App Store Archives - Bridge IP Law Commentary

Could NetDragon’s Providing Plants vs Zombies 2 Be Protected under the Safe Harbor Principle?

Posted on July 17, 2013 by yytbest

(By You Yunting) In recent days, Plants VS Zombies 2, the sequel to the global hit game Plants VS Zombies, came on the market in Apple’s AppStore in Australia. Afer initial release, millions of users downloaded the app from the Australia store. In China, however, the situation is quite different. As reported by the media, within the first 24 hours of the game’s release, many unlocked versions of the application were uploaded to third party media providers, like ZS91.com, and that the encrypted in-game items had been cracked.

Why a Chinese Court Judged Apple Inc. to Be the Actual Operator of the AppStore Rather than iTunes S.A.R.L?

Posted on January 15, 2013 by yytbest

(By Albert Chen) Recently, in the right to network dissemination of information dispute between Li Chengpeng, a well-known Chinese writer, and Apple, a Beijing judge held Apple as the actual operator of the App Store, even though the company had maintained that iTunes S.A.R.L (“iTunes”) is the actual operator, a fact afterwards admitted by iTunes. So, today’s post will introduce the reasoning used by the first instance court in its decision.

Li filed the lawsuit with the Beijing No.2 Intermediate People’s Court (“Intermediate Court”) on January 16, 2012, claiming that his latest work “李可乐抗拆记” was made into an app downloadable in App Store for free reading, which infringed his right to network dissemination of information. Additionally, as the operator, manager, and owner of the App Store, Apple should assume liability. Based on these points, Li demanded compensation for economic damages in the amount of 305,000 yuan and reasonable expenses in the amount of 5,425 yuan.

Legal Analysis on Apple’s Lose in APP Store Infringing Contents of Beijing Litigation

Posted on October 17, 2012 by yytbest

By Luo Yanjie

Recently, a reporter of TechWeb interviewed You Yunting of our website about issues of Apple providing infringing content as follows:

1, Lots of China writers have sued Apple Inc because its App Store violated their copyright; Encyclopedia of China Publishing House (EPCH) win the case and get 520,000 as compensation. How do you see this kind of cases? Can it become the flag case of mobile Internet copyright?

Personally think it is more suitable to say that it is a flag case for APP Store of Apple, the main significance is as follows:

Analysis of App Store’s Obligation under China Copyright Law

Posted on July 6, 2012 by You Yunting

By Zhan Yi

Highlight

At the beginning of 2012, Apple Inc. (the “Apple”) was sued by some noted local writers in China for copyright infringement. This aroused wide concentration amongst the public on the copyright issue in App Store. Will Apple be liable for the free or paid download by law? The answer to this question, in my perspective, shall focus on the determination of its legal nature which shall be considered within the regulations of the copyright law based on App Store’s commercial and technological model of App Store.

Brief Introduction to Software Copyrighter’ s Right Limitation to Ultimate User

Posted on May 21, 2012 by You Yunting

by Luo Yanjie

Under the system of China Copyright Law, what right limitations may come to software owners? And what rights and obligations are enjoyed or taken by the ultimate user and what’s the liability when the infringement occurs? Today we would like to give you the introduction on the issues. There are two main litigations on the PC software, namely the Copyright Law and the Regulations on the Protection of PC Software (the “Regulation”). But according to the latest exposure of the Copyright Law’s revision, the Regulation’s articles have been all regulated in the new drafted law; therefore, it is foreseeable that the Regulation may be abolished once there publicized the new Copyright Law.

Netease VS. Tencent: Copyright Conflict on News APP Design

Posted on April 16, 2012 by You Yunting

Recently, the copyright battle on the APP design between Netease (NASDAQ: NTES) and Tencent (SEHK: 700), two major internet companies in China, has been widely reported by local medias, and today’s essay is the digest of the news report and the comments from us.

According to the news of Sina Tech on 12^th April afternoon (note: the link is in Chinese), Netease stated its news app has been plagiarized by Rencent and demanded the latter to withdraw the infringing app. It’s also mentioned in Netease’s statement that the Tencent News App for iPhone 2.0 version plagiarizes the layout, comment page, picture page’s design, including the app function and the appearance design.

Apple Ignores the Interests of App Store Consumers in China?

Posted on February 22, 2012 by You Yunting

Some suggestions to Apple’s Chinese Operation

As reported by IT Times (note: the link is in Chinese), some apps in Apple’s App Store are complained by clients for its poor quality due to the loose supervision by the company, and also the settlement on the problem is difficult when encountered such problems. (the image above is the screen shot of one of the complained apps in App Store)

Therefore, we have searched the reports and news concerning the apps on the internet, by which we have found more than ten apps are charged for its fraudulence, including the apps designed for Taobao, the biggest online shop in China, mobile phone carrier service apps and traffic violation record, and the complains focus on the non-conformance to its publicity or being available. Besides, it also comes to our attention that the refund application is complicated for the entrance for the refund application is too difficult to be found shall there were no aid from Apple’s service tel.

How to Slow the Flooding of App Store Black Card Purchases on Taobao

Posted on November 14, 2011 by You Yunting

Highlight: The purchase of apps by black card is flooding the App Store, and the bank, seller and the sale platform, China’s C2C giant Taobao.com, are all involved in such transactions. Who is responsible, and what measures could developers or Apple take to resolve the issue? Bridge IP Law Commentary provides the below essay for consideration.

In China, the credit card thieves choose the Apple App Store to utilize their stolen cards through the purchasing of popular apps. They purchase the popular apps in the Store through the unauthorized use of stolen credit cards and then sell such apps by C2C websites like eBay. This type of transaction is called purchase by black card in China. Under such purchase, the Chinese clients could only pay 1 RMB for apps priced at 1 US dollar, though the official exchange rate is 6.5 RMB to 1 US dollar. First the prospective customer sends the seller the link of the app that the customer would like, then the seller purchases the app with the stolen credit card, and then sends the information for the customer to download the app and pay the seller. For all steps, it only cost several minutes. It’s simple and convenient, and so purchase by the black card is flooding in China. It’s even reported that the bad debt rate hereby produced is more than 80% for the App Store.

Should Apple Bear Liability for Infringing Contents in App Store?

Posted on October 20, 2011 by You Yunting

Highlights:Two software developers was sentenced to bear the compensation liability recently in Beijing for the infringing gadgets in Apple App Store. Bridge IP Commentary will introduce you the liabilities Apple may take in such case.

Recently, a case concerning the alleged video infringement in App Store is sentenced by a local Court in Beijing, in which the LeTV Information and Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (the “LeTV”, SZSE: 300104) found a TV series with the right to network dissemination of information reserved by it played on a software available from the App Store and then filed a suit against the two companies developing and operating the software. The first instance’s decision supported the claim of LeTV with the sentence of the compensation of RMB 40,000.

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