The Internet Court recently made a first instance judgment on the first infringement case involving "virtual digital people", finding that an Internet company in Hangzhou constituted copyright infringement and unfair competition, and awarded a compensation of 120000 yuan.

The first case involving infringement of "virtual digital person" was sentenced

It is learned from the Hangzhou Internet Court that the virtual digital human Ada was created by Morpha. In 2019, it was released through public activities, and two videos were released on the bilibili platform. One introduced Ada's scene application, and the other recorded the motion capture pictures of real actors Xu and Ada.

The plaintiff claims video screenshots of the video work. Official account of Hangzhou Internet Court

In July 2022, an Internet company in Hangzhou released two accused infringing videos through its Tiktok account. The center position of the video is based on the relevant video content released by Mofa Company, and the relevant logo is replaced at the beginning and end of the film, and the marketing information of the virtual digital human course is added to the overall video. One of the videos also added the registered trademark of a network company in Hangzhou and included other virtual digital person names in the video title.

Devil's company believed that the above behaviors of the company infringed its right to information network communication of art works and audio-visual works, infringed the right to information network communication of video producers and performers in video products, and constituted unfair competition behavior of false publicity. It sued to the court, demanding that the company be ordered to eliminate the impact and compensate for losses (including rights protection costs) of 500000 yuan. The defendant company argues that Mofa Company does not have the relevant rights, its actions do not constitute infringement, and it did not actually profit from publishing the accused infringing video.

The court held that Ada, a virtual digital person involved in the case, was a human driven virtual digital person and was not modeled in person, meaning it did not correspond to a specific natural person's digital avatar. The generation process of the virtual image included creating a static 3D image, modeling, and intelligent binding. Combining the requirements of originality in the work, the expression form of virtual digital character Ada draws inspiration from the physical form of real people, and expresses the author's unique aesthetic choices and judgments on line, color, and specific image design through virtual beautification techniques, forming an art work. The relevant videos using Ada's image constitute audio-visual works and video products, respectively. Mofa Company enjoys the property rights and video producer rights of the aforementioned works. At the same time, the defendant company released two accused infringing videos, one of which constitutes an infringement of the information network dissemination rights of audio-visual works, and the other constitutes an infringement of the information network dissemination rights of art works, video producers, and performers.

In the end, the court decided that the defendant company would eliminate the influence on its Tiktok account for Moreva and compensate 120000 yuan for economic losses (including rights protection costs).

Intellectual Property Protection Behind Virtual Digital People

With the popularity of the concept of the metaverse and ChatGPT, the virtual economy is gradually moving towards the public eye, and with the continuous improvement of technology, hardware performance is gradually improving. Digital human art has also begun to break away from the setting of the 'Terror Valley' and is increasingly accepted by everyone. So, what aspects of intellectual property protection can virtual digital people provide?

From the analysis of the external virtual image of virtual digital humans, their appearance design is generally completed through original paintings, CG (computer animation), 3D modeling, and other methods, and the resulting art works can obtain copyright protection; Its name, artistic image, and voice can also be protected through trademarks; In addition, the virtual image of virtual digital humans and related graphical user interfaces (GUIs) can be protected through appearance design patents.

According to the relevant provisions of the Copyright Law of China, the virtual image of the virtual digital person meets the requirements of "plane or three-dimensional plastic arts works with aesthetic significance composed of lines, colors or other ways", which can be identified as works of art and can be protected by copyright.

According to the provisions of China's Trademark Law, the name, logo, graphic and three-dimensional art image, sound, etc. of a virtual digital person can be applied for trademark registration as long as they have distinctiveness.

In terms of product application categories, virtual digital person related trademark registration needs to focus on the following categories:

Category 9: Computer software, virtual reality game software, interactive multimedia computer game programs, chat robot software for simulating conversations, etc;

Category 42: Computer software development, design and development of virtual reality software, etc;

Category 41: Provide online virtual reality games, virtual reality game hall services, etc. on computer networks;

Category 38: Social network online chat room services, etc.

Considering that virtual digital humans have been widely used in advertising, culture, services, education, and other fields, and their application scenarios are still constantly enriching, it is necessary to register relevant trademark categories according to specific fields and functions.

The virtual image of a digital person belongs to the "aesthetically pleasing and suitable design for industrial applications" stipulated in China's Patent Law, and its virtual image can also be seen as a graphical user interface (GUI) for the computer application service of a virtual digital person; If there is a significant difference between virtual image design and existing design or a combination of existing design features, a design patent can be applied for.

Virtual digital people have become a new trend

At present, virtual digital people have come and become the hot "hot Crispy fried chicken". If the ultimate outcome of the Internet is the metaverse, then virtual digital humans are within reach of the present.

As an important carrier for interaction between the real world and the virtual world, with the development of 5G, artificial intelligence, cloud rendering, augmented reality, motion capture and other new generation information technologies, virtual digital people are facing a blue ocean of development.

Virtual digital people have higher plasticity and adaptability, and can serve as virtual spokespersons, virtual employees, or collaborate with virtual idols and virtual anchors for live streaming, sales, and grass planting. By constructing these consumption scenarios, the brand is endowed with more attractive and fresh popular elements, bringing its own memory points and traffic. Virtual digital people have undoubtedly become a new traffic trend that brands are eager to take advantage of.

In recent years, multiple governments have successively launched "new urban business cards" projects such as the Metaverse Government Hall, the Cultural and Tourism Metaverse, and the Metaverse Business District. From public services to daily life, the Metaverse has accelerated its integration with various industries, and new forms of digital economy continue to emerge. As the first virtual digital person to land in the Metaverse, it has received attention from national and local governments. In November 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and the State Administration of Sport jointly released the Action Plan for the Integration and Development of Virtual Reality and Industry Applications (2022-2026), proposing the key task of "virtual reality+cultural tourism".