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recently, the first domestic 3a masterpiece (a high-cost, high-volume, high-quality stand-alone game) "black myth: wukong" has set off a phenomenal craze around the world as soon as it was launched. it not only detonated the game market, but also successfully went viral, triggering a strong interest among foreign players and netizens in chinese mythology and legends represented by "journey to the west".

"game decompression package, full set of tutorials, game modifier that can open plug-ins", on a second-hand trading platform, a merchant discounted the official price of "black myth: wukong" from 268 yuan to 1 yuan, and claimed to give away many game benefits. the platform showed that more than 100 people wanted the product. after the "legal daily" reporter placed an order, the merchant sent a network disk, and after downloading it, he found that it contained a promotional video of "black myth: wukong".

some businesses sell "offline version" and "family version" shared "black myth: wukong" game accounts on e-commerce platforms; a batch of pirated games "black myth: wukong" with "automatic delivery, download and play" appeared on a second-hand trading platform; a large number of "black myth: wukong" peripheral products are sold on e-commerce platforms, and sellers bluntly say "1:1 replica"... along with the high popularity, a reporter from the legal daily found that piracy and other phenomena surrounding "black myth: wukong" are constantly emerging like "monsters" in the game, and have become the 82nd difficulty encountered by "black wukong".

in this regard, the experts interviewed pointed out that the dissemination of pirated games is suspected of infringing copyrights, trademarks and other rights; some businesses use game rules or loopholes to sell game shared accounts, which is similar to online black and gray industries, or violates the platform agreement and constitutes a breach of contract; if game peripherals and figures are sold without authorization, it is also suspected of infringing intellectual property rights and must bear corresponding responsibilities. it is recommended that relevant departments increase crackdowns and rectification efforts to purify the market and protect game ip and traditional chinese cultural elements.

comics: gao yue

the cracked version only costs a few yuan

download and found it is a tv series

recently, xiao jiang from huzhou, zhejiang, searched for "black myth: wukong" co-branded peripherals on a second-hand trading platform and found that many merchants were selling pirated games. the links of these products were basically marked with the words "download and play". some links wrote the game name as "black myth: sun wukong", while others were abbreviated as "black wukong". most of them were sold for no more than 10 yuan, and the lowest price was 1 cent to "play black wukong".

“even renting an account wouldn’t be so cheap. it’s obviously a pirated game. moreover, the merchant deliberately wrote the game name wrong in order to evade supervision.” xiao jiang said.

according to the clues provided by xiao jiang, the reporter contacted a seller who said that he was selling the compressed package of the wukong game itself, which could be played normally after decompression, and a modifier was given after purchase. "now all the compressed packages sold are of this type. there are many cracked versions on the internet. you can buy them with confidence and they will definitely play normally." then, the seller also showed some screenshots of the game and the contents of the network disk. after the reporter paid, the seller quickly sent a download link "black wukong full offline version with modifier, pick it up if you need it."

after downloading, the reporter found that the network disk link contained multiple folders such as "black myth: wukong free installation learning edition", "black myth: wukong early edition", and "black myth: wukong", some of which contained game videos and trailers. according to the operation guide provided by the seller, the reporter installed and ran the game and found that it was not "black myth: wukong", but a cracked version of an online game called "monster hunter: world".

the reporter contacted the seller again, and the other party said: "i don't know either. this compressed package was given to me by someone else. you can download it and take a look. it should be correct." then he ended the conversation and no longer responded to anything.

the reporter bought a cracked version of "black myth: wukong" from another online store. after installation, it automatically played the 1986 version of "journey to the west" tv series with restored 4k blu-ray quality.

mr. tan, a netizen from tianjin who also bought a cracked version of the game, told reporters that although the game interface of "black myth: wukong" was displayed after installation, it would then get stuck and automatically exit the game after more than ten seconds, making it impossible to play normally.

according to industry insiders, many popular stand-alone games have experienced piracy, and due to the large number of pirated businesses, game production companies have suffered considerable losses. for example, the founder of the stand-alone mobile game "pascal's wager", which apple said was comparable to console-level games and world-class 3a masterpieces, publicly stated that the losses caused by piracy were more than 10 million rmb. pasya technology, the production company of the simulation business game "my time at portia", once estimated that the losses from piracy in the two years from august 2019 to august 2021 alone exceeded 180 million rmb.

"based on a rough estimate based on the current popularity of black myth: wukong, the losses from piracy should be no less than those from these two games," said the industry insider.

zhu jie, senior partner of tahota (chongqing) law firm, said that according to the anti-unfair competition law, unauthorized use of the same or similar marks as the names, packaging, decorations, etc. of products that have a certain influence on others, which misleads people into thinking that they are other people's products or have a specific connection with others, is a confusing act. according to the criminal law, the crime of copyright infringement refers to the act of reproducing and distributing the text, audio-visual, computer software and other works of the copyright owner without the permission of the copyright owner for the purpose of profit, publishing books that others have exclusive publishing rights to, reproducing and distributing audio-visual products produced by others without the permission of the producer, producing and exhibiting works of art that are falsely signed by others, and the illegal income is large or there are other serious circumstances.

