Chinese Court Ordered Alibaba Unit to Pay US $7.2 Million to NetEase in Copyright Infringement

Chinese Court Ordered Alibaba Unit to Pay US $7.2 Million to NetEase in Copyright Infringement

The Guangzhou Court, a Chinese Court has ordered Ejoy- unit of Alibaba Group to pay NetEase 50 million yuan ($7.2 million) in compensation over copyright infringement.

Ejoy is the subsidiary behind developing the hit mobile game “Three Kingdoms Tactics,” a hugely popular strategy game.

“Three Kingdoms Tactics” is Alibaba’s most profitable game, which has earned more than $1.97 billion from player spending since its launch in 2019, according to data firm App Magic.

It has been reported to be the heftiest fine ever issued by the Chinese Court involving video games.

The Court ordered Ejoy to delete 79 items which were considered to have infringed on the copyrights of “Shuai Tu Zhi Bin”, another popular strategy game developed by NetEase.

According to the statement issued by the Alibaba unit, the Court had rejected NetEase’s demand to suspend the operation of “Three Kingdoms Tactics” while also acknowledging that the game had its own innovations.

“Shuai Tu Zhi Bin,” also known as “Invincible,” is one of NetEase’s most profitable games.

The game was launched in September 2019 and has hit more than US$1 billion in lifetime player spending, according to data firm Sensor Tower.

A NetEase spokesperson said the ruling “emphasizes the importance of fair competition in the gaming community, and is also a victory for our development teams who work hard to develop original content such as Invincible.”