Jimu News reporter Kang Xuyang
The British Suite of Peace Hotel, Shanghai Yellow River Road, Mr. Bao’s rice cakes, Ms. Wang’s favorite pork ribs rice cake... The recently aired film and television drama "Flowers" has made many Shanghai attractions and food popular again Well, some merchants took advantage of this wave of popularity to launch the same style as in the play.
html On January 12, the crew of "Flowers" issued a statement stating that relevant parties are requested to stop/remove any unauthorized use of the show's title, character titles, lines, scenes, prop names, posters and related design works without obtaining authorization. and other elements to carry out commercial marketing and promotion activities, otherwise rights protection will be carried out against the above-mentioned infringements.Jimu News reporters found that it is not uncommon for merchants to launch the same style in response to the popularity of film and television dramas. In addition to the same style of snacks, there are also merchants that launch the same style of clothing for film and television actors, use classic lines from film and television dramas as promotional slogans, and rush to register trademarks. Can the popularity of
film and television dramas be matched? Some lawyers analyzed that merchants launching the same models as movies and TV series are a means of marketing to take advantage of consumer demand. Merchants must abide by relevant laws and regulations when taking advantage of the popularity of film and television dramas, otherwise it may constitute infringement.
The crew of "Flowers" issued a rights protection statement
The crew of "Flowers" issued a statement to defend rights
After "Flowers" was aired, the same style in the drama became popular. On a third-party booking platform, the British Suite at the Peace Hotel, which was frequently featured in the drama, changed its room type name from the original "British Suite No. 72" to the "British Flower Suite", ushering in a wave of bookings; in the drama, "To Moss Shengyuan Hotel, the prototype of "Zhenyuan", launched the nostalgic classic set meal "Zhenyuan Flower Banquet", and its Huanghe Road store has become a place for Shanghai's new Internet celebrities to check in.
In addition to the filming locations in the drama, many businesses have also jumped on this wave of popularity and launched various "flower" styles.
A reporter from Jimu News searched for keywords such as "Fanhua" and "Ms. Wang" on the Internet and saw that chain barbecue restaurants, pork rib shops, etc. had put on the shelves "Fanhua Miss Wang's Spare Ribs and Rice Cake Set" and "Ms. Wang's Favorite Spare Ribs and Rice Cake"; a certain TV station On the shopping platform, there are merchants selling jewelry of the same style as "Fanhua Xin Zhilei Li Li's same style earrings", "Fanhua Ma Yili Lingzi's same style earrings", "Fanhua Tang Yan Wang's same style pearl earrings", and the product page has posted stills for promotion. Whether it is officially authorized, the merchant replied: "It's just a similar style, not the same style."
A barbecue restaurant launched the "Fanhua Ms. Wang's Pork Ribs and Rice Cake Set"
On January 12, the crew of "Fanhua" issued a statement on its official Weibo, saying, Shanghai Fanhuali Enterprise Development Co., Ltd. is the producer and sole copyright holder of the TV series "Flowers" and owns the complete intellectual property rights and licensing rights of the TV series. Some businesses and market entities, with the purpose of cultivating the popularity of the show and the goodwill of the client, use the name of the show, character titles, lines, scenes, prop names, etc. without communicating with the client and obtaining authorization. Use posters, related design works and other elements to carry out commercial marketing and promotion activities. The
statement requires relevant parties to immediately stop/remove infringement and unfair competition activities. For infringement subjects with obvious commercial intentions and serious circumstances, legal means will be initiated to protect their rights.
A merchant was ordered to compensate for taking advantage of the popularity
In fact, it is not uncommon for merchants to take advantage of the popularity of film and television dramas and launch the same product.
In 2019, an "H"-shaped necklace worn by the heroine in the hit drama "Dear, Beloved" became popular. The producer found that a jewelry factory was selling the same necklace without authorization and using the "Dear, Beloved" drama Names and stills are used as product names and promotional images. The producer then appealed on the grounds of infringement of its copyright and unfair competition. The court determined that the jewelry factory’s relevant actions constituted both copyright infringement and unfair competition, and it compensated the producer company 50,000 yuan.
There are also merchants who use classic lines from film and television dramas to advertise and register trademarks.
Last year, the film and television drama "Crazy" became a hit. Elements such as "Old Mo, I want to eat fish", "Qiangsheng Group" and "Platinum Han" in the drama became "traffic passwords", and some businesses took the opportunity to ride on this wave of traffic. .
Previously, a hot pot restaurant in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province launched three group purchase packages for its catering stores through a certain platform. The words "Platinum Han", "Qiangsheng Group" and "Sister-in-law" were prominently used in the package names and package details pages. , and used cartoons of classic characters in "Hurry Up", and promoted the aforementioned group purchase package as "jointly recommended". The Xi'an Intermediate People's Court of Shaanxi Province (hereinafter referred to as Xi'an Intermediate Court) ruled in the first instance to jointly compensate Beijing iQiyi Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as iQiyi Company), the rights holder of the TV series "Kurst", for economic losses of 300,000 yuan.
In addition, after "Crazy" became popular, trademarks such as "Old Mo, I want to eat fish" and "I want to eat fish" were also rushed to register. However, Jimu News reporters saw on Tianyancha that trademarks such as Fanhua, Ms. Wang, and Mr. Bao had been successfully registered by multiple parties a few years ago, covering multiple categories such as fitness equipment, food, feed, kitchen sanitary ware, and medicine.
To take advantage of the popularity of film and television dramas, one must grasp the "degree"
Does selling "the same style" of film and television dramas constitute infringement?
"Businesses taking advantage of the popularity of film and television dramas to launch the same model can be said to be a means for merchants to use hot social events for marketing. It can increase the sales volume and added value of products or services, thereby increasing the merchants' profits." Henan Zejin Law Firm Fu Jian, director of the institute, said that the popularity of film and television dramas can be exploited, but commercial purposes should obtain permission from the drama studio, such as jointly selling peripherals, etc., which is legal.
Fu Jian analyzed that if merchants use elements from film and television dramas as a means of commercial promotion without authorization and without the consent of the film and television drama copyright holders, they may infringe on the intellectual property rights of the film and television drama copyright holders and constitute infringement. Behavior. Specifically, the elements in film and television dramas used by merchants include but are not limited to film and television drama titles, character titles, lines, scenes, prop names, posters and related design works, etc. If the merchant's usage behavior may lead consumers to believe that the merchant's products or services are related to film and television dramas, or may mislead consumers into thinking that the merchant's products or services are related to film and television dramas, then the merchant's usage behavior may constitute infringement.
Fu Jian reminded that relevant businesses must not only respect the intellectual property rights of film and television drama copyright owners, and must not use elements from film and television dramas as a means of commercial promotion without authorization, but must also abide by the "Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China" and other laws According to laws and regulations, false advertising and deceiving consumers are prohibited. In addition, you must abide by laws and regulations such as the Trademark Law, and you must not preemptively register other people's trademarks or engage in trademark infringement. If a merchant infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of others, it must bear corresponding legal responsibilities, including but not limited to civil compensation liability, administrative penalty liability, criminal liability, etc.
(Source: Jimu News)
