[Direct answer]In the Beijing area, how can one protect their rights when reposting others' works on short video platforms? This is a practical issue of widespread concern among the parties involved. According to the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Company Law of the People's Republic of China, handling such matters requires grasping the core elements and evidence and asserting rights in accordance with the law. Whether a favorable outcome can be achieved depends on the clarity of the facts, the sufficiency of evidence, and the choice of procedures, rather than on promises of results. It is recommended to sort out the materials as soon as possible, fix key evidence, and formulate a plan with the assistance of a professional lawyer to avoid losing rights due to exceeding the statutory time limit or insufficient evidence. For more details, please refer to the following link:Intellectual property protection legal services.

I. Problem Background and Typical Scenarios

How to protect one's rights when reposting others' works on short video platforms? Such cases are quite common in the Beijing area. When handling such disputes, both substantive rights and procedural choices need to be taken into account. Based on this, the following analysis will be conducted.Corporate legal servicesBased on practical experience, it is recommended that the parties first clarify their legal relationships before deciding on the path of protecting their rights or negotiating with the other party.

II. Key points of contention

The disputes in such cases often focus on three aspects: firstly, the basis and validity of rights, with registration and prior rights being key; secondly, the determination of infringement and similarity, which requires comparison and technical appraisal; thirdly, compensation and corporate governance, involving loss calculation and the effectiveness of the company's bylaws. Each of these aspects requires professional evidence to support them.

III. Professional analysis by Hengluo Law Firm

Based on Henglu Law Firm's practical observations in serving corporate clients, many enterprises encounter difficulties in protecting their rights due to the lack of registration and confidentiality systems. Lawyers usually recommend the following: conducting patent and trademark layout in synchronization with R&D and branding; clarifying the ownership of service inventions and trade secrets through written agreements; and having lawyers draft corporate governance documents to avoid internal disputes caused by flaws in articles of association and resolutions.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

The legal basis mainly includes the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on October 17, 2020 and implemented on June 1, 2021), the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on April 23, 2019), the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on November 11, 2020 and implemented on June 1, 2021), and the Company Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on December 29, 2023 and implemented on July 1, 2024). Practical suggestions: Enterprises should timely register and lay out their patents, trademarks, and copyrights; establish a trade secret protection system and confidentiality agreements; standardize the text of contracts and equity structures; and promptly preserve evidence through notarization in the event of infringement. For cross-border intellectual property matters, relevant measures can be taken in conjunction with the above-mentioned laws and regulations.Financial capital and cross-border services involving foreign affairsEvaluation.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Advice

For enterprises to comply with intellectual property regulations, prevention is better than remedy. There are three key points: register and lay out core technologies and brands as early as possible; sign confidentiality and intellectual property ownership agreements with employees and partners; standardize contract and equity documents. If infringement occurs, promptly obtain notarization and preservation of evidence. For professional support, you can seek assistance from relevant institutions or professionals.Special services and other case servicesDocking team.

For enterprises to comply with intellectual property regulations, prevention is better than remedy. It is recommended to register patents, trademarks, and copyrights for core technologies and brands as early as possible; sign confidentiality and intellectual property ownership agreements with employees and partners; standardize contract and equity documents, and have lawyers draft governance documents. In the event of infringement, promptly obtain notarization and preservation, and compare the actual goods with the notarized certificate. For cross-border intellectual property, it is also necessary to review the applicable law and jurisdiction. Enlisting the help of lawyers can help establish trade secret protection systems, improve compliance documents, and quickly formulate protection and defense plans in the event of disputes, reducing the difficulties in protecting rights caused by the lack of registration and confidentiality systems. For employee inventions and post-employment non-compete clauses, it is necessary to clarify ownership and time limits in advance through written agreements to avoid the loss of core technologies and customer resources due to personnel turnover.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: If the uploader just removes the watermark and changes the cover of the video, can we determine that this constitutes infringement?

Erasing watermarks and replacing covers do not change the ownership of the work. As long as it can be proven that the other party has accessed the original video and the content constitutes substantial similarity, the right holder can claim that the right to disseminate information on the Internet has been infringed according to the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on November 11, 2020 and implemented on June 1, 2021). The plagiarism accounts often use secondary editing to defend themselves, but simple splicing without adding original expression and watermark removal are not recognized. After determining the infringement, the right holder can request the removal of the video, an apology, and compensation for losses.

Q2: Before suing the transporter, what sets of original evidence do the rights holders need to prepare?

Prepare the following five sets of materials: 1. Original creative materials, project files, and shooting drafts. 2. Platform first-release records and screenshots of original certification. 3. Links to the plagiarized videos, screenshots, and notarized or trusted timestamp records. 4. Playback volume, fan count, and sales revenue data. 5. Negotiation records with the plagiarizer. These five sets of materials correspond to three key elements: ownership, infringement, and damages. The absence of any one of them will weaken the basis for claiming compensation. It is essential to complete each item before filing a lawsuit. During the notarization process, the entire playback process should be recorded to avoid being questioned about the authenticity and completeness of a single frame alone.

Q3: When making a claim against the mover, what are the methods for calculating the compensation?

According to Article 54 of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on November 11, 2020 and implemented on June 1, 2021), the claimant may claim compensation based on the actual losses, the infringer's illegal income, or a multiple of the license fee. If it is difficult to determine any of these, the court may award statutory damages of no less than 500 yuan and no more than 5 million yuan at its discretion, and the reasonable expenses of protecting rights shall be included in the total amount. Before suing, the claimant shall estimate the range based on the number of followers of the other party's account and the situation of advertising monetization, and use it as the basis for the settlement offer and the amount of the claim, so as to avoid being rejected for unreasonably high demands.

Q4: If an application is made for pre-litigation preservation to stop the dissemination of information, how long will it take for the court to make a ruling within a few days?

For videos that spread rapidly and cause continuous losses, applicants may apply for pre-litigation injunctions to immediately stop their dissemination. According to the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, if the situation is urgent, the court must make a ruling within 48 hours after accepting the application; applicants who disagree with the ruling may apply for a review once. The application requires providing a guarantee and paying preservation fees. The guarantee can be replaced by cash, a guarantee letter, or litigation preservation liability insurance, and the fees shall be calculated separately according to the amount of the guarantee. After the ruling is made, the platform must cooperate in removing the original video from the platform, which is suitable for situations where the original video is being hotly promoted and the removal negotiations have failed.

Q5: The video was just found to have been reposted. What steps should I take today to preserve the evidence?

Today, let's first complete four steps: First, record a screenshot of the video being reposted and save the link; Second, obtain a trusted timestamp or notarization to fix the dissemination and revenue data; Third, export the proof of originality and the first publication record from the backend; Fourth, submit a complaint application to the platform to request the removal of the infringing content. After the complaint is approved, save the platform's processing number to track the removal progress and cite it during the claim process. By securing evidence first and filing a complaint later, we can support our claims with a complete chain of evidence in subsequent settlement or litigation, and also prevent the other party from deleting or destroying evidence beforehand.

If you are currently facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the relevant evidence materials, to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Intellectual property protection legal services·Beijing Hengluo Law Firm

Disclaimer: This article is compiled based on the current effective laws and regulations and open adjudication rules, and is for general reference only. It does not constitute a formal legal opinion on specific cases. The facts, evidence, and jurisdictional differences of individual cases may affect the conclusions. If you encounter disputes, please consult a practicing lawyer in time.