"Dimoo" is a highly popular blind box series under Pop Mart. During its commercial operations, the authorized company of "Dimoo" discovered that similar counterfeit figurines had appeared online. Does the seller's conduct infringe upon the rights of the authorized party? What liabilities should be borne?

[Case Review]

The "Dimoo World" series is a well-known artistic work under Pop Mart. The plaintiff, a communication and culture limited company, having obtained lawful authorization, acquired the right to use and protect the copyright of this series of works. In May 2023, the company discovered that the defendant, Li, had displayed and sold figurine toys on an online store that were highly similar to the works of the "Dimoo World" series, with sales prices significantly lower than those of genuine products on the market.

Consequently, the company filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting that the defendant be ordered to cease the infringing activities and compensate for economic losses and reasonable expenses. The defendant admitted that the products sold were imitations but argued that the quantity sold through the online store was minimal, that the amount of compensation claimed by the plaintiff was excessively high, and that the defendant was financially unable to bear such liability.

Upon trial, the People's Court held that, after comparison, the accused infringing figurine toys were highly similar to the copyrighted works in terms of character image, expression of movement, and core visual elements, with only minor differences in details such as color and gloss.

Based on the overall impression from the perspective of the general public, the two constituted substantial similarity. The defendant's acts of displaying and selling the accused infringing products in its online store clearly infringed upon the plaintiff's right of communication through information networks and right of distribution. Considering that the defendant's online store had already been closed and the infringing acts had effectively ceased, the People's Court, after comprehensively taking into account factors including the type, popularity, originality, and market value of the copyrighted works, as well as the nature of the infringing acts, the business scale, and the subjective fault of the defendant, rendered a judgment in accordance with the law, ordering the defendant to compensate the plaintiff for economic losses and reasonable expenses in the total amount of CNY 15,000.

[Judge's Remarks]

In recent years, the ACG (Animation, Comic, and Game) cultural industry has experienced rapid growth. With its unique cultural appeal and immense commercial potential, it has given rise to various types of derivative merchandise from popular IPs, such as figurines and badges, forming the so-called "Guzi Economy", a booming sector that has attracted a large number of consumers and investors. However, as the market expands, copyright infringement incidents have emerged one after another. How to safeguard rights and enhance regulation has become a topic of market consensus and co-governance.

I. Copyright in ACG works as the key to value realization in the industry chain

In this case, the artistic works of the "Dimoo World" series serve as the foundation for the creation of "Guzi" products, and their copyright protection directly concerns the value realization of the entire IP industry chain.

If infringing acts are allowed to proliferate, counterfeit "Guzi" products will flood the market at low prices, not only squeezing the profit margins of genuine products but also dampening the creativity and enthusiasm of original authors and copyright holders. Over time, the creation and development of high-quality IPs will become unsustainable, and the entire ACG economy will face a developmental bottleneck. Therefore, strict protection of intellectual property rights within the ACG economy is fundamental to ensuring industrial innovation and sustainable development.

In this case, the defendant, Li, engaged in the unauthorized sale of trendy toy products, which constitutes one of the most prominent types of infringement currently prevalent in the "Guzi Economy" sector. During the trial, the court explicitly held that the unauthorized production and sale of derivative merchandise constituted an act of infringement and ordered the infringer to bear liability for damages, thereby both compensating the rights holder's losses and deterring the counterfeit market.

II. Rights holders should strengthen awareness of protection and enforcement capabilities

The prerequisite for intellectual property protection is the clear establishment of the qualification of the rights holder. Although China implements an automatic acquisition system for copyright, the Works Registration Certificate remains strong preliminary evidence in infringement litigation. Therefore, it is advisable for rights holders to complete copyright registration for their core IP at the earliest opportunity and properly preserve original materials such as draft manuscripts of their works. The commercialization and development of IP involve aspects such as rights transfers and licensing, and it is essential to ensure that the clauses in legal documents are comprehensive and that the transfer of rights is properly regulated.

In this case, the rights holder discovered the infringing acts through proactive monitoring and promptly safeguarded its rights and interests. In this regard, it is recommended that rights holders establish proactive monitoring and defense mechanisms, leveraging technologies such as big data analysis and blockchain evidence preservation, to regularly monitor both online and offline markets and promptly detect potential infringement clues. When encountering intellectual property disputes, depending on the nature and severity of the infringement, rights holders should flexibly choose appropriate enforcement measures, such as filing complaints with platforms, issuing cease-and-desist letters through attorneys, or initiating litigation.

III. Sellers should regulate business conduct and strengthen risk prevention

Legitimate procurement channels and complete purchase documentation not only safeguard the rights and interests of sellers themselves but also serve as crucial evidence in responding to infringement allegations. Sellers should adhere to the bottom line of intellectual property protection, exercise strict control over procurement channels, select reputable suppliers, and refuse to sell unauthorized products.

The judicial practice in this case vividly demonstrates the close connection between intellectual property protection and the development of the ACG economy. Only when rights holders strengthen their awareness of protection and actively enforce their rights, and sellers regulate their business operations and take steps to prevent risks, can all parties work together to foster a sound legal environment that respects originality and protects intellectual property rights, thereby promoting the healthy development of the ACG economy and achieving dual success in both creative and market value.

[Representative Comments]

Lin Lan, Deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and Research Fellow at the Institute of Urban and Demographic Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

This case, focusing on the "Dimoo World" series of artistic works, has sounded a clear alarm for copyright protection in the ACG market. The court, through progressive reasoning on the originality of the works, ownership of rights, and comparison of detailed elements, ultimately determined that the accused products and the original works were "substantially similar" in composition, color, and even narrative ambiance. On this basis, the court held that infringement was established, forming a logically complete and well-evidenced chain of judicial reasoning. On the one hand, this judgment sends a clear message to creators and platforms alike that "the red line cannot be crossed, and popularity does not grant immunity". On the other hand, it provides clear, operable, and predictable boundaries for the increasingly prominent derivative markets of the "Blind Box Economy" and "Guzi Culture" within the ACG industry. Through this case, the judiciary has released a strong signal of "strict protection and swift enforcement", injecting certainty of rules and a sense of security for innovation into the ACG industry chain, thereby ensuring that trending culture can develop steadily and sustainably on the track of the rule of law.

[Legal Provision Reference]

Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 10 Copyright includes the following personal rights and property rights:

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(6) Right of Distribution: the right to provide the original or copies of a work to the public by sale or donation;

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(12) Right of Communication Through Information Networks: the right to make a work available to the public by wired or wireless means, such that members of the public may access the work at a time and place of their own choosing;