Hangzhou Internet Court

中文摘要 ↓

Chinese name

杭州互联网法院

Pinyin

Hángzhōu Hùliánwǎng Fǎyuàn

Unified Social Credit Code

11330100002689024T registered in Zhejiang 浙江

Likeness and IP rights

The Hangzhou Internet Court (杭州互联网法院), set up in 2017 as China’s first internet court, decided the country’s first infringement case involving a virtual digital human. Its registered legal person is the Hangzhou Railway Transportation Court (杭州铁路运输法院), whose name it also carries.

In April 2023 it ruled on Ada, the virtual human of Xmov (魔珐科技), whose videos a Hangzhou company had re-posted with its own marketing. The court held that a virtual digital human holds no copyright or neighbouring rights of its own, being a tool of its creators; that Ada’s image is a work of fine art and the videos are audiovisual works and video recordings; and that the performer’s rights of the real actor whose movements drive Ada belong, by contract, to the company. It found copyright infringement and unfair competition and awarded 120,000 yuan including costs.

Its online court has also been reported to use a virtual judge, a robed avatar that prompts litigants to present their cases while human judges make the rulings.