In the Chinese New Year of 2025, the movie “Ne Zha's Magic Child Trouble in the Sea” (hereinafter referred to as “Ne Zha 2”) shone like a bright star in the movie market.In the movie, Ne Zha, with his feet on a blazing wheel of fire and wind, and Ao Bing, set out on a journey to change his destiny after flooding the Chentang Pass.
The heart-wrenching plot of the movie portrays Ne Zha's unyielding struggle against fate; the impeccably crafted scenes of Ne Zha's three heads and eight arms are perfectly portrayed, and the movie attracted the audience's attention. As of 00:00 on February 10th, the box office figure exceeded 8.1 billion dollars, which not only dominated the global single market, but also successfully ranked among the top 35 Asian films at the global box office, with more than 163 million viewers, making it a phenomenal cultural feast. Since its release on January 29, the film's popularity has continued to rise, and the Lighthouse Professional AI model predicts that its total box office is expected to exceed RMB 12 billion, with a bright future ahead.
However, behind Ne Zha 2's boundless popularity, some discordant factors have quietly emerged. The “gun version” of the film, formed by maliciously recording the film, is like a “tumor” in the film market; pirated resources are spreading unchecked in the online world like a virus; and box office theft in theaters is like a “worm” that erodes the healthy body. “These phenomena have seriously undermined the healthy development of the movie industry.
Today, we will analyze these issues from a professional legal perspective, taking “Ne Zha 2” as an example, to find out what rights have been violated, what harm has been caused to all parties, and what kind of legal responsibility they need to bear.
According to data from online platforms, as of February 6, the gross box office of the movie “Ne Zha's Magic Child Haunts the Sea” (including screenings and pre-sales) ranked first on China's box office charts.
I. Analysis of the Legal Infringement of Maliciously Recording a Movie and Pirating and Distributing it on the Internet
Have you ever thought about how serious the legal consequences of secretly recording a movie like “Nezha 2” with your cell phone in a movie theater and uploading it to the Internet?
(i) Legal definition of infringement of rights
Right of reproduction: Imagine that you have created a painting depicting the heroic figure of Nezha, and someone else reproduces it in large quantities by photocopying or reproducing it without your permission, you will be outraged.The same applies to movies. According to Article 10(5) of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the right of reproduction refers to the right to make one or more copies of a work by means of printing, photocopying, sound recording, videotaping, duplicating, or remaking.
Those who secretly recorded “Ne Zha 2” in movie theaters and made a “shotgun” version of it are undoubtedly trampling on the film producer's reproduction right.In order to portray Ne Zha in Ne Zha 2, every aspect of the movie, from the character design, the repeated refinement of his demeanor and movements, to the special effects team's meticulous creation of the stunning images of Ne Zha unleashing his magic spells, is the result of the creators' hard work, which has been discarded by those who recorded the “shotgun version” of the movie.
Right of distribution and right of dissemination of information network: When these “shotgun versions” are widely distributed on the Internet, they violate both the right of distribution and the right of dissemination of information network. Article 10, item 6 of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China states that the right of distribution refers to the right to make the original or a copy of a work available to the public by way of sale or gift, while item 12 stipulates that the right of dissemination through information networks refers to the right to make the work available to the public by wired or wireless means, so that the public can access the work at the time and place of their choosing. Piracy and distribution are like thieves selling and sharing their stolen goods at will, completely disregarding the hard work and legitimate rights and interests of movie creators. Just like the spectacular duel between Nezha and the Infinite Immortal in “Nezha 2”, which should have been shocking to the audience on the big screen of a movie theater, piracy has destroyed this unique experience and damaged the copyright holder's revenue.
(ii) Damage to the rights and interests of relevant parties due to copyright infringement
Damage to the rights and interests of the movie producer: The producer invested a huge amount of money in order to create Ne Zha 2, an excellent movie, bringing together many special effects companies in China, and pouring a lot of effort into it. The production company invested a huge amount of money to create Nezha 2, bringing together a number of special effects companies in China and devoting a great deal of effort to the film. The team meticulously conceptualized Nezha's story of his growth, director Dumpling personally portrayed Nezha's complex character, and the special effects team utilized top-notch technology to create Nezha's spells. However, the spread of “shotgun” and pirated versions has resulted in a large number of viewers choosing to watch the pirated version of the movie free of charge, which has drastically reduced the box office revenues of the original movie, as well as subsequent revenue from the operation of the copyrights, such as the development and sale of Nezha-related derivatives, and the revenue from the network broadcasting rights. This is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the producer, and may even weaken its incentive to create quality movies in the future, perhaps making it difficult to produce the next exciting sequel about Nezha.
