IP special

Look to the movies, experts tell games developers at forum

Games developers can use copyright to protect their created games images — just like movies — because games consist of images, words and stories like movies, experts told a recent forum held by the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The games industry is one of the most lucrative sectors in China, expected to rake in revenue of nearly 220 billion yuan ($33.6 billion) this year, ranking second among cultural industries only behind the film and TV industry, according to a report released by the China Culture & Entertainment Industry Association last month.

Online games have contributed significantly to the industry, with estimated total revenue this year projected at about 201 billion yuan, the report said.

Online livestreaming websites and apps, creating realtime broadcasts and commentary platforms for games players, have promoted the rapid development of the gaming industry.

Players can communicate with others on the broadcast platforms, and top games players can get rewards, designed to help sustain development of the games sector.

As a result, IP rights and unfair competition problems, which are related to the live broadcasts of online games, have increasingly emerged.

That, in turn, has led to many disputes.

Fu Gang, deputy director of the Shanghai Bar Association, told the forum that images that appear in livestreaming for an extended time are integral to the production, instead of being incidental use.

“Although the images are only part of the content of the online game, it is still a piece of work and an indispensable part of the game,” he said.

“A reproduction of a live game should be identified as copyright infringement.”

In fact, copyright law does not have an agreed position on online games and opinions