Apple appeals Chinese court ruling over pirated encyclopedia apps
Apple has filed an appeal with a Chinese court's $84,000 judgment pertaining to the sale of apps containing pirated versions of a well-known encyclopedia, claiming the company was not responsible for the content.
First reported by Chinese language newspaper the Jinghua Times (via The Next Web) on Wednesday local China time, the appeal asserts that the court's assessment of the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House complaint was incorrect, adding that the $84,000 (RMB 520,000) fine is too high.
The court decided the case in September, and found Apple to be responsible for the pirated copies as it allowed the content to enter the App Store and profited from its sale.
Apple's appeal is the latest chapter in a case that dates back to 2010, when the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House filed suit against the company after discovering unauthorized versions of its copy-written material in the iOS App Store.
For its part, Apple argued that it did not develop the third-party apps, and therefore had no responsibility for the pirated content. The company will reportedly hold that contention throughout the appeals process.
First reported by Chinese language newspaper the Jinghua Times (via The Next Web) on Wednesday local China time, the appeal asserts that the court's assessment of the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House complaint was incorrect, adding that the $84,000 (RMB 520,000) fine is too high.
The court decided the case in September, and found Apple to be responsible for the pirated copies as it allowed the content to enter the App Store and profited from its sale.
Apple's appeal is the latest chapter in a case that dates back to 2010, when the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House filed suit against the company after discovering unauthorized versions of its copy-written material in the iOS App Store.
For its part, Apple argued that it did not develop the third-party apps, and therefore had no responsibility for the pirated content. The company will reportedly hold that contention throughout the appeals process.
Comments
Apple fights with all over the world over patent, really can't understand why it want itself lost in the wars of patent, does Apple want to wipe the road just as this article described?
Here is link of the Ariticle.
The communists are NOT to be trusted. They'll do whatever it takes to squeeze every penny out of people any way they can.
Because it's a well established rule of law that a retailer is not responsible for the content of books that they sell. If Apple doesn't fight this, it becomes a precedent and Apple would get sued all the time. In some cases, they'd be sued for including a book and also sued if they don't.
No. For the same reason that Barnes and Noble is not liable if someone finds that a book that they're selling contains some plagiarism.
From day one there has been a rule that developers are responsible for all licensing etc for content in their apps. When you submit an app you are reminded of this and that by submitting your app you state that you have all needed rights to anything in said app.
The only way Apple would be at fault is if it was proven that these apps contained 'stolen' material and Apple did nothing, not even pulled the apps
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
Because it's a well established rule of law that a retailer is not responsible for the content of books that they sell. If Apple doesn't fight this, it becomes a precedent and Apple would get sued all the time. In some cases, they'd be sued for including a book and also sued if they don't.
No. For the same reason that Barnes and Noble is not liable if someone finds that a book that they're selling contains some plagiarism.
I don't know how the Chinese laws are written with regards to plagiarism. I think if Apple refunds the money and the book publisher pays the fines for this one, then that's how plagiarism should be handled.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
From day one there has been a rule that developers are responsible for all licensing etc for content in their apps. When you submit an app you are reminded of this and that by submitting your app you state that you have all needed rights to anything in said app.
The only way Apple would be at fault is if it was proven that these apps contained 'stolen' material and Apple did nothing, not even pulled the apps
Last time this topic came up, this was part of the argument, that Apple refused to remove the offending apps after being shown proof of ownership. I don't know whether it's true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hmm
Last time this topic came up, this was part of the argument, that Apple refused to remove the offending apps after being shown proof of ownership. I don't know whether it's true.
I believe they claimed ownership but provided no proof of ownership. I could be wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by geoadm
whats the bet it was put in the app store by someone involved with China Publishing House for the sole purpose of litigation
Yes, they put it in the app store to make a whopping $84K in settlement cash. I guess that amount of money may go further in China, but I doubt it's enough for most companies to be willing to fight for over 2 years to collect. But then again, Apple is willing to fight even that amount, though I suspect it's more about the precedent than the amount.
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
If this is happening to Apple I wonder what Google will have to deal with.
Absolutely nothing whatsoever.
Originally Posted by zeromeus
The communists are NOT to be trusted. They'll do whatever it takes to squeeze every penny out of people any way they can.
And some people actually wonder why we have an aversion to new communist countries popping up…
Quote:
Originally Posted by caliminius
Yes, they put it in the app store to make a whopping $84K in settlement cash. I guess that amount of money may go further in China, but I doubt it's enough for most companies to be willing to fight for over 2 years to collect. But then again, Apple is willing to fight even that amount, though I suspect it's more about the precedent than the amount.
Could be exactly that - just like the credit card scammers that make a $1 transaction first to see if an account is number is good then wham they buy $1000 items.
That is true... the Google store is vetted much less than Apple's, so their potential liabilities would be higher.
However, I do see that as Apple is directly profiting from the sale of each App, and is providing it directly as content from their store, that effectively they are responsible for the sale of counterfeit goods. A direct comparison is a shop in the US selling a fake product. In this instance the brand manufacturer is completely entitled to sue the pants of you, as you benefited from selling counterfeit goods.
That's a really good question...
realwarder makes a good argument. I can see a WalMart being sued if they are selling fake Louis Vuitton bags but I can't imagine seeing a flea market* getting sued if there multiple booths selling the same thing. Sure, Google is much larger (read: has deeper pockets) than these small market owners but I think it could be argued the philosophy is still the same. If people aren't suing Google for linking to sites that host torrents as being distributors of torrents or other illegal media then I can see Google coming out clean on this... unfortunately.
* Also may be known as tiangge, trash and treasure markets, talipapa, shrukawadi bazzar, juna bazzar, car boot sales, jumble sale, bring and buy sale, or marché aux puces.
You aren't a developer are you. If you were you would know that when you submit apps you agree that you have vetted all content, have all proper rights and assume sole responsibility legally if this isn't true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
You aren't a developer are you. If you were you would know that when you submit apps you agree that you have vetted all content, have all proper rights and assume sole responsibility legally if this isn't true.
having legalese like that doesn't really negate all responsibilities, depend on the local laws. It could be that by Apple's vetting process, they have became partially responsible for the content of the apps according to Chinese law on such matter. Or that in China, vendors are indeed responsible for selling pirated products, no matter what notification they sent to the product owner. It wouldn't be far fetched for that to be true, the US push on IP protection could very well have generated such a law in China.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Realistic
I believe they claimed ownership but provided no proof of ownership. I could be wrong.
That's always possible. I couldn't find enough details on it.