Damage to the rights and interests of movie theaters: Movie theaters and the producer have established a cooperative relationship by signing a screening contract, expecting to gain revenue by legally screening a movie like Ne Zha 2. Cinemas invested heavily in venue rental, equipment purchase and maintenance in order to provide audiences with a good viewing environment and an immersive experience of Nezha's adventures. However, the ravages of piracy have caused many viewers to stop going to the cinema, and the cinema's box office revenue has dropped sharply, making it difficult to recover the costs invested in the early stage, and seriously affecting its normal operation and development. From a legal point of view, this kind of behavior destroys the relationship of rights and interests formed by both parties based on the contract, and puts the cinema's operation in a difficult situation, as well as affecting the normal exhibition order of the film industry.
(III) Legal Liability for Infringing Behavior
Criminal liability: If piracy is committed for profit, and the amount of illegal proceeds is large or there are other serious circumstances, it will violate Article 217 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, which stipulates that it is a crime of infringing copyright. According to this article, if the amount of illegal proceeds is relatively large or there are other serious circumstances, the penalty shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years and a fine or a single fine; if the amount of illegal proceeds is huge or there are other particularly serious circumstances, the penalty shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years and a fine . For example, during the hotly anticipated release of Wandering Earth in 2019, Wang and others made hundreds of thousands of yuan in profit by selling Baidu.com disk account passwords to disseminate pirated resources through the Internet after pirating the film in movie theaters, and were ultimately sentenced by the court to three years' fixed-term imprisonment and fined for the crime of infringing on copyrights, which fully highlights the law's severe sanction against piracy.If anyone engages in similar piracy and profit-making behavior with respect to Ne Zha 2, they will also be severely punished by the law.
Civil liability: In addition to criminal liability, infringers are also liable for civil damages.According to Article 1185 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, if a person intentionally infringes another person's intellectual property rights under serious circumstances, the infringed person has the right to seek punitive damages. Meanwhile, according to Article 52 of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, if the copyright or copyright-related rights are infringed, the infringer shall compensate the right holder in accordance with the actual loss suffered by the right holder as a result of such infringement or the unlawful gain of the infringer; if it is difficult to calculate the actual loss of the right holder or the unlawful gain of the infringer, the compensation may be made with reference to the royalty of such rights.Article 10, item 6 of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China states that the right of distribution refers to the right to make the original or a copy of a work available to the public by way of sale or gift, while item 12 stipulates that the right of dissemination through information networks refers to the right to make the work available to the public by wired or wireless means, so that the public can access the work at the time and place of their choosing.Piracy and distribution are like thieves selling and sharing their stolen goods at will, completely disregarding the hard work and legitimate rights and interests of movie creators.Just like the spectacular duel between Nezha and the Infinite Immortal in “Nezha 2”, which should have been shocking to the audience on the big screen of a movie theater, piracy has destroyed this unique experience and damaged the copyright holder's revenue.
(ii) Damage to the rights and interests of relevant parties due to copyright infringement Damage to the rights and interests of the movie producer: The producer invested a huge amount of money in order to create Ne Zha 2, an excellent movie, bringing together many special effects companies in China, and pouring a lot of effort into it.The production company invested a huge amount of money to create Nezha 2, bringing together a number of special effects companies in China and devoting a great deal of effort to the film. The team meticulously conceptualized Nezha's story of his growth, director Dumpling personally portrayed Nezha's complex character, and the special effects team utilized top-notch technology to create Nezha's spells.However, the spread of “shotgun” and pirated versions has resulted in a large number of viewers choosing to watch the pirated version of the movie free of charge, which has drastically reduced the box office revenues of the original movie, as well as subsequent revenue from the operation of the copyrights, such as the development and sale of Nezha-related derivatives, and the revenue from the network broadcasting rights.This is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the producer, and may even weaken its incentive to create quality movies in the future, perhaps making it difficult to produce the next exciting sequel about Nezha.
