7 On July 16, reporters learned from the Guangdong Provincial Higher People's Court that the court recently announced a typical case of disputes over the copyright licensing contract for the character image in the film "Onmyoji Qingya Ji". A media company obtained the authorization to use the image of the movie character in the outer packaging of authorized products and product promotion posters and videos. However, the film was taken offline due to director Guo Jingming being involved in a plagiarism scandal. The media company involved requested to terminate the contract and return the guaranteed license fee, liquidated damages, and loss compensation.
The Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court ruled in the second instance that classified the situation where the director's plagiarism caused the movie to be offline as a situation where the authorized party can terminate the contract according to the agreement, and found that the licensor violated the principle of good faith performance. Cai Jianhe, a fourth-level senior judge of the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court, pointed out that in the film character image copyright licensing contract, in addition to assuming the responsibility for guaranteeing rights defects in the authorized copyright, the licensor should also be responsible for ensuring the positive publicity effect and normal exposure of the film amount of contractual obligations.
The director was caught in a plagiarism scandal and the movie was offline
Reporters learned that "Onmyoji Qingya Ji" was adapted from "Onmyoji" by Japanese writer Yumezhen Tapir. The movie will be released in mainland China on December 25, 2020, and will be directed by Guo Jingming , Zhao Youting , Wang Ziwen and other starring roles. The Douban score of this film is only 5.1, and it was removed from the entire network after only 11 days of release. At that time, Guo Jingming was caught in a plagiarism scandal.
The official Weibo of "Movie Qing Ya Ji" responded to the offline incident
On December 21 of the same year, screenwriter Yu Fei and others issued an open letter jointly signed by 111 domestic film and television practitioners, calling for a boycott of plagiarism, naming screenwriter Yu Zheng and director Guo Jingming. On the evening of the next day, 45 more film and television practitioners joined the co-signing list, adding to the first batch, a total of 156 people. Then on December 31, Guo Jingming publicly posted a long Weibo apology for plagiarizing Zhuang Yu's "In and Outside the Circle" in his novel "How Many Flowers Fall in Dreams".
According to the Guangdong Provincial Higher People's Court, a media company signed an authorization contract with a film company, which mainly agreed that a film company authorized a media company to use the characters and images from the movie "Onmyoji: Qingya Collection" on authorized products. For affiliated derivative images, the licensing fee consists of a guaranteed licensing fee of 260,000 yuan and a share of licensing fees. The
contract also stipulates that if the film is not released or delayed for other reasons, or if the main actors and actresses in the film make remarks or behave inappropriately that are inconsistent with national laws, regulations or relevant policies before and after the film is released and are publicly criticized, If this affects the sales of a media company's products, a film company must notify the media company 30 days in advance and refund the license fee in full, or negotiate to delay the performance of the contract.
After the contract was signed, a media company used the image and content stipulated in the contract involved in the outer packaging of the authorized goods and product promotion posters and videos, and the products were put on the shelves for sale. The movie involved in the case was released in mainland China at the end of December 2020, but after January 5, 2021, theaters across the country did not continue to schedule screenings.
In March 2021, a media company sent a letter to a film company stating that due to the negative issues of plagiarism involved by the director of the film involved, the film was not released, and the online media was full of negative comments about the film and the related production team, causing a media company to Unable to continue to use the authorized subject matter to achieve commercial purposes, it requested that the contract involved be terminated and that a certain film company fully refund the guaranteed license fee and pay liquidated damages and compensation for losses. As negotiations between the two parties failed, a media company filed this lawsuit.
Copyright licensees must perform accompanying obligations
The judgment results disclosed by the Guangdong Provincial Higher People's Court show that the first-instance judgment of the Guangzhou Tianhe District People's Court confirmed that the contract signed by the two parties was terminated on March 8, 2021, and a film company The media company returned 80,000 yuan and paid 20,000 yuan in liquidated damages. A film company was dissatisfied and filed an appeal.
The second instance of the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court held that there is an important relationship between the release of the film involved and the performance of the contract involved. If the film director's plagiarism causes the film to be offline, a media company can terminate the image licensing contract involved according to the contract.After a film company involved in the case was boycotted and no longer scheduled for screening due to the director's negative behavior, it did not notify a media company to negotiate and communicate about the performance of the contract and other related situations. Therefore, the court of first instance was not improper in finding that a film company had breached the contract. Therefore, the second instance upheld the original verdict.
According to reports, this case applies the principle of interpretation of contract terms in accordance with the law, interprets the contractual obligations of the licensor in a manner consistent with the true intention of the parties, and classifies the situation where the director's plagiarism caused the movie to be offline as a situation where the authorized party can terminate the contract in accordance with the contract. , and also determined that the authorized party violated the principle of good faith performance and should bear liability for breach of contract.
Cai Jianhe, the fourth-level senior judge of the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court, said that the dispute in this case arose precisely because 111 domestic film and television practitioners jointly issued a document to boycott plagiarists, and the incident had a great impact.
Cai Jianhe pointed out that the movie character image copyright licensing contract involved in this case is different from the general copyright licensing contract. The purpose of signing this type of contract by the licensee is to increase the sales of authorized products through the diversion of movie character images. Profit. The role of film character image in attracting traffic depends on the positive publicity effect and exposure of the film in which the character is involved.
Therefore, in the film character image copyright licensing contract, the licensor should not only assume the liability for guaranteeing rights defects in the authorized copyright, but also bear the contractual obligation to ensure the positive publicity effect and normal exposure of the film.
In this case, the contract stipulates that the termination of the contract due to the improper words and deeds of the cast and crew is force majeure, and both parties to the contract do not need to bear liability for breach of contract. However, when such a situation occurs, the party who is aware of it should promptly inform the other party based on the principle of good faith and negotiate to clear the contract. Rights and obligations to prevent losses from expanding. The licensor involved in the case should bear the corresponding liability for breach of contract precisely because he failed to perform this incidental obligation and violated the principle of good faith performance.
Source: Yangcheng Evening News, Southern Metropolis Daily, Red Star News
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