"it can be seen from this that the act of selling pirated products not only constitutes unfair competition, but in serious cases may also constitute a criminal offense," said zhu jie.

in the view of zheng ning, director of the cultural law and governance research center of communication university of china, the situation where some businesses ostensibly sell "black myth: wukong" but actually sell another game may infringe on the copyright or trademark rights of other works and involve unfair competition.

exploiting platform loopholes for profit

buying and selling accounts violates the agreement

it is understood that "black myth: wukong" is currently available on game platforms such as steam, epic, and wegame. the reporter noticed that many businesses have begun to "dig into" platform loopholes. there are many stores on e-commerce platforms that sell steam platform "offline version" and "home version" shared accounts, claiming that "players can play games normally after purchasing and logging into the account."

a merchant told the reporter that the offline version must use the account provided by the merchant and can only be used offline; the shared version uses the "family sharing" function, which can be played without disconnecting from the internet, and you can also create your own account to join, add friends, and display game achievements. "our store is full of genuine games, and the offline version and shared version are official functions. you can check them yourself on the internet." the merchant emphasized.

the reporter conducted in-depth interviews and learned that although the offline function is indeed a built-in function of the steam platform, the "offline version" of the game must be logged in offline using the merchant's account. this requirement is to avoid the platform detecting abnormal ip addresses of the account, which is a "loophole" behavior.

the family sharing feature on the steam platform only allows 5 more members to join. this solution seems to be more formal than the "offline version", but in fact it also has certain risks. in the comments and q&a section of the product link, some buyers said that they were "kicked out" (that is, the player account was removed from the family sharing) after a period of time after purchase. another buyer reminded: "it is not recommended to buy the family edition. even if you are not kicked out, only one person can play at the same time, and others cannot play. if you want to play the game, you must stagger the time with the other 5 players, which greatly affects the gaming experience."

zhu jie said that the account and rights restriction clauses in the steam platform user agreement clearly stipulate that accounts cannot be sold, and players do not have the right to sell digital games. therefore, merchants selling offline games in this way are in violation of the platform agreement and are a breach of contract.

"regarding the behavior of merchants making profits by sharing accounts through the home version function, according to the steam user agreement, 'your account, including any information related to it (for example: contact information, billing information, account history and subscriptions, etc.), is strictly personal. therefore, you may not sell or otherwise transfer your account, nor may you sell, charge others for use, or make any transfer or subscription to the account unless expressly permitted by this agreement (including any subscription terms or usage rules) or valve expressly permits'. it can be seen that this kind of sharing behavior is essentially an act of charging others for use, and is also a breach of contract." zhu jie said.

unauthorized sale of peripherals

infringement of copyright and trademark rights

in addition to the game itself, the reporter found during the investigation that there are also a large number of unauthorized "black myth: wukong" peripherals on the e-commerce platform.

"black myth: wukong, surroundings of the land god temple, are you sure you want to save a game?" "black myth: wukong game surroundings, sun wukong's golden hoop alloy weapon model", "second brother wuneng, black myth: wukong game surroundings, diy hand-made models"... many product links directly mark "black myth: wukong game surroundings" and other information. product prices range from tens of yuan to hundreds of yuan, and the sizes are 22 cm, 30 cm, 35 cm, 40 cm and other specifications. the appearance is slightly different from the official genuine version.

on social media platforms, some netizens used ai tools to generate figures of characters in the game, such as "tian ming ren", "ba jie" and "tiger pioneer", which were quite popular among netizens. a cute version of "tian ming ren" was priced at 288 yuan.

on the second-hand trading platform, the reporter found that some sellers use these pictures that do not exist in reality to sell, and even the "bajie" hand-made figures that have never been released are available, and the price is not cheap. it is understood that some products are made by buyers who buy 3d modeling data of characters in "black myth: wukong" and find 3d printing manufacturers to make them themselves, including "tianmingren", "bajie", "kangjinlong", "yang jian", "spider four sisters" and other character drawings are all for sale, and some people also put the printed products on the trading platform.

when the reporter asked the above-mentioned merchants whether they had authorization and whether the peripheral products were genuine, most of them remained silent on the issue, and some even said bluntly that "you can't buy genuine products at this price."

zhu jie said that multiple elements in a game can constitute works, and the background music and ending songs in the game can be regarded as audio-visual works; the various elements in the game can also constitute works after being split up, for example, the character modeling and scene maps of "black myth: wukong" constitute art works, the background story introduction, skill description, mission plot, etc. constitute text works, and the software code constitutes computer software works. the unauthorized sale of game character figures and peripherals is suspected of infringing copyrights and trademark rights. the image and design of game characters are protected by law, and unauthorized reproduction and sales are suspected of copyright infringement; if the game's trademark is used on figures and peripheral products, it is suspected of trademark infringement without authorization.