Legal Analysis of Audio-visual Recording and Photo-taking during Movie Viewing
Have you ever wondered whether you can secretly make audio-visual recordings or take photographs when you go to the movie theater to watch “Ne Zha 2”?
(I) Analysis of the Infringement Rights of Acts
Analysis of the infringement rights of audio-visual recording: Article 31 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of the Movie Industry clearly stipulates that no one may make audio-visual recordings of a movie that is being shown without the permission of the right holder.From the perspective of copyright law, the movie producer enjoys the right to license others to reproduce, distribute, rent, disseminate to the public through the information network and receive remuneration for the movie audio-visual products produced by the producer. Therefore, the unauthorized audio and video recording of Ne Zha 2, which is currently being screened, is undoubtedly an infringement of the rights of the film producer, and is tantamount to acting arbitrarily in another person's territory.Each of Nezha's lines and soundtracks in the movie is the result of careful creation, and private audio and video recording undermines the order of dissemination and copyright protection of the movie.
Determination of Infringement Rights for the Act of Taking Photographs (Special Circumstances): Generally, taking photographs for souvenir purposes does not constitute infringement of copyright.However, if the photographs taken are used for commercial purposes, such as making posters or derivatives for sale, according to the relevant provisions of the Copyright Law, such acts will involve infringement of the copyright owner's reproduction and distribution rights, i.e., unauthorized use of elements of the work for commercial gain, which undermines the legitimate rights and interests of the copyright owner.For example, if someone produces handsome stills of Nezha from Nezha 2 and sells them as cell phone cases, this would infringe the rights of the copyright owner, as these stills are part of the work of the movie, and unauthorized use of them for commercial profit is unlawful.
If the copyright holder of Ne Zha 2 encounters piracy, it also has the right to claim compensation in accordance with the law to protect its rights and interests.
Administrative penalties: The relevant administrative departments will not tolerate piracy and will impose administrative penalties in accordance with the law.According to Article 53 of the Copyright Law, if an infringing act is committed, in addition to civil liability, if it also harms the public interest, the department in charge of copyright will order the cessation of the infringing act, issue a warning, confiscate the illegal proceeds, and confiscate, harmlessly destroy and dispose of the infringing copies, as well as the materials, tools, and equipment mainly used to make the infringing copies.
If the amount of illegal business is more than 50,000 yuan, a fine of not less than double and not more than five times the amount of illegal business may be imposed; if there is no amount of illegal business, if the amount of illegal business is difficult to calculate or if it is less than 50,000 yuan, a fine of not more than 250,000 yuan may also be imposed.2021 In 2021, the administrators of an Internet group who had been massively distributing pirated resources of movies were seized by the cultural law enforcement authorities, who not only confiscated the illegal income, but also fined them a hefty sum of money.This effectively curbed the spread of piracy.If someone pirates and distributes copies of Ne Zha 2, they will face the same administrative penalties to make piracy pay.
(III) Legal responsibility for infringement behavior
Measures for stopping and leaving the cinema: Once the cinema staff found that someone was audio-visually recording Nezha 2, they had the right to stop it immediately and ask it to delete the relevant content; if the other party refused to cooperate, the staff had the right to ask it to leave the cinema. For example, during the screening of Ne Zha 2 in a cinema, a member of the audience was secretly recording video and audio during the movie, which was promptly discovered and stopped by the staff. Initially, the audience refused to cooperate, but in the end, the staff asked him to leave the theater in accordance with the regulations, successfully preventing the flow of pirated materials, safeguarding the copyright of the movie, and protecting the viewing environment for other audience members
Liability for civil and administrative penalties: For infringing acts of taking photos for commercial use, the copyright owner has the right to pursue civil liability for infringement and demand that the infringement be stopped and damages be paid. For photo-taking behaviors that disturb the order of movie-going, cinema may inform the relevant rules in advance according to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code. If someone does not listen to dissuasion, the movie theater can take appropriate measures; if the situation is serious, the relevant administrative departments will impose administrative penalties. There was a small gift store that made keychains selling unauthorized images of characters from a movie, and the copyright holder of the movie sued it in court after finding out. In the end, the gift store not only stopped the infringing behavior, but also compensated the copyright holder for the economic loss and assumed the corresponding responsibility for the infringement. Any business that uses elements of Nezha 2 to create products for sale without authorization will face the same legal liability.
