Beijing Internet Court hears 30,000 online copyright cases

The Beijing Internet Court heard nearly 30,000 online copyright cases in 2020 as the internet enterprises and cultural creativity industry grew quickly across the capital in these years, the court said on Tuesday.

The court released a report, in which it said it heard 28,946 online copyright disputes in 2020, with 27,925 concluded. The figure in such cases has remained at about 30,000 every year since its establishment in 2018, it added.

With internet innovation and fast technological development, the court said it has frequently seen new types of online copyright cases in recent years, such as those relating to emojis used for instant messaging tools and content produced by artificial intelligence.

"Whether these new online products or services can be defined as creative works and how to protect them are new problems for us to urgently deal with," Zhao Ruigang, vice-president of the court, said on Tuesday when presenting the report to the media.

Meanwhile, facing new technological applications and new internet business modes, how to strengthen digital copyright protection while promoting digital economy also needs more research, Zhao said.

He added the court has intensified efforts in such studies to further improve cyberspace governance and ensure new online business industries or services can be operated in a healthy manner.

China has had three internet courts. The other two are in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, and Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province. In these courts, all legal procedures, including case filing, evidence exchange, trial and ruling delivery, can be finished online.