According to Babbitt News, the Hangzhou Internet Court recently made a first-instance judgment on the first case involving "virtual digital human" infringement, determining that the defendant, a Hangzhou Internet company, constituted copyright infringement and unfair competition, and ordered it to bear the legal responsibility of eliminating the impact and compensating for losses (including rights protection costs) of 120,000 yuan.
The Hangzhou Internet Court stated that when examining whether the corresponding person of a virtual digital person and the developer and operator of a virtual digital person enjoy the statutory rights under the Copyright Law, it is necessary to first evaluate whether the virtual digital person enjoys copyright or neighboring rights. The design and operation entities of virtual digital people have created virtual digital people at a high cost of manpower, material resources and technology. Based on their plasticity and adaptability, they provide customized product services for virtual digital people to meet diverse market needs and carry out specific scenario applications. This is an important way for such enterprises to obtain transaction opportunities and achieve innovation. They can enjoy business benefits and competitive advantages for virtual digital people and obtain protection through the Anti-Unfair Competition Law.