In order to further publicize the achievements in combating infringement and piracy and to give full play to the exemplary and guiding role of typical cases, on 1 August, the National Copyright Administration and the National Office Against Pornography and Illegal Publications selected the “Top 10 National Anti-Piracy Cases of 2024 Announced by the National Copyright Administration of China” from copyright cases lawfully concluded in relevant regions in 2024. The case in which Lusheng Law Firm represented a world-renowned entertainment company in handling a copyright infringement case involving multiple individuals in Xuzhou who circumvented technological protection measures was honorably selected.
Case Selected Involving Lusheng
Representation of a world-renowned entertainment company in a copyright infringement case involving multiple individuals in Xuzhou who circumvented technological protection measures
Brief Case Description
Ten individuals, developed auxiliary cracking programs for game consoles, processed and manufactured devices for cracking game verification systems, installed such devices on handheld game consoles and sold them for profit, with the amount of illegal business operations being extraordinarily large. Lusheng Law Firm, acting for the right holder, assisted the public security authorities, the procuratorate and the court by providing legal opinions and promoting the progress of the case.
In May 2022, the Jiawang Sub-Bureau of the Xuzhou Public Security Bureau, Jiangsu Province, opened a criminal investigation into the case. In May 2024, the Gulou District People’s Procuratorate of Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, instituted a public prosecution in accordance with the law for the crime of copyright infringement. In November 2024, the People’s Court of Xuzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, Jiangsu Province, convicted Li XX and the other nine defendants of the crime of copyright infringement and sentenced them to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from three years and six months to two years and six months, with some sentences suspended, and imposed fines ranging from RMB 11 million to RMB 1.5 million. Some defendants subsequently appealed to the Xuzhou Intermediate People’s Court of Jiangsu Province, which, after trial, decided to uphold the original judgment.
Typical Significance
I. The right holder’s first criminal judgment involving “devices for damaging or circumventing technological measures”
In the course of handling the case, the attorneys actively cooperated with the public security authorities, the procuratorate and the court in explaining the technical issues involved in the case so as to resolve technical difficulties. They successfully secured the characterization of the conduct involved in this case, namely “providing devices primarily used to damage technological measures,” as the criminal conduct of “damaging or circumventing technological measures” under the crime of copyright infringement. This case constitutes the first criminal judgment obtained by the right holder in China targeting “devices for damaging or circumventing technological measures,” thereby laying a solid foundation for the right holder’s subsequent rights protection.
II. Substantive participation in the case and provision of opinions on the technologies involved and the application of law
At the stage of examination for prosecution, the attorneys proactively applied for access to the case file, reviewed the case, and submitted legal opinions to the procuratorial authorities. The procuratorial authorities adopted the attorneys’ opinions and confirmed the legal characterization of “devices for damaging or circumventing technological measures.” At the trial stage, the attorneys appeared in court as litigation representatives and presented opinions on the technical issues and copyright-related matters involved in the case, thereby achieving protection of the right holder’s copyright.
Given the large number of defendants, the huge amount of money involved, and the complex technical and legal issues in this case, the effective participation of the attorneys ensured the protection of the right holder’s litigation rights and also guaranteed the impartial adjudication of the case by the judicial authorities.
