3 Count: China X2

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1: ISPs Fail to Dismiss Filmmakers’ Piracy Liability Lawsuits

First off today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that, in two separate lawsuits, two internet service providers (ISPs) failed to get copyright infringement lawsuits against them dismissed.

The lawsuits target WideOpenWest (WOW) and Grande Communications, as filmmakers allege that both companies failed to take adequate steps to prevent piracy on their networks. Both WOW and Grande attempted to get their cases dismissed but, in both lawsuits, the judge denied the motions to dismiss, setting the stage for a potential trial.

Both companies are represented by the same attorneys and, in both cases, were denied. However, an attempt by the filmmakers to compel the ISPs to block suspected pirate websites was tossed, as the judges agreed to dismiss the request for an injunction along those lines.

2: Chinese Tourist Spot Accused of Copyright Infringement

Next up today, Yang Caini at Sixth Tone reports that the visitor center at a major Chinese tourist attraction is drawing complaints as architects say that the building was completed without their knowledge or them being paid for their work.

The complaint was made on social media by BCKJ Architects, who allege that they were tasked with designing the new center in 2021 and had completed sketches for the project, namely the visitor center at Huangguoshu Waterfall.

However, they claimed that the local government went ahead and built the center based on those sketches, without paying for the work. This, they claim, amounts to copyright infringement. A representative for the waterfall said that they are looking into the matter and working with the department that was responsible for coordinating with the studio.

3: Tencent and Douyin end Years of Copyright Disputes by Signing Cooperation Agreement on Content Distribution

Finally today, Iris Deng at the South China Morning Post reports that Chinese tech giants Tencent and ByteDance have agreed to a partnership on copyright distribution that ends years of copyright disputes.

ByteDance operates Douyin, the sister service to TikTok. This has brought the two into repeated conflict, as users on Douyin often share Tencent-owned video content. This came to a head in 2021 when Tencent filed a lawsuit against Douyin for the service allowing users to broadcast an anime series that was exclusive to Tencent Video.

However, this puts all the conflicts to rest as the two sides have reached an agreement about Douyin sharing Tencent-owned video works. In addition to Douyin, the authorization also applies to other ByteDance-owned properties, including Xigua Video and Jinri Toutiao.

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