Hotspots · Analysis

The White Olive Tree is deeply trapped in the "fusion of memes" - an analysis of the creative minefield from a legal perspective

Recently, the TV series "The White Olive Tree" has been popular, but its original author has been embroiled in controversy over "meme fusion", once again raising public attention to copyright issues in literary creation. In the fields of film, television, and literature, such disputes are not uncommon. The author intends to clarify the differences between "copyright infringement", "plagiarism", and "plagiarism" from a legal perspective.

What is copyright infringement?

Copyright infringement is a red line clearly defined by law, which refers to the act of violating relevant laws and regulations such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China and infringing on the personal and property rights of the copyright owner. Articles 52, 53 and other provisions of the Copyright Law clearly list numerous acts of infringement, covering situations such as unauthorized publication of works, plagiarism, and unauthorized use of works. Once infringement is committed, the infringer shall bear civil liabilities such as stopping the infringement, eliminating the impact, apologizing, and compensating for losses; If it harms the public interest, it may also face administrative penalties; If the circumstances are serious enough to constitute a crime, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

Taking the case of Qiong Yao suing Yu Zheng and others for infringement as an example, the effective judgment found that Yu Zheng's creation of the script "Palace Lock Liancheng" infringed the plaintiff's right to adapt the script and novel "Plum Blossom Brand", and the TV drama "Palace Lock Liancheng" infringed the plaintiff's filming rights. Order the defendant to bear the responsibility of ceasing infringement; Publicly apologize and eliminate the impact; Compensate the plaintiff for economic losses and reasonable litigation expenses totaling 5 million yuan. This case demonstrates the zero tolerance attitude of the law towards copyright infringement.

Plagiarism: a typical manifestation of infringement behavior

Plagiarism is a typical copyright infringement behavior in the legal context, which refers to stealing someone else's work or a fragment of their work and publishing it as one's own. Plagiarism is relatively intuitive and easy to detect and identify. In literary works, copying others' written expressions extensively, or directly using others' script plots, camera designs, etc. in film and television works, all belong to plagiarism. In judicial practice, the key to determining plagiarism usually lies in comparing two works to see if there is substantial similarity and if the plagiarized part has originality.

Previously, the online novel "Jinxiu Weiyang" was exposed for plagiarizing multiple similar works, including the plagiarized novel "The Longest Love of the Six Emperors". After professional comparison, the effective judgment determined that there are 116 sentences in the novel "Jinxiu Weiyang" created by Zhou Jing, including sentences 1, 3, 5-8, 10-14, 16-36, 38-63, 65-98, 100, 102-107, 109-114, 116-120, and 122-127, which are identical or substantially similar to the corresponding sentences in Shen Wenwen's novel "The Longevity of the Six Emperors' Pets". This constitutes an infringement of Shen Wenwen's copyright in "The Longevity of the Six Emperors' Pets", and the defendant Zhou Jing is ordered to immediately stop copying, distributing, and disseminating the novel "Jinxiu Weiyang" online, and compensate the plaintiff Shen Wenwen for economic losses of 120000 yuan. And reasonable expenses for safeguarding rights are 16500 yuan.

'Ronggeng': a vague area defined by law

As a popular internet term, "Ronggeng" refers to the integration of other people's brilliant ideas into one's own work. Unlike plagiarism, memes are not simply copying words, but integrating and utilizing the plot, fragments, and creativity of others' works, which makes their legal recognition more complex. At present, there is no clear definition standard for "Ronggu" in Chinese law. In judicial practice, determining whether it constitutes infringement requires comprehensive consideration of multiple factors.

The 'fusion of stems' in' The White Olive Tree '

In online discussions, many viewers have pointed out similarities between "The White Olive Tree" and the Korean drama "Descendants of the Sun". In terms of plot structure, both belong to the theme of military romance dramas, and the story background is set in a dangerous war environment. In "Descendants of the Sun," the male protagonist Liu Shizhen, as the captain of the Special Forces reserve team under the United Nations peacekeeping force, meets and falls in love with surgeon Jiang Muyan while on a mission in Uruk, facing numerous crises such as war and disease. In "The White Olive Tree", the male lead Li Zan is a peacekeeping special forces soldier (changed to a peacekeeping volunteer in the drama version), and the female lead Song Ran is a war correspondent. The two meet and get to know each other during their missions in the East, both in a war-torn and turbulent environment. The similarity in character settings and personality traits has become one of the key points that have been questioned about the "fusion of memes".

