Recently, the game infringement case of "Onmyoji" and "Hyakki Monogatari" came to a final verdict. The Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court determined that the two games were similar in type, theme, and background. The online game character image of "Hyakki Monogatari" constituted counterfeiting and confusion. compete. At the same time, it was determined that Jingqi Company, Youlian Company, and Aijiuyou Company constituted copyright infringement and unfair competition. The first instance judgment was made to uphold the case and ordered to compensate NetEase 1 million yuan.
"Onmyoji" is a 3D Japanese-style turn-based role-playing mobile game independently developed and operated by NetEase in 2016.
"Hakki Monogatari" is a Japanese-style Japanese-style mobile game developed by Youlian Xunjie (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. and operated by Shenzhen Jingqi Tianxia Network Technology Co., Ltd. and released in 2018. This game is also set in the Heian period of Japan. It is highly similar in theme and style to "Onmyoji", forming a direct market competition.
▲ Promotional image of "Hyakki Monogatari"
In 2021, NetEase discovered that "Hyakki Monogatari" had used a large number of artworks from "Onmyoji" without authorization, more than 200 times. At the same time, on the game platform of Aijiuyou Company , there are remarks that clearly disparage "Onmyoji" in order to enhance the image of "Hyakki Monogatari". Based on this, NetEase sued the three companies to the Guangzhou Internet Court.
▲ Promotional image of "Hyakki Monogatari"
During the trial of the case, based on the fact of copyright infringement, NetEase believed that there were 11 similar characters in the two games, with more than 200 bigo diamond recharges , including the initial image of the protagonist Qingming in "Onmyoji", Seimei – the image of Jin Maple, the image of Yuling Shenlong, the image of Yuhunrin entering the road, as well as the image of Umibozu, Mushishi, Guanhu, Zashiki Warashi, Luo Xinfukaku, soldiers and warriors, and the nine-life cat shikigami.
In order to prove the popularity of the "Onmyoji" game and characters such as Seimei, NetEase submitted the "Onmyoji" brand marketing expense audit report from June 2016 to May 2017, "Onmyoji" mobile game downloads, revenue rankings, Summary table of awards, summary table of publicity and promotion media reports such as mobile game events, exhibitions and conferences, cross-industry cooperation, and corresponding media reports. for example:
On October 24, 2016, the DAU of "Onmyoji" exceeded 10 million and still ranked first on the iOS best-selling list;
On February 20, 2017, "Onmyoji" was downloaded more than 200 million times and won recognition as a five-star experience;
On August 8, 2018, the top ten mobile game revenue rankings were released. "Onmyoji" earned 400 million in July;
"Onmyoji" won the "2016 Best Mobile Game Online Game Award", "2016 Huawei Game Annual Top Ten Online Games", "2016 Best Mobile Game" and so on.
During the trial of the case, based on the facts of unfair competition, NetEase provided evidence including:
"YYS is too irritating? Why not try this idle mobile game "Hyakki Monogatari"" (9you.com) part of the page states: "The most criticized thing about "YYS" by players is that the game is too irritating. It requires players to spend a lot of time on the game… In the game "Hyakki Monogatari", the liver does not exist. The main gameplay of the game is placement, idling, and leisurely nourishing the liver. It can be said that it is a lazy person A must-have product for players. The controversial point of "YYS" and a certain online company is that the card pool is poisonous and there is no guarantee. Although there is now an UP event, the probability is still impressive… In "Hyakki Monogatari", the card drawing system is very conscientious. At the beginning, all kinds of things are given to ten companies for free, and the ten companies are guaranteed to get a five-star divine pet. Once it is cast into the soul, don't ask, it is just a charity."
"This game looks like "YYS"? The product manager is also a little unfair." Part of the page states: ""Hyakki Monogatari" is a Q-version card placement mobile game under Whale Flag Games… "YYS" is a This semi-real-time turn-based RPG has always been criticized the most by players: the liver… requires players to spend a lot of time on medicine, and what they get in return may be only a negligible improvement. And "Hundred Demons Story" is a game. The main idle game is idle, which is a leisure and nourishing game. It can be said to be a must-have product for lazy players. We only need to make good use of the fragmented time and send the heroes online, so that it can be used while taking a bath or traveling. free fire top up player id free , you can also easily get rich rewards.”
Huawei App Store has a recommendation page for "Hyakki Monogatari". The relevant comment information includes multiple comments including "yys sense of déjà vu".
