In April 2023, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism launched an investigation into a case involving a Shanghai-based cultural communication company that allegedly published copyrighted music works online without authorization, prompted by a complaint from the rights holder.
It was discovered that the company had uploaded and distributed numerous music works owned by a Beijing-based technology company on a video platform without permission, generating more than 70,000 yuan ($9,690.66) in profits. Suspected of copyright infringement, the case was forwarded to the Yangpu Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau for criminal investigation in July 2023.
In December 2024, the court determined that the company had been disseminating copyrighted music works to the public through online platform networks for profit without the consent of the copyright holders since May 2022, thereby violating copyright laws.
As a result, the court sentenced the company's actual operator to two years and nine months in prison and imposed a fine of 20,000 yuan.
The successful resolution of this case offers effective solutions to challenges like complex electronic evidence collection and obscured profit mechanisms in online infringement cases. It provides valuable insights for future similar cases, helping fight copyright infringement in the digital realm.
