Recently, a bizarre news caught the public eye, a writer mentioned his electronically published novel has only been published with 245 chapters, yet on a pirate website, the same novel was published with more than 1000 chapters, this indicates that the pirate website is essentially creating its own new chapters for the novel. JAVY’s Zhao Zhanling Esq. has commented on this issue when interviewed by the National Business Daily.
The writer, Jiangshan Tibi, has published his novel on the popular electronic literature outlet Qidian.com, while the series has only published 245 chapters, another website published the same novel without authorization, but surprisingly with 1369 chapters.
Jiangshan questioned that how this could happen after finding out the pirate website, he wondered whether the fake writers are making big money, or they had utilized some advanced AI technique to imitate his writing style. However, the pirate website then disappeared mysteriously, along with the “updated” novel with 1000+ chapters.
Mr. Zhao pointed out that this is a special case where the pirate has actually create its own fake content in the real author’s name. According to copyright law, any unauthorized copy of other person’s work constitutes infringement, but in this case, the “new” content is not actually written by the author, so there is no infringement, but it was still published using the real author’s name, to mislead the audience to believe it was authentic, thus this could be categorized as unfair competition.
As Mr. Zhao suggests, the author could sue the online platform to protect his rights, but the actual gain from litigation might not balance the cost, thus it is advised to send a lawyer's letter, or file a complaint instead.
About Zhao Zhanling Esq.
Mr. Zhao graduated from CUPL a Master’s degree of Law.
Specialized Areas: Compliance, Dispute Resolution & Litigation, PE & Investment Fund, IP Law, Construction & Infrastructure Law, Business Arbitration & Litigation.
Social Titles: Special Researcher of CUPL IP Law Center, Arbitrator of Xining Arbitration Committee, Arbitrator of Langfang Arbitration Committee, Arbitrator of Mediation Center of China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Deputy Director of Beijing Enterprise Law and Development Research Association’s Internet Law Center, Special Commentator for China National Radio, and many more.
Notable Clients: Baidu, Tencent, JD, Qihoo 360, Wanda Media, Leyard Optoelectronic, Beijing FJR Optoelectronic, and many more.
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