This landmark civil judgment was rendered by the Beijing Internet Court, Case No. (2024) Jing 0491 Min Chu No. 5169, focusing on secondary editing and re-dissemination of original documentary audiovisual works on a domestic short video platform. The case differs completely from prior illustration copyright cases and involves typical algorithm push-related indirect infringement disputes in the short-video industry.
The copyright plaintiff is Vision Documentary Media Co., Ltd., a professional domestic documentary production enterprise. The company independently produced a 6-episode original nature documentary series and completed voluntary copyright registration for all audiovisual works at the China Copyright Protection Center, holding exclusive rights of reproduction, adaptation and communication through information network. The direct infringer is an individual creator operating a verified short video account; the co-defendant platform operator is Star Horizon Network Technology Co., Ltd., which runs a mainstream domestic short-video platform equipped with intelligent content uploading, auditing and algorithm recommendation systems.
Core applicable clauses of the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China (2020 Revision) and the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China:
1. Article 10 of the Copyright Law: Audiovisual works enjoy exclusive rights including the right of adaptation and the right of communication through information network. Unauthorized clipping, editing and online dissemination of documentary clips constitute infringement of the above exclusive rights.
2. Article 24 of the Copyright Law (Fair Use): Transformative use shall not substitute for the original work’s market value. If edited clips can largely replace viewers’ demand for official authorized viewing, such conduct cannot be recognized as fair use.
3. Article 1195 of the Civil Code (Notice-Takedown Rule): If network service providers know or should know that network users utilize their services to commit copyright infringement and fail to adopt necessary measures, they shall bear joint and several liability for the expanded losses. Platforms adopting algorithm recommendation owe a heightened duty of care beyond passive notification and deletion.
4. Article 54 of the Copyright Law: Where actual losses or illegal gains cannot be verified, the court may award statutory compensation ranging from RMB 500 to RMB 5 million, taking account of work originality, infringement scale, subjective malice and reasonable rights-protection expenses.
From January to September 2024, the individual account holder extracted more than 110 fragmented clips from Vision Documentary Media’s registered documentary resources. The infringer added self-made commentary, subtitles and simple transition effects and uploaded these edited short videos to the platform.
1. The edited clips retained core scenes, picture composition and original audio from the documentary. After uploading, the platform’s algorithm system identified high click potential and pushed these infringing videos to massive target users. The cumulative playback volume of all infringing videos exceeded 4.2 million, and the account obtained traffic revenue and fan growth through infringing content.
2. Vision Documentary Media issued multiple formal copyright takedown notices to Star Horizon Network Technology, attaching copyright registration certificates, original source files and notarized webpage evidence. The platform only deleted notified links, but failed to launch proactive keyword screening or block the re-uploading of similar infringing clips. The same infringer repeatedly uploaded new edited documentary fragments after previous removals.
3. The platform’s internal operation log proved the algorithm recommendation mechanism directly increased exposure of infringing content, and the platform obtained indirect traffic benefits brought by high-play infringing videos.
Two main defenses were raised by the platform and the individual uploader and fully rejected by the court: first, adding original commentary constituted transformative fair use; second, the platform only provided neutral information storage services and fulfilled takedown obligations after receiving notices, so it should enjoy safe harbor immunity.
The court conducted a four-factor comprehensive assessment and held: the edited clips occupied substantial original creative content of the documentary series. Continuous viewing of these fragmented short videos enabled audiences to grasp the main plot and core viewing experience of the original documentary, forming market substitution against authorized official broadcast. Simple addition of commentary cannot offset market substitution effects, thus the conduct failed to meet fair use conditions under Article 24 of the Copyright Law.
General passive information storage platforms may rely on the notice-takedown rule, yet platforms deploying active algorithm content push bear heavier obligations. The judge ruled that Star Horizon Network Technology should have foreseen high copyright risks arising from mass documentary clipping. After repeated notifications, the platform only carried out isolated link deletion without establishing systematic prevention mechanisms. The platform’s algorithm actively amplified infringement consequences, meaning the platform “should have known” of ongoing infringement and could not apply safe harbor protection.
The individual account holder committed direct copyright infringement by unauthorized editing and uploading. The platform constituted contributory infringement for failing to fulfill enhanced management obligations, jointly liable for part of the compensation corresponding to losses expanded by algorithm dissemination.
After balancing work value, playback scale, repeated infringement and reasonable litigation costs including notarization, appraisal and attorney fees, the Beijing Internet Court issued the judgment:
1. Order the individual uploader to immediately stop all acts of clipping, editing and uploading infringing documentary clips; permanently delete all relevant audiovisual materials published on the platform.
2. Order the individual uploader and Star Horizon Network Technology Co., Ltd. to jointly compensate the plaintiff for economic losses and reasonable rights-protection expenses totaling RMB 218,000. The individual uploader bears 65% liability (RMB 141,700), and the platform bears 35% supplementary joint liability (RMB 76,300).
3. The two defendants shall bear all case litigation fees and audiovisual comparative appraisal fees.
1. Random clipping, segmentation and re-editing of complete documentaries, films and television programs generally do not qualify for fair use protection, even with added commentary or secondary packaging.
2. Short-video platforms equipped with intelligent algorithm recommendation cannot merely rely on passive notice-and-delete measures. For high-risk copyrighted film and television content, platforms must build proactive content filtering mechanisms to avoid contributory infringement.
3. Repeated uploading of similar infringing works after receiving takedown notices will be recognized as aggravated subjective malice, leading to higher statutory compensation amounts.
4. Traffic revenue and user growth generated by infringing content will be treated as important aggravating factors when courts calculate copyright compensation.
1. Assuming that adding commentary, subtitles or simple editing automatically constitutes legal transformative creation and fair use.
2. Platform operators only deleting notified links without setting up continuous prevention mechanisms for repeated infringement.
3. Platforms underestimate the legal risks brought by algorithm push and mistakenly believe the safe harbor rule fully applies to actively recommended content.
4. Content creators extract long-form audiovisual works without obtaining formal written adaptation licensing agreements from copyright holders.
1. WIPO WIPOLEX Full English Text of the 2020 Revised Copyright Law of the PRC: https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/21065
2. China Copyright Protection Center Official Work Registration Public Inquiry System: https://ggzpd.ccopyright.com.cn/registrationPublicity.html
3. Beijing Internet Court Official Portal for Online IP Judgment Search: https://www.bjcourt.gov.cn/bjinternetcourt/
4. National Copyright Administration of China Official Website Copyright Administrative Enforcement Guidelines: https://www.ncac.gov.cn/
