Youku sued Kugou for infringing the TV series "Chinese Paladin 1" and was awarded 70,000 yuan in compensation

Today (December 20), according to the Beijing Court Trial Information Network, the first-instance civil judgment on the dispute over infringement of the right to disseminate works on the information network between Youku Network Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Kugou Computer Technology Co., Ltd. was announced.

The verdict shows that the plaintiff Youku Company claimed that the defendant Kugou Company used the "Kugou Live" software without authorization to provide online playback services for the film and television drama "The Legend of Sword and Fairy 1", infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of Youku Company.

In response, Kugou argued that the content was provided by users and that it promptly stopped the dissemination of the works in question, so it should not bear joint and several liability for infringement; Kugou did not profit from it and did not have the malicious intention of inducing infringement.

The Beijing Internet Court held that the account in question live-broadcasted the work in question in the "Watch Together" section of the Kugou Live App, infringing Youku's copyright. Kugou created the "Watch Together" channel and had the obligation to review the live account and content; at the same time, there were audience rewards in the live broadcast room, and Kugou sold related virtual products as a tool, so it can be inferred that Kugou obtained certain profits, and therefore should bear joint infringement liability with users.

The verdict shows that the Beijing Internet Court ordered Kugou to compensate Youku for economic losses totaling 70,000 yuan.