Page 333 - A Study on the Role of UGC Platforms in Copyright Law：An Intermediary-oriented Approach

Appendix 15 Interview Record (Participant N)

Appendix 15 Interview Record

(Participant N)

Date: 11:50 a.m.-12:10 p.m., November 30, 2018
Means: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
Interviewee: Participant N, a student in Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
Questioner: Huang Weijie

Huang: Nice to meet you, Sandy. My name is Weijie Huang. I am doing my Ph.D. study on
intellectual property right in the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. My Ph.D.
thesis is about UGC (User-Generated Content) and copyright. UGC refers to content
that created by amateurs rather than professional creators, such as fanfictions, parodies,
remixes, samplings, etc. UGC is fundamentally different from traditional copyrighted
works in many aspects, such as the non-economic incentives and collaborative
authorship. This brings significant challenges to copyright law. Since you are a student
majoring in arts, Briefly, I would like to discuss the inherent conflict between the
convenience of copying and exclusiveness of copyright. Since you are from Nanyang
Academy of Fine Arts, I guess you create UGCs quite often. Could I know something
about how you create UGCs and your attitudes toward copyright law through this
interview.
Participant N: Sure. It’s my pleasure.

Huang: What is your major and what kind of work do you often create in your daily life?
Works of fine art, musical works, literary works, video works or any others?
Participant N: I major in Chinese painting, including brush painting (shuimo) and meticulous
painting (gongbi). I am still at the stage of copying classics.
Huang: Could you briefly describe how you create, such as how do you find the source
material, what kinds of software you use and how long it takes to create a work on
average?
Participant N: If I want to create something, I would like to draw from life. Usually I would
take some photos and get inspiration from them. It takes a relatively long time to create
a satisfactory work. For example, one of the painting that was awarded “outstanding
student’s work” by Nanyang Academy took me a whole semester to complete.

Huang: Wow, Congratulations! Your work must be excellent! Do you remember in which

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