From Milk Tea Recipes to Short Video BGM: Intellectual Property Traps in Daily Life
Intellectual property (IP) issues are omnipresent in daily life, ranging from milk tea recipes to background music (BGM) in short videos. These seemingly ordinary things may conceal legal risks of infringement. This article will reveal the IP traps in daily life through specific cases and explore how to effectively avoid these risks.
I. Milk Tea Recipes: Protection and Infringement of Trade Secrets
Milk tea, as a popular beverage, often has its recipe regarded as a core trade secret by brand owners. However, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the unauthorized public sale of milk tea recipes, which not only infringes on the intellectual property rights of the brand owners but also disrupts market order.
Case Focus
In 2021, a milk tea shop in Chengdu was found to have copied the recipe of "Chaya Yue Se" and was ordered to pay a compensation of 1.2 million yuan (including infringement of trade secrets and unfair competition). Zhao, a former employee of the company, violated the confidentiality obligation by selling the company's product recipe to Zhu, who then sold it on an online platform at prices ranging from 50 to 499 yuan.
Legal Boundaries
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Unique ingredient ratios as trade secrets: Companies need to sign confidentiality agreements with employees to prevent recipe leaks.
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Similar flavor descriptions may constitute unfair competition: Names such as "Yulan Latte" should be used with caution to avoid infringement.
Data Insights
In China's tea beverage industry, there are over 2,000 intellectual property disputes annually, with 67% of these cases involving franchisees infringing on others' rights.
II. Short Video BGM: Lack of Copyright Awareness and Infringement
The rise of short videos has brought endless fun to people's lives. However, the background music (BGM) in these videos has become a high-risk area for intellectual property infringement. Many creators use unauthorized music works as BGM in their short videos, which may infringe on the copyright of the music.
Case Focus
In 2022, the Beijing Internet Court heard a case involving the unauthorized use of music on a short video platform. Company A, the plaintiff, had obtained the right to disseminate a popular online song. However, Company B, the defendant, operated a short video platform that uploaded the song to its music library without authorization, allowing users to use it when recording short videos. The court ultimately ruled that the defendant should compensate the plaintiff for economic losses.
Legal Boundaries
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Unauthorized uploading of music constitutes direct infringement: If a short video platform uploads music without permission, allowing users to use the song at any time and place when recording short videos, it infringes on the plaintiff's right to disseminate the work through information networks.
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Users uploading infringing videos on the platform constitute indirect infringement: If the platform fails to take necessary measures to prevent infringement and is subjectively at fault, it constitutes contributory infringement.
Data Insights
Among the music libraries of platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou, 32% of the music does not have complete commercial authorization.
III. Other Intellectual Property Traps in Daily Life
In addition to milk tea recipes and short video BGM, there are many other scenarios in daily life where intellectual property traps exist. For example, some businesses use others' brand logos for publicity without authorization, which may constitute trademark infringement. Moreover, some self-media accounts publish others' written works without authorization, which may also infringe on copyright.
Case Focus
In 2018, Company A, the plaintiff, obtained the right to disseminate a written work through information networks. Company B, the defendant, published a short video containing the written work on its platform without authorization from the plaintiff. The court ruled that the defendant's actions constituted infringement and ordered it to compensate the plaintiff for economic losses.
IV. How to Avoid Intellectual Property Traps
To avoid intellectual property traps in daily life, it is essential to enhance one's awareness of intellectual property. Both enterprises and individuals should strengthen their understanding of relevant IP laws and regulations to know their rights and obligations. Secondly, it is important to respect others' intellectual property rights and not to use others' works and innovative achievements without authorization. Additionally, enterprises should enhance their technological innovation and obtain core competitiveness through independent research and development.
Crisis Response Measures
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Immediately remove the infringing content and back up the deletion records.
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Submit a counter-notice through the platform's complaint channel.
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Collect ownership proofs and non-infringement evidence.
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Seek the involvement of a professional lawyer for negotiation.
Conclusion
Intellectual property protection is a long-term and arduous task that requires the joint efforts of all of us. From milk tea recipes to short video BGM, every detail in daily life may involve intellectual property issues. Only by enhancing our awareness of intellectual property and respecting others' innovative achievements can we make greater progress on the path of innovation. Let us join hands to create a good social environment that respects intellectual property, providing a solid guarantee for innovation and creation. It is hoped that this article will help everyone better understand the intellectual property traps in daily life, enhance their awareness of intellectual property protection, and jointly promote the development of the intellectual property protection cause.
