Recently, a "Jay Chou copycat" started a tour, triggering a boycott from fans. According to reports, "Heilun", who claims to be "Mainland's No. 1 Jay Chou", imitates Jay Chou in commercial performances. Since June 2024, "Heilun" has launched an in-depth cooperation with a certain chain of bars and toured stores in many places. The songs "All the Way North" and "Stranded" are all composed by Jay Chou, which caused dissatisfaction among Jay Chou's fans.
In recent years, there have been many phenomena of "colliding" celebrities, wantonly imitating them, and profiting from them, which has caused considerable social controversy. The above-mentioned "Heilun" and "Porridge Cake Lun" became famous by imitating Hong Kong and Taiwan star Jay Chou. This performance at a Taiyuan store of a chain bar attracted attention because the ticket price exceeded the ticket price of Jay Chou's own concert. For example, the price of the Taiyuan store is "up to 3,500 yuan." It was previously sold for a sky-high price of 6,000 yuan in Hangzhou, and the highest ticket price for Jay Chou's 2024 concert is only 2,000 yuan.
It can be seen from this that the ticket price of the "Jay Chou copycat" performance is indeed higher than the ticket price of Jay Chou himself. However, this fare is not that fare. The so-called ticket prices for "Jay Chou copycat" performances are actually the consumption standards of bar stores, such as "the minimum consumption on the day is 880 and the maximum is 3,500." The ticket price for Jay Chou's concert is the real ticket price. Even so, it can be seen that "Jay Chou copycats" have greatly increased their net worth by imitating Jay Chou, and they and bars have made a lot of money.
The problem is that this behavior of seeking commercial interests by imitating Jay Chou has been suspected of infringing on Jay Chou's portrait rights, name rights and even copyrights. For example, before starting the tour, "Heilun" recorded a short video in Jay Chou's image for promotion, but without Jay Chou's authorization, this was a blatant infringement. As for such imitators, Jay Chou himself always laughs them off. This is actually condoning the imitators' infringement.
may be viewed as a "Jay Chou copycat". As long as Jay Chou himself is allowed to be imitated, he can sit back and relax and continue to earn the dividends of imitation. However, the infringement of "Jay Chou copycats" is real. If our society tolerates this kind of infringement, it is contempt for the rule of law and infringement. Then anyone can ignore the legal provisions and the rights of others. Moreover, the performance market may also become chaotic. This requires great attention from relevant parties.
Take "Jay Chou copycat" performing in a bar as an example. Even if Jay Chou will not be held accountable, the relevant local authorities should put an end to it. Both the "Regulations on the Administration of Commercial Performances" and the "Regulations on the Administration of Entertainment Venues" stipulate that relevant activities must not violate "social morality" or "violate other contents prohibited by laws and regulations." On the other hand, "Jay Chou copycats" imitate Jay Chou's performance in bars, which does not comply with relevant laws and regulations, and the local authorities should correct it.
Moreover, this kind of "Jay Chou copycat" imitation performance may mislead some consumers if it is not announced in advance that it is an imitation of Jay Chou. In addition to the rights of victims in accordance with the law, relevant parties must also regulate the behavior of imitation performances and cannot allow such illegal and infringing behaviors to become popular. From this perspective, in a world where imitating celebrities is prevalent, whether the celebrity being imitated is allowed is only one aspect. The behavior of the imitator must also comply with relevant laws and regulations.
You must realize that although we are in the era of national entertainment today, and imitation shows are also one of the forms of entertainment, there are boundaries for others to imitate celebrities, and they must be premised on not breaking the law or infringing upon any infringement. If the imitating behavior is based on public welfare purposes or authorized by the celebrity being imitated, imitating behavior is feasible. However, if this type of imitation violates laws and regulations such as the Civil Code, it should be corrected in accordance with the law, and imitation of celebrities cannot become a public illegal activity.
Wenl Feng Haining
