In 2024, Tencent Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., represented by East IP, filed a civil action together with other plaintiffs against Beijing Baidu Netcom Technology Co., Ltd. for copyright infringement and unfair competition involving the unauthorized use of AI-generated videos.  The Changsha Intermediate People’s Court issued a final decision in this case in December 2024, upholding a decision in the plaintiffs’ favor by the Kaifeng District People’s Court in Changsha.

In this case, the defendant offered users access to “Duijia” software advertised as providing an “AI One Click Film Production” service that created three to seven second videos based upon user requests based upon text.  The plaintiffs complained that their video “Celebrating More Years” which enjoys copyright was copied and stored by the defendant on its server with the intention of allowing its reproduction in video clips created by users that were then published on the defendant’s online Baijiahao video sharing platform.

In its appeal decision, the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court held that the storage of short videos by the defendant in its digital library is protected under the right of online dissemination of copyright works. Court further confirmed the lower court’s view that the defendant had engaged in direct infringement.  

The lower court, in its decision, observed that this was the first case in China confirming copyright protection for AI-generated videos created based upon texts inputs.

The case was managed by East IP litigators 蒋强, Zhang Tianhao, Zhu Nandi, and others.