Recently, China Literature Limited secured a favorable first-instance verdict in Shanghai's first copyright infringement case involving AI large models. The court ruled that the infringer must cease infringing upon the reproduction right and the right of communication through information network of the IP images owned by the plaintiff company, and also bear liability for compensation.

This case marks Shanghai's first copyright infringement lawsuit concerning AI large models, and its first-instance judgment provides an important judicial precedent on copyright issues related to AI training and generation. The court explicitly held that reproducing the original expression of pre-existing works during the training, release, and use of LoRA models for commercial purposes infringes upon the plaintiff's reproduction right and the right of communication through information network in those works.

Meanwhile, this case serves as a warning that AI platforms should establish robust copyright protection mechanisms. These include providing adequate notices to users, setting up complaint reporting mechanisms and content review mechanisms for releases, and promptly fulfilling obligations such as "taking necessary measures" and "forwarding notifications" upon receipt of a complaint.

King & Wood Mallesons provided legal services to China Literature Limited. It is reported that the case was led by Jerry Liu (International Partner) and Qian Qixin (Partner), with the project team members including Cai Wenyuan and Chen Shan.