Chinese playwright tries to outfox 20th Century Fox

Interesting case from China where a science fiction writer, Li Jianmin, has sued 20th Century Fox Film Corporation for copyright infringement. In this lawsuit, which opened on April 11th in the Intermediate People's Court of Dongying, Shandong Province, Li alleged that Fox's 2004 movie The Day After Tomorrow copied the creative concept and the plots of two plays he completed in 2001 and 2002. He claims that the film, in which most of the world is destroyed because of global warming, contains 308 scenes that were described in his plays. He does not seek any monetary damages, and only wants to be "respected for his work" and have Fox acknowledge the copyright infringement plus pay his legal costs.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/1402AP_China_Movie_Lawsuit.html

This case of copyright infringement is interesting because it will be very difficult for the writer to prove that Fox copied his plays and stole his plot. The main question would be how Fox would even get to see his plays which are unpublished and seen by very few of Li's friends. His case is further weakened by several other stories and plays that have talked about the world collapsing as a result of global warming. Also, I like the fact that he only wants respect and acknowledgement and not cash. Of course, that could change if he wins in China and decides to pursue a big claim in the U.S.! Another interesting aspect is the growing Chinese awareness of intellectual property (IP), since till now, most cases were about foreign firms protecting their IP in China and this represents a reversal of roles.

Ritu Dhillon