The first virtual anchor "Zhong Zhi Ren" breach of contract dispute case is sentenced
2024-12-05
The virtual anchor interacts and chats with the audience through live broadcast, video release, social media and other platforms. It is a anime virtual image created by technicians through virtual digital technology. Real actors provide actions, sounds, emotions, etc., of which the anime virtual image is called a "holster" and the real actor is called a "man in the middle". Recently, the People's Court of Huqiu District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, heard the first case of breach of contract dispute involving a virtual anchor named "Zhongzhiren" in China, and ruled that "Zhongzhiren" should bear the liability for breach of contract if it violates the cooperation agreement and suspends broadcasting without authorization. In September 2022, Shi signed a "Virtual Anchor Contract" with MCN organization Suzhou Information Technology Co., Ltd., agreeing that Shi would use the virtual image provided by the company on a designated platform to conduct live broadcasts. The contract also stipulates the minimum monthly live streaming time and broadcasting days for Mr. Shi. If the anchor unilaterally terminates the contract in advance, it constitutes a fundamental breach of contract and a penalty must be paid. In July 2023, due to Shi's three-month absence from live streaming and repeated reminders, the company sent a breach notice to Shi, explicitly terminating the contract and requiring him to pay a penalty of over 40000 yuan and virtual image losses of over 10000 yuan. Both parties failed to reach an agreement, and the company filed a lawsuit with the court. After trial, the court held that in this case, the use of the virtual image "riding yellow" does not rely on the facial features, posture, and expressions of Shi, and can be driven by changing natural persons. The live content is limited to interaction and singing, and does not reflect the unique performance style of "Zhongzhi Ren". Moreover, it cannot demonstrate the high stickiness of fan audiences to "Zhongzhi Ren" in terms of live broadcast duration, number of fans, and concentration of reward users. The virtual image "Chenghuang" does not have "identity identity identity" with Shi, but has reuse value. Shi stopped broadcasting on his own during the contract period, which affected the shaping of his virtual image and the possibility of its value growth. Taking into account the value of virtual image usage and the negative impact of breach of contract on the value of virtual image, the court has determined that the direct loss caused by Shi's breach of contract is 4000 yuan. Finally, the court found that the amount of liquidated damages stipulated in the contract was too high, and adjusted it to 7000 yuan at its discretion. At the same time, the company deducted the live streaming income that was not distributed to Mr. Shi. The court ruled that the contract between the two parties should be terminated, and Mr. Shi should pay a liquidated damages of 6200 yuan to the company. Wu Ya, the president and post judge of the First Civil Division (Suzhou Internet Court) of the People's Court of Huqiu District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, believes that the virtual image involved in the case belongs to virtual property and is protected by law. The "person in the middle" who violates the cooperation agreement without authorization and stops broadcasting should bear the responsibility for breach of contract. Wu Ya stated that this case involves a human driven virtual anchor, and whether the anchor and the virtual image have "identity identity" directly affects the scope of losses. Traffic contribution degree is the criterion for determining identity identity, which can be specifically determined based on factors such as virtual image value, image driving methods, overall combination of live streaming content, methods, and performance effects. In the absence of "identity identity", the devaluation of virtual image value should be determined by considering factors such as the cost of virtual image production, contract performance period, adoption of reuse measures, and necessary reuse costs. In addition to the direct loss caused by the devaluation of the virtual image value, the defaulting party shall also compensate the MCN institution for the loss of obtainable benefits during the reasonable period of adopting reuse measures. (New Society)
Edit:Rina Responsible editor:Lily
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