Shanghai Intellectual Property Court Analyzedthe Characteristics of the Cases ofComputer Software Copyright Infringement

From its establishment to the end of June 2019, Shanghai Intellectual Property Court accepted a total of 394 disputes over computer software copyright infringement, including 385 cases of first instance and 9 cases of second instance. A total of 351 cases were concluded, including 342 cases of first instance and 9 cases of second instance. The above-mentioned cases mainly show the following characteristics.First, the proportion of foreign-related cases is high. Of the 394 cases accepted, 209 involved foreign parties, with a foreign-related ratio of 53%. Countries of foreign parties involved mainly include the United States, South Korea, Japan, and European countries such as Germany, France, Poland, and Finland. Second, many well-known enterprises have filed lawsuits in batches to defend their rights. The plaintiffs are mostly established companies in the field of computer software, such as Microsoft and Adobe, which are well-known to the public. Some well-known software companies have filed multiple lawsuits against the same infringer for using different computer software, or against different infringers for using certain computer software. Once, a maximum of more than 80 lawsuits were filed in batches by a technology company for the same software. Third, the mediation/withdrawal rates are high. Of the 342 cases of first instance concluded, 299 cases were closed by mediation or withdrawal; of the 9 cases of second instance concluded, 4 cases were closed by mediation or withdrawal. The mediation/withdrawal rates of such cases were as high as 86.3%. The court urged through mediation the right holder and the infringer to reach a package of mediation or legal copy purchase agreement, which completely resolved the contradictions and promoted the healthy development of the software industry. Fourth, a high proportion of statutory damages apply. Of the 36 cases in which damages were awarded at the conclusion of the first instance, a total of 26 statutory damages were applied since the actual loss of the right holder or the illegal gain of the infringer could not be accurately determined, accounting for 72.2%; in 8 cases determined in a discretionary manner, there was evidence to prove that the loss of the right holder obviously exceeded the maximum statutory compensation amount; and in only 2 cases there was evidence to prove the actual loss of the right holder or the illegal gain of the infringer, hence the amount of damages was determined.

 

 

contact us

Tel:021-58951988
Email:shzcfy@163.com
Post Code:201203
Address:No. 988 Zhangheng Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai
Total Reads: 7461
All rights reserved Shanghai Intellectual Property Court copyright(c) 2014-2015 All Rights Reserved