A U.S. district court has awarded Tencent nearly $85 million in damages after finding that Taiwan-based TV box distributor Unblock Tech, along with other related parties, violated the Chinese tech giant’s copyrights. The case, which was filed by Tencent’s subsidiaries, including Tencent Penguin Film, Tencent Computer System, and Tencent Technology, accused the defendants of illegally copying, distributing, and importing over 1,500 pieces of Tencent’s video content. Among the affected content were popular titles such as the family drama Little Days and the sci-fi blockbuster Three Body Problem.
The ruling, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on February 7, marks a significant legal victory for Tencent. However, the company, which owns Tencent Pictures and Tencent Video, declined to provide a comment on the matter. Similarly, Unblock Tech did not respond to requests for a statement.
Vivian Toh, an analyst at TechTechChina, commented on the case, highlighting the challenges of cross-border video content infringement. “In the field of video content infringement, cross-border infringement is the most difficult to restrain… Tencent’s victory reflects their determination to combat such infringement,” she noted.
Tencent has a history of taking legal action against copyright violations. The company has previously sued ByteDance, the owner of TikTok and Douyin, in Chinese courts, accusing them of improperly using its content. It remains unclear whether these lawsuits have been resolved or are still pending.
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