In addition, some plot details were also compared. For example, in "Descendants of the Sun," there is a scene where the male protagonist dismantles a bomb on the battlefield; There is also a similar plot in 'The White Olive Tree' where the male protagonist resolves the bomb crisis and saves everyone. However, to determine whether these so-called "fusion memes" constitute infringement from a legal perspective, further analysis is needed to determine whether their similarities have reached a substantial level of similarity, and whether these similar parts belong to expressions with originality.

Legal advice on the controversy of "Ronggan"

For creators, when creating, they should ensure the originality of their works and avoid excessive borrowing of the creativity of others' works. When borrowing from others' works, it is necessary to obtain legal authorization and clearly indicate the source of the citation in the work. At the same time, creators should retain the original materials and creative records during the creative process, so that they can prove their creative independence in case of disputes.

2. For the rights holder, when they discover that their work may have been "censored" or plagiarized, they should promptly collect and fix evidence, including detailed materials for comparing and analyzing similar parts, proof of the completion time of the work creation, etc. The legal validity of evidence can be enhanced through notarization and other means. Then, based on the severity of the infringement, choose appropriate ways to protect rights, such as negotiating with the infringing party to resolve the issue, filing a complaint with the copyright administrative department, or directly filing a lawsuit with the court.

For industry practitioners, film and television production companies, publishing institutions, and other industry practitioners should strengthen their scrutiny of copyright when investing, producing, and distributing works. When signing relevant contracts, clarify copyright clauses, require creators to ensure that their works do not have infringement issues, and agree on breach of contract responsibilities. At the same time, establish an internal copyright review mechanism to conduct comprehensive copyright screening of the proposed works and reduce legal risks caused by copyright disputes.

For the audience, in the context of the booming development of the film and television industry today, it is also recommended that the general public adopt a rational attitude towards such events. In the face of controversial plot, avoid blindly following the trend and making judgments, so that the events can be presented clearly. In the complex public opinion field of information, maintain independent thinking and not be misled by one-sided words.

The controversy over the "fusion of memes" in "The White Olive Tree" has sounded an alarm for us. In the process of creating and disseminating works, whether it is creators, rights holders, industry practitioners, or audiences, they all need to enhance legal awareness, respect the copyright of others, and maintain a good creative ecology. Within the legal framework, clarifying the boundaries between copyright infringement, plagiarism, and plagiarism can not only protect the legitimate rights and interests of creators, but also promote the healthy and prosperous development of the cultural industry. At the same time, we also hope that the industry can establish a more comprehensive mechanism for protecting original content, so that creators can adhere to their bottom line and jointly create a healthy film and television creation ecology, making truly high-quality and original works mainstream on the screen.

Industry · New Policies

On March 14th, the State Administration for Market Regulation released the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Implementation of Compliance Management Responsibilities by Online Trading Platform Enterprises" on its website.

The Guiding Opinions put forward five parts and sixteen specific requirements, aiming to guide online trading platform enterprises to improve compliance management systems, require enterprises to clarify compliance management organizations, equip compliance directors and administrators, enhance compliance management capabilities, and establish risk control, investigation, rectification, and scheduling mechanisms. The Guiding Opinions focus on clarifying the responsibilities of compliance management, refining the main responsibilities of compliance directors and compliance administrators, guiding platform enterprises to develop a "Compliance Risk Control List" based on actual situations, conducting in-depth compliance risk investigations, supporting platform enterprises to conduct compliance training and assessments, and exploring the establishment of compliance incentive and restraint mechanisms.

On March 7th, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism, and Sports issued a notice to publicly solicit opinions on the "Revised Draft of Several Measures to Promote the High Quality Development of the Online Micro Drama Industry in Shenzhen" and the "Operating Procedures for Several Measures to Promote the High Quality Development of the Online Micro Drama Industry in Shenzhen (Draft for Soliciting Opinions)". The feedback time for opinions is within 30 days from the date of the announcement.

The content of the "Several Measures" includes encouraging excellent script creation, encouraging filming in Shenzhen, supporting the distribution and broadcasting of micro dramas, encouraging the creation of high-quality micro dramas, supporting technological research and development innovation, promoting agglomeration development, promoting the export of micro dramas, supporting the holding of theme industry activities, establishing professional service institutions, and establishing a full cycle collaborative filming service system. The "Operating Procedures" consist of seven chapters and 30 articles, providing funding support for the above-mentioned measures and specifying the conditions and standards for funding.