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Chinese Court Delivers First Instance Judgment on YYeTs Copyright Infringement Case

Wed, 29 Dec 2021
Categories: China Legal Trends

In November 2021, the operator of China’s Largest Fansub Group YYeTs Liang was sentenced to prison for copyright infringement.

On 22 Nov. 2021, Shanghai No.3 Intermediate People’s Court held a public hearing on the case of the defendant Liang, who was accused of committing copyright infringement and was prosecuted by Shanghai No.3 People’s Procuratorate.

The Court has delivered the first instance judgment, sentencing defendant Liang Yongping to three years and six months in prison as well as a punitive fine for copyright infringement.

The Court found that, since 2018, the defendant Liang has established two tech companies and provided users with online streaming and downloading services of unauthorized film and TV on Renren Yingshi (YYeTs.com) and other related platforms.

The Court held that the defendant Liang has reproduced and distributed other people’s works for profit without the permission of the copyright owner, and that the illegal revenue totaled more than CNY 12 million (approx. USD 1.878 million). Therefore, his behavior was considered as aggravating circumstances.

Ultimately, the Court held that his actions constituted a copyright infringement.

 

 

Cover Photo by xiaokang Zhang on Unsplash

Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team

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