In order to prove that there is no infringement, Jingqi Tianxia submitted the following evidence, including the following, to prove that "Onmyoji" is indeed more aggressive:
① On September 12, 2016, "Interface News" published the article "Mobile Games: Liver for the Liver丨Touching Joy" and stated: I believe that any "Onmyoji" player who has played for more than a week will have a voice in his heart: This game is really too "heavy";
② On November 14, 2016, "Tencent Games" published the article "How long can Onmyoji be so popular and boring? How long can you "live"" stated: In addition to liver, Onmyoji's gameplay activities are also boring and boring;
③On October 26, 2017, "Interface News" published "Why don't you "live" Onmyoji anymore? "The article shows: In the context of "Onmyoji" players, the biggest feeling is that the "Onmyoji" game is too boring ("it takes a lot of time and energy to get into this game") and the probability of drawing cards is extremely low (time, energy and money invested) Too high), in view of this, a large number of players began to lose in 2017;
④On June 13, 2019, "Sohu.com" published the article "Why is Onmyoji so arrogant, what is the developer's intention, and what are the reasons", which showed: "Onmyoji" has only two major purposes: one is to draw unlimited… .. The second is unlimited liver… For ordinary players who don’t have krypton gold and want to draw cards constantly, it is essential to spend a lot of time accumulating resources: magatama, blue tickets, medals and other resources. , it’s not for the sake of strength that you are so aggressive. In order to prove that whether a game is "liver" or not will not affect the choice of gamers, Whale Company also submitted comments from many gamers, such as "Onmyoji goes against the grain, so losing a little hair is nothing." .
▲Game picture of "Hyakki Monogatari"
At the same time, Jingqi Tianxia stated that the game "Hyakki Monogatari" has not been in operation for a long time. Before the first-instance prosecution, the game had been terminated and the infringement had ceased. According to Jiuyou.com’s "Hyakki Monogatari" service suspension announcement:
Dear adults,
Thank you all for the happy time you have spent together in "Hyakki Monogatari" for so long. We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all of you! Due to the adjustment of operational business, we have to announce with regret that "Hyakki Monogatari" "Ghost Story" will be released at:
New account registration and tentative in-game recharge will be stopped on August 13, 2021
The game will be shut down on September 13, 2021.
Game compensation before shutdown: Diamonds*20,000+5-star UR light hero [Minamoto no Yoshitsune]*2+5-star UR light hero [Amaterasu]*2+Symphony Artifact*1+Mythical Dragon Jewelry Box*1
In the next period of time, we will still do our best to operate the game and try our best to satisfy your gaming experience. Thank you for your continued company (Diary of July 13, 2021)
The court of first instance found that Jingqi Company, Youlian Company and Aijiuyou Company jointly infringed NetEase's information network dissemination rights and carried out unfair competition behaviors of counterfeiting, confusion and commercial slander. Accordingly, it ruled that Jingqi Company should bear the main compensation. Liability, Youlian Company and Aijiuyou Company respectively bear joint and several liability within a limited scope.
▲ Promotional image of "Hyakki Monogatari"
Faced with the first-instance judgment, all parties expressed dissatisfaction and appealed.
In the end, the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court determined in the second instance that Jingqi Company, Youlian Company, and Aijiuyou Company constituted copyright infringement and unfair competition, and upheld the original judgment of the first instance. It was judged that Jingqi Company should compensate NetEase 1 million yuan, Youlian Company should bear joint and several liability within the scope of 900,000 yuan, and Aijiuyou Company should bear joint and several liability within the scope of 300,000 yuan.
▲ Promotional image of "Hyakki Monogatari"
The Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court held that the 86 patterns claimed by NetEase have originality and aesthetic significance, are works of art, and are protected by copyright law. Jingqi Company, Youlian Company, and Aijiuyou Company operated infringing games without authorization, infringing NetEase's information network dissemination rights.
▲Game picture of "Hyakki Monogatari"
At the same time, the characters in the game "Hyakki Monogatari" are highly similar to the characters in NetEase's "Onmyoji" game. Combined with the similarity in type, theme, and background of the two games, it is enough to cause confusion and misunderstanding among the public, constituting Unfair competition through counterfeiting and confusion. In addition, Whale Flag uses derogatory terms in its advertisements and reviews to evaluate competing products and uses positive terms to introduce its own games, which is misleading, damages NetEase's business reputation and competitive advantages, and constitutes unfair competition behavior of commercial defamation.
发表回复