Disney Wins “Cars” Copyright Chinese Court Case

Disney has won a copyright case in the Shanghai courts regarding a Chinese-made film called “The Autobots”, which was released in July 2015. Chinese film producer Bluemtv and distributor G-Point had been fined $190,000 and ordered to cease their copyright infringement. The movie grossed $863,000 and while China does have a difficult copyright and trademark rules, Disney filed the suit this past July. With the court said that the Chinese producers had illegally used Disney’s characters and posters. The Chinese title of “Autobots” also sounds similar to “Cars” and constituted unfair competition, the court said, though I would also say this is a infringement on the Transformers.

According to the director of “The Autobots,” Zhuo Jianrong maintained his innocence by saying he has never seen “Cars” and had been developed from real vehicles. Chinese media has reported that after the court ruling Zhuo will launch an appeal.

“Intellectual property rights protection is key to the growth of the cultural services industry. We are pleased that the court is protecting the intellectual property righs of creative companies like ours,” a Disney spokesperson in China told Variety.

What do you think of this ruling?