: Xue Mei, copyright lawyer at Beijing Dacheng (Chengdu) Law Firm.
, along with the movie "Young You", was screened in China, which not only attracted attention to campus bullying again, but also sparked a discussion about the copyright of the original "Rong Shi". "You are a young man" is adapted from the novel "You are so beautiful" by Jiu Yuexi, a popular author in Jinjiang. However, among readers, there have always been sayings that Jiu Yuexi's novels are "synthetic" and suspected of plagiarism. The so-called "stalking" refers to the practice of not directly plagiarizing words, sentences and plots, but fusing the bridge segments of several works (called "stalking" in online language) to form new works.
When you are reading a "Rong Geng" novel, you will find that many sections seem to have been seen in other works. For example, in "You are a young man", netizens pointed out that the famous Japanese mystery novelist Keigo Higashino's "Devotion of Suspect X" and "White Night Walk" are integrated into the bridge-the male protagonist is the heroine and the crime is covered up Criminal acts, etc. And some netizens have created a "color palette" to show that certain passages in Jiuzuki's novels are very similar to Higashino's works, but the order is disturbed.
Previously, Jiu Yuexi officially responded to this matter on Weibo, saying that no matter the character, theme or background is the same as any book, "I have never plagiarized, nor have I violated the original intention and principle of a writer. And the bottom line. I don’t agree with the accusation of “Rongjie” mentioned by netizens. There may be common thinking in my work, but there is no plagiarism.” Based on this, the cover reporter contacted the Beijing Dacheng (Chengdu) Law Firm for an interview. Attorney Xue Mei, who specializes in copyright business, provided a professional interpretation of this online discussion.
Copyright protects "expression" but does not protect "thought". How can
be regarded as "plagiarism" in the creation of literary works? Does the similarity of "idea" and "creative" constitute "plagiarism"? In fact, what we usually call "plagiarism" refers to the act of infringing copyright in law. "Contact + substantial approximation" is the main point for judging whether it constitutes infringement. "Contact" means that the defendant has previously had the conditions to master the work, for example, the work has been publicly disseminated, or the right holder has shown the work to the accused infringer; "substantial similarity" means comparing the accused infringing work with the right holder's work Whether the content of the expression is similar, such as whether the selection, selection, arrangement, design, etc. in the expression of the work are the same or similar. Netizens pointed out that Jiu Yuexiu copied the works of Keigo Higashino. Keigo Higashino is a well-known writer and has published many works. Jiu Yuexiu has the key to "contact", but whether it is "substantially similar" requires specific analysis.
However, it is difficult to define whether the infringement is really infringement. Because copyright protects expression, not ideas, because ideas cannot be monopolized by individuals. If the plot layout is different, but the spiritual core is the same, it is difficult to be identified as an infringement. For example, there are many literary works in ancient and modern China and abroad, such as Peacock Flying Southeast, Butterfly Lovers, Romeo and Juliet, Rouge Button, etc. They all take the tragic heart of expressing the love of lovers as their spiritual core, but the plot arrangement is completely different. Therefore, plagiarism of ideas and ideas is difficult to be recognized as infringement in law.
Of course, there is a question of degree. How and to what extent the plot arrangement is disrupted will affect the determination of plagiarism. Whether the plagiarized bridge segment constitutes infringement depends on the specific circumstances, such as whether the original text is plagiarized, the number of words plagiarized, and the space occupied by the plagiarized content in the work.
At the same time, as far as this matter is concerned, it is difficult for us to say that the film party is at fault in law, because Jiu Yuexi legally owns the copyright and the film party's purchase is also legal and compliant. As for the accusations made by netizens, they are mostly based on moral and emotional evaluation, which is understandable.
It is said that a netizen who can speak Japanese has sent a letter to Keigo Higashino. However, whether it is the right of Keigo Higashino to be held accountable. As to whether Keigo Higashino’s claims can be supported, it depends on the laws and regulations of the country in charge on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also depends on how Keigo Higashino proves that the film party or Kuzukisho infringed his. right.
This kind of infringement cases are frequently reported in China at present, but it is difficult to protect rights.
From the data point of view, especially in recent years, such copyright issues have shown explosive growth. This is related to the country's strengthening of the protection of intellectual property rights in recent years. But the plaintiff’s rights protection is also very difficult. On the one hand, the existing laws have relatively vague and superficial identification standards for plagiarism, and the judgment of plagiarism itself is itselfIt is highly subjective; on the other hand, under the rule of who advocates and presents evidence in civil litigation, it is more difficult to produce evidence, and the time, energy, and economic costs of litigation are relatively high, which makes it difficult for the plaintiff to defend his rights.
my country only had the copyright law in 1990. The history of copyright protection is relatively short, the awareness is far from enough, the legislation is relatively rough, and there is a problem of lagging behind social development, so more and more people are considered to be rationally The act of plagiarism is difficult to be recognized in law. It is expected that similar social events can effectively promote the revision of the copyright law, so as to protect copyright in a more comprehensive, reasonable and meticulous manner, so that the law and social development can form a positive interaction. The above content of
was compiled by the cover news reporter Xu Yuyang based on the interview records of lawyer Xue Mei.
