People v. 15 Persons including Liang Yongping and Wang Zhenghang (case of copyright infringement)
(Case No.193 of the Guiding Case of the Supreme People's Procuratorate)
Key words
Protection of intellectual property rights, Crime of copyright infringement, Dissemination through information network, Application of the safe harbor rule, Substantive similarity, Multi-level and classified disposal
Key point
In handling criminal cases of online copyright infringement, the people’s procuratorates shall accurately understand the conditions for applying the "safe harbor rule" and determine whether the defense of innocence is valid by examining whether the network service provider was aware of the infringement. In cases involving a large number of infringing audio-visual works, sampling identification by appraisal institutions, combined with the opinions of the right holders, can be used to comprehensively determine whether the works constitute substantive similarity. For online intellectual property rights cases with numerous individuals involved, a multi-level and classified approach shall be adopted according to the criminal policy of tempering justice with mercy, based on their status, roles, degree of involvement, subjective maliciousness, and other factors.
Relevant provisions
Article 217 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (Rev. 1997)
Article 1195 and 1197 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (Effective since 2021)
Article 5(2) (i) and 11 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate of Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases Involving Infringements upon Intellectual Property Rights (Effective since 2004)
Article 1 of the Interpretation (II) of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate of Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases Involving Infringements upon Intellectual Property Rights (Effective since 2007)
Article 2 and 10 of the Interpretation (III) of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate of Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases Involving Infringements upon Intellectual Property Rights (Effective since 2020)
Article 3 of the Opinions on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in Handling Intellectual Property Right Infringement Criminal Cases (Effective since 2011)
