A court in Shandong province has ruled that two companies infringed the copyright of the animated film Ne Zha by using its characters without authorization on their products.

The Linqing Court ordered Yiwu Stationery Factory and Yanggu Department Store to stop producing and selling products that feature the images of Ne Zha, Ne Zha Child and Ne Zha Prince, which are original artworks created by Beijing Enlight Media for the film Ne Zha. The court also ordered the defendants to pay a total of 53,000 yuan ($8,300) in compensation and fees to Beijing Enlight Media.

Ne Zha is a popular Chinese mythological character who appears in the classic 16th-century novel Investiture of the Gods. The film Ne Zha, produced by Beijing Enlight Media, is a 3D computer animation fantasy adventure film that reimagines the character as a rebellious hero who defies his fate. The film was released in China in July 2019 and became a huge commercial success, grossing over $742 million worldwide. It was also selected as the Chinese entry for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.

Beijing Enlight Media sued Yiwu Stationery Factory and Yanggu Department Store after discovering that they were producing and selling products such as notebooks, stickers and backpacks that used the images of Ne Zha from the film without authorization. The plaintiff claimed that the defendants violated its exclusive right to reproduce and distribute its artworks, and demanded them to stop the infringement and pay damages.

The defendants argued that Ne Zha is a public domain figure from Chinese folklore, and that they did not infringe any rights. They also claimed that Beijing Enlight Media’s version of Ne Zha was a distortion of the intangible cultural heritage of Macau’s Ne Zha belief.

The court rejected the defendants’ arguments and found that they had infringed Beijing Enlight Media’s copyright. The court compared the images used by the defendants with the artworks claimed by the plaintiff, and found that they were substantially similar in artistic elements, despite some minor differences in details. The court held that an average viewer could recognize them as the same cartoon character, and that the defendants’ products could mislead consumers into thinking that they were authorized by or associated with the plaintiff.

The court also held that the defendants’ arguments about Ne Zha’s value and origin were irrelevant to the case, and could not justify their infringement. The court stated that although Ne Zha was adapted from a folk tale or legend, Beijing Enlight Media had created original artworks with distinctive features and core values that reflected its creative efforts and expression. The court said that protecting intellectual property rights was protecting innovation, and that encouraging the adaptation and creation of folk tales would invigorate the animation industry and promote cultural diversity.

According to Du Wei, the judge who presided over the case, this case is an example of how the court protects intellectual property rights and supports innovation in the animation industry. He said that Chinese traditional folk tales contain rich cultural values, and have been a source of inspiration for many film and television works. He said that in recent years, traditional folk tales have been given new vitality in Chinese animation, thanks to innovative adaptation. He said that punishing infringement and safeguarding creators’ rights would stimulate more originality and quality in animation production, and contribute to the healthy development of China’s animation industry.