The 2024 Intelligent Connected Automotive Intellectual Property and Law Forum was held in Beijing on July 6, co-hosted by the Zhongguancun Intellectual Property Strategy Institute, the Intelligent Technology Law Research Center of Beijing Institute of Technology, the Beijing Huanshi Intellectual Property Litigation Institute, and the China representative of the Association for Standardization of Automation and Measuring Systems. 

The forum released 2024's top 10 intellectual property (IP) cases in the intelligent connected automotive industry, covering a wide range of areas, including patents, trademarks, trade secrets, unfair competition, standard-essential patents, and data security and compliance. China’s first copyright infringement case involving the "Internet of Vehicles", heard by the Beijing Internet Court (BIC), was one of the cases. 

Case summary

The plaintiff (an online video platform) took a case against three entities – A (another online video platform), B (an automobile manufacturer) and C (an in-car internet service provider) – to the BIC, claiming the defendants infringed upon its exclusive information network dissemination right to a TV show by providing the show in A’s app in the cars made by B.

Defendant A pleaded innocence, arguing that the videos involved were uploaded by users. Defendant B said it was only a manufacturer of the car and, hence, irrelevant to the case. Defendant C said it was only an in-car internet service provider that was not in control of entertainment provision and, as such, had fulfilled its duty of care and should not be held liable.

The BIC’s first instance trial held that defendant A provided the videos in question to users in the network server of the video app in the car, which violated the plaintiff’s right to information network dissemination of the show. Defendant C was the supplier of the vehicle system and app management services in the car. The car users had to log into a proprietary account to enjoy related services, such as watching videos in the car-provided apps. A and C were partners responsible for the launch and promotion of the in-car video app in the car. C provided a membership package service to watch videos on the app, charging money for the service. Therefore, as a participant and beneficiary of the act of supplying the relevant videos, C and A committed a joint infringement of the plaintiff's rights and shall bear joint liability, the court ruled.

Significance

The case is China's first copyright infringement case involving the "Internet of Vehicles". The BIC made clear in its judgement that the vehicle system provider and the show provider conducted copyright infringement in the form of division of labor, constituting joint infringement.

As the 'Internet of Vehicles' industry develops rapidly and intelligent cabin services improve, relevant products are triggering new forms of IP disputes while trying to meet the cultural and entertainment demands of users. The judgement in this case provides a reference for the trial of copyright cases involving the 'Internet of Vehicles', and for copyright cases involving new scenarios such as the "Internet of Things".

It should be conducive in encouraging all parties to strengthen IP protection in the development process of intelligent connected vehicles, and promoting healthy development of the digital economy.