right of reproduction are
both sub-conceptions of copyright. Only when the defendant transforms the form of the
original work, such as adapting novels into games and films, may the right to prepare
derivative works be infringed.
Huang: Can unauthorized adaptation constitute work that is protected by copyright law? Is
the standard of originality higher for derivative works than for original works?
Participant G: Unauthorized adapted content can constitute “work” in the context of
copyright law. However, it also constitutes copyright infringement. You can read the
Qiong Yao v. Yu Participant G case.
Huang: Both the right of preparing derivative works and the right of reproduction involve the
question of “substantial similarity”. How do judges determine “substantial similarity”?

• 289 •