"game developers should strengthen copyright and trademark protection, register copyrights and trademarks in a timely manner, and ensure the effectiveness of legal protection; promptly file legal lawsuits against infringements, hold infringers accountable, and strengthen cooperation with e-commerce platforms to promptly remove infringing products." zhu jie said.

make good global copyright layout

system protection against infringement

as the popularity of black myth: wukong increases, its brand value is increasingly prominent, driving a widespread cultural consumption boom. according to incomplete statistics, more than ten well-known brands have recently collaborated with black myth: wukong, covering multiple dimensions such as game derivatives, coffee and tea, and fashion apparel, demonstrating the strong market appeal of ip linkage. in addition, shanxi culture and tourism, with the help of classic scenes in black myth: wukong, innovatively launched the "follow wukong to tour shanxi" tourist route, successfully integrating game elements into real life and broadening the new boundaries of cultural and tourism integration.

experts interviewed believe that the popularity of "black myth: wukong" not only demonstrates the broad market prospects of the game industry, but also fully demonstrates the importance and necessity of game ip protection.

zheng ning said that the current game industry has a large output value and a large audience. many games are also very time-sensitive. once they are pirated and infringed, it will cause huge harm and losses to game companies. therefore, some companies will carry out game ip layout while developing games, including applying for trademarks and copyright registration, and protecting the copyright of computer software, game-related works of art, and audio-visual works. some companies can even apply for patents.

zhu jie introduced that the current game ip protection mainly includes copyright protection, trademark protection, patent protection and anti-unfair competition law protection. game names, logos and character names can be used as trademarks and protected by trademark law after application for registration; game technical innovations, such as engine algorithms and scene rendering technologies, which are innovative, can be protected as patents; game user interfaces, if they are visually beautiful, novel and unique, can also be protected as designs.

the reporter checked public information and found that youke company, the producer of "black myth: wukong", has registered more than 200 trademarks related to the game, such as "black myth", "black myth" and "black myth jiang ziya", covering many categories such as education and entertainment, clothing, shoes and hats, fitness equipment, catering and accommodation; the design of its ui interface (user interface) incorporates many traditional chinese elements, and combines with the main body of journey to the west to form a complete set of game interfaces, skill operation logos, etc. if an application is made for appearance design, it can be protected by patent law.

"as a game for global players, black myth: wukong will also face challenges in ip protection due to differences in transnational laws, global market supervision and cultural differences," zhu jie explained. black myth: wukong is a game based on chinese traditional culture and works. players from different cultural backgrounds have different understandings and acceptance of the game, and also have different respects and protections for intellectual property rights. in addition, differences in copyright and trademark laws in different countries and regions may lead to inconsistent protection measures, making it difficult for the game to be well protected in the exporting country. due to objective factors, it is difficult to monitor and combat infringements on a global scale.

in order to better protect popular ips from infringement and exploitation by unscrupulous businesses, zhu jie suggested that game developers promptly register copyrights, trademarks and patents in major global markets to ensure comprehensive legal protection; use big data and artificial intelligence technologies to monitor infringements in the market in real time, and form a professional legal team to deal with infringements in a timely manner; cooperate with e-commerce platforms, social platforms, etc. to promptly remove infringing products and content; and cooperate with copyright protection agencies in other countries and regions to jointly combat cross-border infringements.

zheng ning believes that ip protection should be multi-pronged. a three-dimensional and systematic intellectual property protection system should be established to strengthen supervision from multiple dimensions before, during and after the event. game manufacturers first need to plan ahead and do defensive registration. secondly, they need to strengthen monitoring and monitor infringement and piracy in the market in real time. finally, they can also work with government departments and judicial organs to increase the crackdown on infringement. at the government supervision level, the public can be encouraged to report infringement and piracy, and the punishment for piracy, infringement and other illegal acts can be increased.

"we also need to strengthen publicity and education on intellectual property protection for the public. some people think that pirated games are no different from genuine ones and are cheaper; some people break the law knowingly or take chances and make higher profits with lower infringement costs. piracy deprives developers or manufacturers of their due income, reduces their investment in new games and motivation to innovate." zheng ning said that not only is the quality of pirated products not guaranteed, the gaming experience will not be very good, and some pirated products may be implanted with viruses. players may lose more than they gain, so we should strengthen legal education for the public, increase publicity of typical cases, enhance awareness of intellectual property protection, and reduce the occurrence of infringements.

author: legal daily omnimedia reporter han dandong intern liu jie