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Recently, "Dong Yuhui's new account live broadcast room accused of massive plagiarism" surged to the top of the hot search list, sparking discussions among netizens. With the rapid development of short videos, the use of video texts has also sparked a series of controversies. So, how do we define short video texts, and is there copyright for organizing similar knowledge? In light of this, attorney Zhao Zhanling Esq. from JAVY Law Firm was interviewed by China News Network to interpret such incidents.

Mr. Zhao told reporters that the basic principle of copyright law is to protect expression rather than ideas. For example, explaining the three geniuses of the Renaissance through the master-disciple relationship, using sculpture examples to introduce Michelangelo's works, and explaining the full name meaning of Michelangelo and translating it into the Chinese name "Fugui" should all be considered the original author's expressive ways and should be protected by law. Without the original author's permission, the use of similar or identical content by Dong Yuhui's live broadcast room may constitute copyright infringement.

Mr. Zhao stated that if it's merely drawing inspiration from others or referencing objective facts stated by others, and using different expressions in terms of specific wording, it does not constitute infringement. For example, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is based on the main historical facts of "Records of the Three Kingdoms," but it uses different ways to describe them, even designing many artistic details, which are considered different expressions and do not constitute infringement.

Furthermore, regarding the issue of "indicating the source of borrowed texts," Mr.  Zhao pointed out that if Dong Yuhui's live broadcast room claims that it constitutes "fair use" as defined by the Copyright Law, which is "to introduce, comment on a work, or explain a problem, and appropriately quote someone else's published work," it also needs to be judged whether it constitutes "appropriate quotation."

Whether it constitutes "appropriate quotation" needs to be judged based on four aspects: 1. The quoted object is limited to published works. If quoting unpublished works, it infringes on others' publishing rights. 2. The author's name or name of the work must be indicated; otherwise, it's not a quotation but plagiarism. 3. The purpose of the quotation must be to introduce, comment on the work, or explain the problem. 4. The quoted work cannot constitute the main part or substantial content of the new work, and it's not suitable for quoting the entire segment, the entire article, a large amount, or the entire text.

"During the live broadcast, Dong Yuhui's live broadcast room did not specify the original author and the name of the work, which obviously does not belong to 'appropriate quotation,' and therefore does not fall within the scope of 'fair use.' The original author has the right to demand cessation of infringement, apology, and compensation for losses."