The trademark infringement case of "Good Voice" officially opened for Tang De Film and Television to claim 510 million yuan

On May 24, the "Good Voice" trademark infringement case was officially heard in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. Tangde Film and Television, the China copyright company that won "Good Voice", believes that Shanghai Canxing Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.(referred to as "Canxing") and Century Liliang Company have committed trademark infringement and unfair competition, and claims 510 million yuan.

After a year, the "Good Voice" copyright dispute has finally come to an end. On May 24, the "Good Voice" trademark infringement case was officially heard in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. Tangde Film and Television, the China copyright company that won "Good Voice", believes that Shanghai Canxing Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.(referred to as "Canxing") and Century Liliang Company have committed trademark infringement and unfair competition, and claims 510 million yuan.

Xia Zhize, a member of the Intellectual Property Professional Committee of the All-China Lawyers Association and director of Beijing Zekuan Law Firm, said in an interview with reporters that based on past judgments, if the court awards so much compensation, it will definitely require considerable courage. "If the judgment supports Tang De Film and Television's compensation claim, it will be a major breakthrough in compensation in trademark infringement cases."

"Good Voice" is a real-life talent show originally developed by Talpa Company in the Netherlands with singing competitions as its content. In 2012, the domestic copyright agency IPCN obtained the exclusive distribution rights of "The Voice of..." from Talpa and awarded the production rights to Canxing. It is understood that as of 2016,"The Voice of China" is still Canxing's largest variety project every year.

As the program became popular, copyright fees also rose. "According to international practice, program model fees usually account for about 5% of the overall production cost of the program. Therefore, the cost in the first quarter was not high, but when the company renewed its contract the next year, Talpa proposed to increase the price." Canxing's publicity director Lu Wei told reporters that after difficult negotiations, Canxing agreed to increase the copyright fee to US$10 million a year, a price increase of nearly 3000% year-on-year. "Over the next two years, Talpa has spared no effort to find high-priced buyers."

It was not until January 2016 that Tangde Film and Television issued an announcement announcing that it had signed the "<... The Voice> Model Transaction and Joint Venture Transaction-Letter of Intent" with Talpa, which became the trigger for igniting this "copyright war."

However, Canxing did not give up, and the promotion, promotion and production of Canxing's version of "The Voice of China"(later renamed "New Songs of China") have never stopped.

In June 2016, Tangde Film and Television filed a lawsuit against Canxing and Century Liliang on the grounds of infringement of trademark rights and unfair competition, and also submitted a guarantee of 130 million yuan to apply for litigation preservation. Subsequently, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court issued a ruling on the preservation of pre-litigation behavior, prohibiting Canxing and Zhejiang Satellite TV from producing and broadcasting "The Voice of China." Later, Canxing renamed the program "New Songs of China."

A few days ago, the case officially opened.

Before the trial, Zhejiang Radio and Television suddenly sued Tang De Film and Television, claiming that "The Voice of China" belonged to Zhejiang Satellite TV, arguing that the name of the Chinese program of "The Voice of China" was created by Zhejiang Satellite TV and registered with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television for filing, so the program name could only be used by Zhejiang Satellite TV.

During the trial, the rights of "The Good Voice of China" also became the focus. The defendant Canxing Company supported Zhejiang Radio and Television's statement on the ownership of good voices. However, Tang De Films believes that the Chinese program name of "The Voice of China" is a call to a TV program authorized by Talpa Company, a direct translation of the English title "The Voice of China", and an inseparable element of the entire program. The V-sign gesture holding a microphone, which often appears on programs, is also a registered trademark of Talpa Company and must also be protected with a well-known trademark.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to copyright ownership issues, Tang De Film and Television also filed a claim for 510 million yuan. Tang De Film and Television believes that Canxing Company and Century Liliang Company have made huge illegal profits due to infringement and unfair competition. According to relevant reports, Canxing Company's total advertising revenue from "New Songs of China" has exceeded 2 billion yuan.

During the trial, Tangde Films and Television requested the court to use 1 to 3 times the US$60 million license fee for Tangde to obtain exclusive authorization for the "The Voice of China" program as a reference for determining the amount of compensation. Based on this, Tang De Film and Television proposed economic losses of 500 million yuan and litigation expenses of 10 million yuan.

It is reported that the Beijing Intellectual Property Court will issue a verdict on this case on an elective basis.

Editor: Nancy