III. Legal inquiry into the viewing and distribution of pirated copies by viewers
Many people may think that merely watching pirated movies is not illegal, is this really the case? Let's take “Ne Zha 2” as an example for an in-depth discussion.
(i) Determination of Infringement Rights for Distribution of Pirated Acts
If you merely watch a pirated copy of Ne Zha 2 on a personal basis, you will not be penalized by the law.However, if you share the pirated resources with others, it constitutes an infringement.According to Article 52 of the Copyright Law, distributing a copyrighted work to the public through an information network without the permission of the copyright owner constitutes an infringement. Every time a work is shared, it adds fuel to the piracy “fire”, causing the copyright holder's losses to grow.The success of “Nezha 2” unites the dreams and efforts of many creators. Distributing pirated copies is disrespectful to them and undermines the foundation of the movie industry.
(ii) Damage to parties involved in the movie industry as a result of the act
Damage to movie copyright holders: Although it is not directly illegal for viewers to watch pirated movies, in the long run, this will undoubtedly lead to a reduction in the box office and subsequent copyright revenues of legitimate movies, and will seriously dampen the creativity and investment incentives of copyright holders. In the long run, if everyone chooses to watch pirated movies, who will be willing to invest a lot of money and effort in producing quality movies like “Ne Zha 2”?The copyright holder invested heavily in the production of “Ne Zha 2” and expects to recoup its costs and gain revenue through box office and copyright operations. Pirated viewing makes it difficult to realize this expectation and may affect the creation of and investment in subsequent films of the same genre.
Damage to the rights and interests of movie theaters and other audience members: Loud noises and frequent photo-taking in movie theaters not only seriously affect the viewing experience of other audience members watching Ne Zha 2, but also violate the contractual agreement between the movie theaters and their audience members based on the service of viewing the movie.Imagine you are quietly enjoying the touching friendship between Nezha and Ao Bian in “Ne Zha 2” when someone next to you keeps taking photos and flashing their flash, which will undoubtedly ruin your movie-going experience.This kind of behavior not only disrupts the normal business order of the cinema, but also harms the legitimate rights and interests of other viewers, making it impossible for everyone to fully immerse themselves in the fantasy world of the movie.
(III) Legal responsibility for infringement behavior
Measures for stopping and leaving the cinema: Once the cinema staff found that someone was audio-visually recording Nezha 2, they had the right to stop it immediately and ask it to delete the relevant content; if the other party refused to cooperate, the staff had the right to ask it to leave the cinema.
For example, during the screening of Ne Zha 2 in a cinema, a member of the audience was secretly recording video and audio during the movie, which was promptly discovered and stopped by the staff.
Initially, the audience refused to cooperate, but in the end, the staff asked him to leave the theater in accordance with the regulations, successfully preventing the flow of pirated materials, safeguarding the copyright of the movie, and protecting the viewing environment for other audience members.
Liability for civil and administrative penalties: For infringing acts of taking photos for commercial use, the copyright owner has the right to pursue civil liability for infringement and demand that the infringement be stopped and damages be paid.For photo-taking behaviors that disturb the order of movie-going, cinema may inform the relevant rules in advance according to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code.If someone does not listen to dissuasion, the movie theater can take appropriate measures; if the situation is serious, the relevant administrative departments will impose administrative penalties.There was a small gift store that made keychains selling unauthorized images of characters from a movie, and the copyright holder of the movie sued it in court after finding out.
(ii) Harms of Box Office Theft to Related Parties in the Movie Industry
Harms to film producers: Box office theft will directly lead to a reduction in box office revenues for the producers. In the case of Ne Zha 2, the producers originally expected to use the box office results of this film to accumulate funds and reputation for the subsequent creation of the “God of Seals Universe” series of films, in particular sequels related to Ne Zha.
If the box office is now falsely counted, making it impossible to accurately assess the true market performance of “Ne Zha 2”, it may affect subsequent creation and investment plans. This has a negative impact on the development of the movie industry and may make it difficult to produce the next Ne Zha's exciting adventure on the big screen.
