More than 3,000 Wolfoo videos were deleted on YouTube, Sconnect issued a "cry for help" petitionIn the Chinese market, the cartoon Wolfoo (produced and copyrighted by Sconnect Vietnam) is loved by many children and is becoming increasingly famous. Along with the popularity of Wolfoo, many acts of copyright infringement of Wolfoo have arisen.
On April 1, 2022, Shanghai Leadjoy Cultural Media Co., Ltd. (referred to as Leadjoy) and Sconnect Vietnam (referred to as Sconnect) signed the "Animation Licensing Agreement". According to the contract, Sconnect authorized Leadjoy to release the animation "Wolfoo Channel" in China on digital platforms such as Tencent, Youku and iQiyi... The number of licensed episodes is more than 1,000 with a duration of 2-3 minutes/episode and a licensing period of 3 years.
Also under the agreement of the contract, Sconnect has granted the right to “Intellectual Property Protection” to Leadjoy. Leadjoy has the right to represent Sconnect in resolving activities related to intellectual property and protecting the Wolfoo brand in China.
Immediately after the two parties signed the business cooperation contract, Leadjoy initiated legal actions to handle copyright infringements against Wolfoo videos and the Wolfoo brand in the Chinese market.
Leadjoy has discovered copyright infringement by Wuwei Fenglingdu Television and Media Company (hereinafter referred to as Wuwei Fenglingdu). Specifically, since mid-2021, Wuwei Fenglingdu has used the username “Baby Xiadu” to release an animated series titled “Wolfoo” on platforms such as Youku and Tencent Video. Except for the addition of Chinese language, the content of this series is identical to “Wolfoo Channel”. Wuwei Fenglingdu’s actions have seriously infringed the copyrights of Sconnect and Leadjoy. Since April 13, 2022, Wuwei Fenglingdu has released 682 episodes of “Wolfoo” on Youku. When it was broadcast, the series ranked 3rd in Youku’s “Hot” Cartoon List and “Children’s Education” list. On the Tencent Video platform, “Wolfoo” has aired 578 episodes and achieved 650 million views.
After discovering Wuwei Fenglingdu’s violation, Leadjoy contacted the company’s legal representative to request the removal of all videos and compensation, but Wuwei Fenglingdu refused. At the end of April 2022, Youku and Tencent Video removed the Wolfoo episodes uploaded by Wuwei Fenglingdu due to copyright infringement, however, the company still intentionally uploaded some “Wolfoo” episodes on Tencent Video.
In response to Wuwei Fenglingdu's copyright infringement, Leadjoy commissioned Shanghai Jinmao Law Firm to file a copyright infringement lawsuit against Wuwei Fenglingdu. Shanghai Jinmao lawyers assisted Leadjoy in preserving evidence of all infringing "Wolfoo" cartoons on Youku and Tencent Video by recording the screens of about 1,300 videos. Shanghai Jinmao also completed the notarization of timestamps. After collecting sufficient evidence of infringement, in November 2022, Shanghai Jinmao filed a lawsuit and sent the file to the Intermediate People's Court of Wuwei City, Gansu Province, China. The court served the documents and evidence of the lawsuit to Wuwei Fenglingdu. Wuwei Fenglingdu later admitted to the infringement but cited financial difficulties in compensation.
After several rounds of mediation in court and explanations of the legal consequences, Wuwei Fenglingdu finally agreed to pay Leadjoy 400,000 yuan (equivalent to 1.3 billion VND) in compensation for copyright infringement. On June 14, 2023, Wuwei Fenglingdu fully paid the compensation fee. After receiving the full compensation, Leadjoy requested to withdraw the lawsuit, and the Wuwei Intermediate People's Court issued a "Civil Judgment" on June 15, 2023, officially ending the case.
According to a representative from Leadjoy, this is the first lawsuit after Leadjoy was licensed the copyright of Wolfoo by Sconnect. This case also accumulates experience for future copyright infringement lawsuits related to Wolfoo animation.
Leadjoy is currently a strategic partner of Sconnect in the Chinese market, the company is responsible for distributing branded animation and intellectual property (IP) products through major channels such as iQiyi, Youku, MangoTV, Tencent...
Ms. Brie Yan, Global Marketing Director of Leadjoy, said that Wolfoo has quickly become a favorite cartoon character in the country of a billion people, after the film was broadcast on TV channels and online broadcasting platforms. With the potential of Wolfoo, Leadjoy and Sconnect will continue to exploit and develop the image of Wolfoo for many fields, in which the publishing business will be the priority choice.
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