Chinese Courts See Rapid Rise in Cases and Transparency

Chinese courts have seen a rapid growth in cases in the first six months of this year and the legal process and rulings in most disputes could be followed online. Statistics of the Supreme People’s Court stipulate that courts across the country saw 14.89 million cases filed from January to June, up 14.5 percent year-on-year. The number of cases filed in courts in Guangdong, Henan and Jiangsu provinces during the period all exceeded 1 million. Of civil disputes, those caused by contracts, marriage, employment and intellectual property were more frequent in courts nationwide, while major crimes dealt with by courts were dangerous driving, theft, and trafficking, purchasing, producing or transporting drugs as well as intentional injury and fraud. Meanwhile, disputes related to house demolition and social insurance made up the most cases against governmental departments. So far, more than 73.54 million verdicts have been put online, while the top court’s website for openness in rulings, which was built in 2013, has been visited more than 30.1 billion times.

Short Video Apps’ Review Loopholes Targeted as Industry Booms

Intellectual property and law professionals have called for China to clarify who is responsible for reviewing content on online short video apps by amending the Copyright Law to further protect IP rights. The latest China Statistical Report on Internet Development, issued by the China Internet Network Information Center in February, said the online short video platform industry boomed last year, with the number of users reaching 648 million by the end of the year. As short video smartphone apps, including Douyin and Kuaishou, enrich people’s daily lives, plagiarism caused by the platforms’ review loopholes are also harming copyright. Meanwhile, some popular short video apps had made use of advanced technologies, such as big data and artificial intelligence, to help review online works, which meant some content that was obviously copied could be found more easily. In September, the China National Copyright Administration launched a campaign against online infringements on short video platforms. In the crackdown, 140,000 accounts were closed or downgraded, while 570,000 copied short videos were removed.

Video Gaming Sector Eclipses 70b Yuan

The output value of animation and video game companies in Beijing amounted to about 71 billion Yuan (USD 10.08 billion) in 2018, according to the International Forum on the Development of Animation and Games Industries held on July 31. The forum, an important part of the 14th China Beijing International Cultural & Creative Industry Expo, displayed progress in China’s animation and video game industries and provided the latest theories and insights on the development of the sectors worldwide. The event aims to leverage its brand influence to attract more leading companies from animation and e-sports industries to develop in Beijing.