Harm to movie distributors: Distributors work closely with producers to gain revenue through box office share. Box office theft by theaters not only harms the distributor's financial interests, but also damages its business reputation.In the case of Ne Zha 2, for example, the distributor invested a great deal of resources in promoting the story of Ne Zha to a wider audience, but box office theft has jeopardized their efforts and undermined the basis of cooperation between the two parties, making future cooperation on Ne Zha films or other films uncertain.
Harm to the film market: Box office theft is an unfair competition, unfair to those theaters that operate in accordance with the law, and seriously undermines the level playing field of the film market.As in the wave of screenings of Nezha 2, the box office theft by some theaters has deprived other theaters that are serious about screening and abide by the rules of fair competition, hindered the healthy development of the entire film industry, impacted the benign development of the film market, and affected the audience's trust in the film industry.
(III) Legal Liability for Box Office Stealing Behavior
Civil liability: the screening contract signed between the theater and the producer and distributor clearly stipulates the terms of box office share, and the act of box office theft constitutes a breach of contract.According to the provisions of the Civil Code on contract breach and tort liability, the producer and distributor have the right to demand that the theater assume liability for breach of contract and compensate for losses; at the same time, box office theft violates property rights and interests and constitutes a tort, and the infringed party can claim tort damages.2020 In 2020, a theater stole the box office by tampering with the data of the ticketing system during the screening of a domestically produced blockbuster movie.The producer and distributor found out and sued it to the court, and eventually the court ruled that the theater should compensate for the economic loss in accordance with the contract and bear the corresponding infringement liability, which safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the copyright holder. If any theater steals box office tickets during the screening of Ne Zha 2, it will face the same legal action, and will be required to compensate the producer and distributor for the loss suffered by the popular IP film Ne Zha due to the theft of box office tickets.
Administrative penalties: In accordance with the Law on the Promotion of the Motion Picture Industry and other laws and regulations, the film administration will impose administrative penalties on cinemas that steal from the box office, such as orders to correct, warnings and fines; and if the circumstances are serious, it may also order the suspension of business and rectification, or up to the revocation of the license.A small cinema was once reported by the public for repeated box office theft. After verifying the case, the film administration imposed a fine and ordered a three-month suspension of operation, which served as a warning to other cinemas. If box office theft occurs in the theaters showing Ne Zha 2, the film administration will likewise deal with it seriously and in accordance with the law, in order to maintain the normal order of the film market and to ensure that quality productions such as the Ne Zha series of films are able to reap the rewards they deserve in a fair environment.
Criminal Liability: If the circumstances of box office theft are egregious and the amount of money involved is so large that it meets the criteria for filing a criminal case, it may be a violation of the Criminal Law, such as the crime of occupational misappropriation or the crime of fraud, and the person(s) responsible will be liable to face criminal penalties. The individual store manager of a major cinema chain, who embezzled a huge amount of box office revenue by means of box office theft, was eventually arrested in accordance with the law on suspicion of the crime of misappropriation of official position and awaits severe punishment under the law, which fully demonstrates the deterrent effect of the law on serious violations of the law. If any cinema steals box office revenue during the screening of Ne Zha 2 and the circumstances reach the standard of a criminal offense, the person responsible will definitely be sanctioned by criminal law, so that the offenders will pay a heavy price for disrupting the order of the Ne Zha series of films as well as the entire film industry.
V. Summary
Film copyright protection is the cornerstone of the healthy development of the film industry. Malicious recording of “gun version”, unauthorized audio-visual recording and photo-taking, dissemination of pirated resources, and box office theft by theaters have seriously infringed on the lawful rights and interests of the parties involved in the film.Just as Nezha guards the Chentang Pass in “Nezha 2”, we, as viewers, should enhance our awareness of the law and copyright protection, resolutely boycott piracy, and choose legal channels for viewing movies, so that we can jointly contribute to the prosperous development of the movie industry.
At the same time, the relevant authorities should strengthen law enforcement, crack down on piracy, and continue to improve laws and regulations to provide more solid and powerful legal protection for movie copyright protection, and to promote the film industry to continue to thrive on a healthy track. We look forward to seeing more high-quality movies like Ne Zha 2 being produced in a favorable copyright protection environment in the future, bringing audiences more exciting audio-visual feasts, and allowing classic characters such as Ne Zha to continue to shine on the big screen.
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