Alibaba Hit with 50M yuan for Infringing NetEase’s Copyright

The Guangzhou Internet Court has ordered an Alibaba Group unit that developed the hit mobile game "Three Kingdoms Tactics" to pay NetEase Inc 50 million yuan ($7.2 million) in compensation over copyright infringement, according to a statement from NetEase. Ejoy, the Alibaba subsidiary behind the hugely popular strategy game, said on microblogging site Weibo that it would appeal the decision of the Guangzhou Internet Court, and that the game will continue to operate. It is reported that "Three Kingdoms Tactics" is Alibaba's most profitable game, earning more than $1.97 billion from player spending since launching in 2019. The fine, if upheld through the appeal, would be one of the heftiest issued by a court in China involving video games.

Source:China Intellectual Property