The Application Of The Idea/Expression Dichotomy In Online Games

Recently,the first trial of "Tai ji Panda V Hua Qian Bone" came to an end.The verdict of the case has caused a great sensation in the legal and practical circles of China,among which the determination of the rules of gameplay was even more shocked.It jumped out of the direct identification of the game rules in the previous game cases,used the idea-expression dichotomy in the traditional copyright law to divide and compare the rules of the game carefully,and gave copyright to the part that can constitute of the expression.This kind of protection was a big breakthrough.As the cornerstone of copyright law,the idea-expression dichotomy in traditional copyright law has been standing since its inception.Its basic connotation:the copyright law only protects the expression of ideas without protecting the thought itself,which is not only explained in one trial case after another,but also explicitly stipulated in direct or indirect ways in various countries.Similarly,China's 2001 Computer Software Protection Regulations also legislated for this principle.As one of the increasingly rich objects of traditional copyright,online games are also suitable for the application of this principle.However,due to the uniqueness of the emerging object of online games,the lack of unified guidelines and norms,the rigid application of this principle in judicial practice,and the different understandings of its connotation by courts at all levels,the application of this principle is not satisfied.what's worse,with the continuous development of network technology,the infringement method of online games is also "advance with the times" and"full of tricks." At this time,if we ignore the uniqueness of online games and the complexity of realistic infringement methods,and blindly rigidly apply the idea-expression dichotomy,it will not only make the principle fail to play its due role,but also not conducive to the protection of online games.Therefore,this paper is based on the case of " Tai ji Panda V Hua Qian Bone " as the background,in order to identify the rules of online games as a breakthrough,specifically discusses the traditional copyright law in the ideological expression of dichotomy principle in the application of online game elements.In addition to the introduction,this paper is mainly divided into four parts:the first part is an overview of the historical development of the idea-expression dichotomy in traditional copyright law,and a brief introduction to the special circumstances in which this principle is applied.In the second part,the application of this principle in the early and recent trials of online games in China is sorted out and some existing problems are summarized based on the judicial practice in China.The third part introduces the classification principle and common methods of the ideology-expression dichotomy in the protection of online games based on the specific cases in the judicial process of online games in the United States.The fourth part is the most important part of this paper.The author lists the relevant controversial elements related to the idea-expression dichotomy in online games,and introduces the specific application of this principle in detail in combination with relevant cases in the United States and China.The fifth part is on the basis of the above analysis,aiming at the application of the principle of China's existing problems put forward suggestions for improvement.