Chinese firms reportedly ordered to pay Disney Pixar $194,000 for copying ‘Cars’
Chinese firms who copied parts of hit movies Cars and Cars 2 of Walt Disney Co and Pixar are asked by Shanghai court to pay 1.35 million yuan equivalent to $194,440 for infringement as reported by Xinhua news agency on Saturday.
As seen on YouTube, more cases were ruled in favor of foreign firms this year as complain against copyright infringement is widespread in China. This one is the latest. The case was filed last June 2016 by Disney Enterprises Inc. and Pixar, owner of the copyright of animated movie "Cars and Cars 2" against G-point in Beijing and Bluemtv in Xiamen when they found images and fosters of Chinese local animated movie "Autobots" looks closely similar to Cars and Cars 2 and other characters.
In reply with the Walt Disney Co and Pixar's claim the defendant said that K1 and K2 were created independently and that Autobots was a domestic movie so moviegoers should not be confused. But critics claimed that even the title of Autibots is copied from another Hollywood blockbuster franchize "Transformer". Director Zhou of Autobots claimed he never saw the movie "Cars". After the court ruled against him he said he would appeal.
As China reported, Shanghai New Pudong District People's court favored the claim that Autobots characters K1 and K2 were similar to animate cars Lightening McQueen and Francesco Bernoulli. Thus the defendant infringed the intellectual property rights of Disney and Pixar.
Aside from 1 million yuan as payment to cover economic loses, and 350,000 yuan for legal fees Disney and Pixar should receive, the court also ordered that the infringement activity should be stopped immediately.
Lots of Disney's animated movies including Zootopia and Big Hero 6 were big box office hits in the mainland of China. Disney is making a major push into China about this.
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