Guangdong Province, Guidelines for the Adjudication of Civil Dispute Cases Involving Intellectual Property in Online Games (Trial Implementation)

(2)        whether it can be reproduced with technical equipment;

(3)        whether it consists of continuous moving pictures accompanied or not with sound; and

(4)        whether the audio-visual expression presented in the game screen as a consequence of human-computer interaction falls within the pre-set scope of the game.

When determining whether the continuous moving pictures in a game represent an inventive step, consideration shall chiefly be given to whether they were independently completed by the author and whether they embody the author's personal choices, selections, arrangements and designs (Article 18).

Where carried out by an individual game streamer, if the game's continuous moving pictures arising from one's own or another's operation of the game that are taken as the basis and accompanied by the streamer's oral explanation, as well as the streamed pictures consisting of other elements such as text, voice, images and animated pictures satisfy the conditions for constituting a work created by a method similar to shooting a film, the same shall be accorded protection (Article 19).

In the absence of counter evidence, the natural person, legal person or other organization whose signature appears in an online game may, in general, be assumed to be the author (Article 21).

When trying trademark infringement dispute cases involving online games, particular examination of factors such as the consumers, service method and the upstream and downstream relationships in the industry may be carried out when determining whether a similar good or service is constituted.

Where a defendant claims that the game in question does not fall within the same or a similar class of goods or services for which the plaintiff's registered trademark has been designated for use on the grounds that the type, style, operating platform, etc. of the game is different, such claim shall, in general, be rejected (Article 26).