Research On The Copyright Protection Of Virtual Characters In Online Games

The object of Copyright Law Protection in China is works,and virtual characters in online games are protected by Copyright Law as part of game elements.The value of online games lies not only in the gameplay itself,but also in the diversity of game content.Among them,the commercial nature of online game virtual personas endowing online games with a new vitality,the independence value characteristics of online game virtual personas are more and more obvious,so the traditional protection way is obviously unable to meet the increasingly developed virtual character image right.It is worth discussing whether the virtual personas of online games can be the independent protection object by the Copyright Law.This essay uses the method of case analysis and comparative analysis.With the Copyright Law in China and the related provisions of the United States Copyright Act as the foundation;Through the analysis of two typical cases;and with the judicial practice problems existing in the legal protection of network games virtual characters,to point out the solution to solve the problem,and have a better understanding to our country's online games in the field of virtual characters as the object protected by the Copyright Law in China.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,this essay is divided into three parts.The first part is case analysis,including two typical cases of copyright infringement and unfair competition disputes.In these two cases,two courts used quite the different ways to protect the virtual personas,one used protection of art works in the Copyright Law and the other used unfair competition law respectively.Two courts also had great differences in the method of determining the similarity of the virtual personas.Via the case analysis,we can easily see that since the Copyright Law does not stipulate the copyrightable standard of online game virtual characters,the virtual characters cannot be protected as independent works,and it is more difficultfor the parties to safeguard their rights.The second part is based on the problems of the existing cases,to summarizes the current situation and shortcomings of the protection of virtual characters in online games in China.Specifically,a single work of art can not fully protect the commercial value of virtual characters;The way to identify infringement is vague;and there is no unified substantive similarity criterion.The last part puts forward the corresponding countermeasures.By analyzing the legislation and judicature of the protection of online game virtual personas in the United States,the author points out that China should adopt the "three-part testing standard" to determine the copyright of virtual personas,and use the combination of the overall look and feel method and the abstract testing method as the determination method of substantial similarity.