Adidas won the copyright case at first-instance

Recently, Adidas filed a lawsuit against a natural person surnamed Qin and Guangxi LeQiu Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. at Beijing No.3 Intermediate People's Court, claiming that the football the two defendants manufactured constituted copyright infringement and that they should stop infringement and indemnify 50,000 yuan. The court recently heard the case at first-instance, confirmed the infringement and ordered the two defendants to make compensation of 11,000 yuan.

Adidas claimed that it owned the copyright of Brazil's confederations Cup official licensed ball. The two defendants who manufactured, exhibited and sold the ball in China International Sporting Goods Show constituted copyright infringement. Considering the ball expressed the author's independent idea via the mixture of dot, line and color lump, the court confirmed the originality as well as copyright of the ball. So ordered.