CATDOLL: The author of "Shuke and Beta" sued for infringement, Shanghai Animation Film Studio responded that the words were misleading to the public

As people are becoming more and more aware of copyright, various copyright disputes are also increasing. On August 4, the famous fairy tale writer Zheng Yuanjie posted a microblog saying that he had encountered "the most serious copyright infringement incident in his 39 years of writing." He said that the book "Shuke and Beta" (five volumes) published and distributed by Jiangsu Phoenix Art Publishing House in June 2016 did not contain Zheng Yuanjie's name. Therefore, Zheng Yuanjie believed that "this seriously infringed my right of authorship and other rights of copyright, such as wanton tampering with the work and infringing the integrity of the work", and "required Phoenix Publishing and Media Co., Ltd. to respect intellectual property rights and immediately stop infringement."

On the copyright page posted by Zheng Yuanjie, his name is indeed not mentioned anywhere.

On the morning of August 5, Zheng Yuanjie posted on Weibo again, saying: "The infringing book is shown to be authorized by the animation production organization. There is no contract to prove that I have authorized the animation production organization to publish related books and other derivative products and have an agreement on this." He also said that in 1996, the animation production organization published the comic book "Shuke and Beta" (China Film Publishing House) based on the animation without authorization. After he defended his rights, "the Beijing Municipal Government Copyright Department determined that it was an infringement. On May 3, 1996, the Beijing Municipal Government Copyright Department confiscated and destroyed the infringing books."

On the morning of August 5, the official Weibo account of the National Copyright Administration reposted Zheng Yuanjie's Weibo post and announced three common ways to file complaints. The "Jianwang 2016" mentioned in the National Copyright Administration's Weibo post refers to the "Jianwang 2016" special action officially launched by the National Copyright Administration in July this year in conjunction with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Public Security. However, the focus of the action is on the infringement and piracy of online literature.

On the afternoon of August 5, Shanghai Animation Film Studio issued a statement saying: "Our company owns the copyright of the animated film "Shuke and Beta". We have the right to adapt and publish the film. We have cooperated with Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House Co., Ltd. to publish a series of books adapted from the film."

Soon after, Jiangsu Phoenix Art Publishing House also issued a statement on Weibo, saying: "The "Shuke and Beta" series of books (Volumes 1-5, first edition in June 2016) published by our company are legally authorized by Shanghai Animation Film Studio and are formal publications. The relevant copyrights granted to our company by Shanghai Animation Film Studio include cartoon scripts, cartoon character designs, etc." As for Zheng Yuanjie's previous rights protection Weibo, Jiangsu Phoenix Art Publishing House determined that Zheng Yuanjie's words did not match the facts, and therefore "sincerely request Mr. Zheng Yuanjie to retract the relevant remarks to avoid misleading readers."

Under this Weibo post, Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House also attached a statement with its official seal and an official letter from Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio Co., Ltd. to Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House Co., Ltd.

At the end of the statement, Jiangsu Phoenix Art Publishing House said: "This publishing house asks Mr. Zheng Yuanjie to delete the relevant remarks on Sina Weibo within 24 hours after the issuance of this statement. Otherwise, this publishing house will safeguard its legal rights and interests through relevant channels."

More importantly, Shanghai Animation Film Studio Co., Ltd. clearly stated in the letter: "The book is adapted and published based on the animated film "Shuke and Beta". Shanghai Animation Film Studio Co., Ltd. owns the copyright of the animated film "Shuke and Beta". Shanghai Animation Film Studio has the right to adapt and publish the film. The legal liability caused by this shall be borne by Shanghai Animation Film Studio and has nothing to do with your company."

Late at night on August 5, Zheng Yuanjie responded to the statement issued by Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House and Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio: "This infringement of the right of authorship has nothing to do with the animation production organization, but only with the publishing house." His reason is: "If the animation "Shuke and Beta" did not sign the original author, I would of course seek protection from the animation production organization. The book "Shuke and Beta" does not sign the original author, which infringes my right of authorship. I can only seek protection from the publishing house."

Regarding Zheng Yuanjie's rights protection incident, Zhang Hongbo, the general secretary of the China Written Copyright Association, mentioned on Weibo in the early morning of August 7 that the China Written Copyright Association should pay attention to this matter, and said, "After reading @郑渊洁's introduction in various media, I feel that there have been problems since Mr. Zheng's cooperation with Shanghai Animation Film Studio many years ago. It seems that there are problems with the earliest contract, and the agreement is not clear. It is not just a question of the right to authorship of the book. Can the book be published? Can the character image be used in the book and other commercial purposes? The three parties need to take out the contract! It is meaningless to just talk over the air!"

Regarding the core issue of "authorship" in this dispute, the reporter tried to contact Zheng Yuanjie, Shanghai Animation Film Studio and Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House, trying to inquire about the specific terms of the contract signed between Zheng Yuanjie and Shanghai Animation Film Studio regarding "authorship" and the authorization of derivative products related to the movie "Shuke and Beta", as well as whether the author should receive the corresponding royalties after signing. As of press time, none of the three parties responded.