Global Times
Date: 2020/4/26
By: Chen Xi

The news that the siblings of Sao Mao, a late influential writer from the island of Taiwan, filed a lawsuit against cultural variety show Letter Alive for infringing on San Mao's copyrights and modifying said content without permission went viral on Chinese social media on Sunday, World Intellectual Property Day.

According to reports, the Beijing Internet Court tried the infringement case online on Friday, during which it livestreamed the trial. The court did not pronounce a judgment in court.

The dispute focused on a letter that San Mao's father once wrote to the writer, a portion of which was read on an episode of the show's second season. The attorney for San Mao's siblings stated that the show had changed the name of the letter, altered a large portion of the text and broadcast the content of the letter on the show without permission from the rights holder. The plaintiff demanded compensation of 110,000 yuan ($15,533).

However, the defendants said they did not recognize Sao Mao's siblings as the owners of the letter in question and believe that their actions fall within fair use in copyright law. They also said that the compensation is too high, Beijing News Daily reported on Sunday.     [FULL  STORY]