■ In the past two years, many companies have reported that they have received letters from lawyers from Sandiyuan Company, the authorized agency for the "Mushroom Head Series" emoticon package, saying that they used the image of the "Mushroom Head Series" without authorization in their tweets, infringing the Guangzhou Mosquito The animation company (referred to as Mosquito Animation Company) and Sandimension Company shall be liable for infringement compensation for the copyrights enjoyed by the "Mushroom Head Series" art works and derivative images.
■ Because of its rights protection, the "Mushroom Head Series" emoticon giant with monthly sales exceeding 10 billion was once caught in a public controversy. Some companies believe that the "Mushroom Head Series" emoticon packs are malicious rights protection; some netizens believe that commercial payment for emoticon packs is normal and can improve the public's awareness of intellectual property protection.
■ On January 19, Wu Wuze, founder of the Mushroom Head emoticon series and Guangzhou Mosquito Animation Company, said that the company was not aware of the previous rights protection lawsuit and did not receive a penny. It has now announced that it has terminated and represented the company San Diyuan. Cooperation. Mosquito Animation Company has also listed several categories of usage regulations. For all personal self-media non-commercial uses, please directly note the source of the image, and it can be used free of charge. Subsequently, SanCiYuan Company responded through a law firm, stating that the copyright holder’s statement of release was circulated online, but SanCiYuan Company denied it.
The founder of the "Mushroom Head" emoticon package rights protection said he has not received a penny
Previously, a company in Nanjing was sued and told reporters that the company used seven mushroom head emoticon packages in WeChat tweets, all of which were downloaded from Baidu website. The articles were all Popular science articles are all for learning and sharing purposes and have no profit-making purpose. After receiving a lawyer's letter from Sanjiyuan, the licensing agency for the "Mushroom Head Series" emoticon package, the article was deleted immediately. In the letter, Sandiyuan Company requested compensation of 49,479 yuan for economic losses and 3,260 yuan for reasonable rights protection expenses, totaling 52,739 yuan.
In multiple infringement cases, Sandiyuan Company’s claim is that the actions of the accused company violated copyright laws and other relevant regulations, and infringed Mosquito Animation Company’s copyright in the “Mushroom Head Series” art works and subsequent derivative images. , as well as the legal rights enjoyed by Sandimensional Company to the "Mushroom Head Series" art works, and illegal gains obtained from them, which caused significant economic losses to Sandimensional Company and should bear liability for infringement compensation.
From a recent final judgment document, reporters learned that the mushroom head series emoticon packs were first published in March 2013 and registered with the National Copyright Administration in November 2015. The author and copyright holder are both Mosquito Animation Company and are owned by Mosquito Animation Company. Publish the mushroom head series on the WeChat emoticon open platform and Weibo.
Wu Wuze said that in early 2018, he was introduced to Yu from Sandiyuan Company. Yu said that a beverage brand in Northeast China commercialized the "mushroom head" emoticon package on a large scale without obtaining brand authorization, and he could help safeguard its rights. After signing the "Mushroom Head Emoticon Pack IP Rights Protection Cooperation Agreement", 3D Company officially became the rights protection agency for the "Mushroom Head Series" image. In 2022, Wu Wuze discovered that 3D Company had sued more than 400 companies, and as the "compensated party", Mosquito Animation Company has not yet received the amount of compensation from the lawsuit.
Emoticon Pack Company announced the cancellation of the authorized agent: non-commercial use can be bold
. It is understood that after the agency authorization contract between the two parties ends on May 30, 2023, the agent authorization will be automatically renewed for five years, which is currently in effect. On December 22, 2023, Mosquito Animation Company officially announced the termination letter on Weibo and other official social platforms, and published a statement to cancel the authorized agent, explaining the whole story of the rights protection incident, and reminding the rights defenders. The statement stated that 3D Company expanded the scope of authorization without the company's consent, failed to inform the infringers of information as agreed, and carried out a large number of rights protection without authorization, which seriously affected the goodwill of the company and the "Mushroom Head Emoticon Pack" series of works, and decided to start from 2023. Starting from December 22, all authorized cooperation with 3D Company will be terminated. Subsequently, the client Sanjiyuan responded through the law firm: the copyright holder’s release statement was circulated online, and Sanjiyuan Company denied it. According to public information from
, 3D Company currently has 635 judicial cases, 98.11% of which are plaintiffs, and more than 70% of which are "disputes over infringement of the right to disseminate work information online."An insider familiar with both companies said in a previous interview with reporters that Mosquito Animation Company has mainly relied on the IP of the Mushroom Head series for many years. The investment in art costs is high, and most of the profits rely on IP licensing. Due to piracy and unauthorized misuse, the company's normal licensing activities were affected, and the company was once in operating difficulties.
In an interview with Nanfang Daily, Wu Wuze also said that the "Mushroom Head Series" emoticons have gone through many difficult times and will never rely on "rights protection" to survive. The core of the existence of emoticons is to bring positive emotional value to users, while malicious rights protection will be offensive. Once an emoticon becomes "disgusting" to users, it loses its foundation for survival and business prospects. Relying on malicious rights protection to generate income is a small profit, and it is a waste of money. As long as it is non-commercial, netizens can use it with confidence.
Experts say: A good “free-to-charge” ecosystem should be built
In the field of intellectual property, how should the original author and the authorized intellectual property company properly safeguard their common rights and interests? Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, said that Mosquito Animation Company and Sandiyuan Company, as the copyright owner and entrusted agent, are qualified parties and have the right to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests through litigation, so this behavior is legal.
Beijing Intellectual Property Expert Database Dong Xinrui told reporters that the non-profit use of emojis is generally free by default. "However, when some social platforms or companies download emoticons for commercial use, there are suspicions of marketing strategies, advertising, etc., and they should be stopped or rights protected reasonably."
In response to the intellectual property dilemma faced by most emoticon companies, Dong Xinrui said that emoticon companies are still facing the same old problems in safeguarding rights in the field of intellectual property rights: difficulty in obtaining evidence, difficulty in safeguarding rights, and low compensation.
Liu Xiaochun, executive director of the Internet Law Research Center of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told reporters that in public perception, emoticons are a product of the free ecological model of the Internet. Many people think that if they are used to using free ones, they should not be charged. Whether to choose to protect rights or not, from the perspective of the Internet ecosystem, companies may consider their own reputation and audience feelings, which is a business decision-making issue. "Many copyright holders are willing to let everyone use it for free, but they also have the right to obtain corresponding benefits through licensing, which is their legal and legitimate rights and interests."
At present, there are many problems in the survival and operation of emoticon companies. dilemma. Liu Xiaochun pointed out that the Internet business model should gradually build a good ecology of "free-charge". Liu Xiaochun suggested that when copyright owners face infringement incidents, there are often many and complex cases, and copyright owners can set corresponding licensing price standards in the licensing market. For example, the version listed on WeChat shows commercial pricing or free use. If the pricing is reasonable and open and transparent, enterprises or commercial platforms can also automatically trade through the platform to obtain authorization for use, reducing transaction costs for both parties. Liu Xiaochun emphasized, “In this way, rights holders can also reduce the energy to defend their rights in each infringement incident. Through some trading markets, it is actually possible to achieve a healthy flow of copyright authorization, but this may also require the support of some platforms ."
text/Cai Xiaoyi
editor/Ni Jianing
