VIP member sues iQiyi's "Qing Yu Nian" for on-demand demand
The court ruled: iQiyi pays a notary fee of 1,500 yuan
At the end of last year, the TV series "Qing Yu Nian" was popular, and due to the advanced pay-on-demand function launched by various video platforms during the broadcast, it caused widespread discussion among netizens. Accordingly, Wu Qiwei, a lawyer for iQiyi VIP users, sued iQiyi on the grounds of "format clauses", requesting confirmation that some of iQiyi's "VIP Agreement" clauses are invalid. At 14:00 on June 2, the Beijing Internet Court conducted a live trial of the "advance on demand" case of iQiyi's "Qing Yu Nian" and delivered a judgment in court.
The case was brought against by Wu Shengwei, a lawyer from Shanghai Zhengce Law Firm. He purchased iQiyi annual membership in June 2019 and watched the TV show "Qing Yu Nian" on iQiyi at the end of last year. He said that when chasing the latest episode, iQiyi popped up a payment window, which requires payment to watch in advance, while watching an episode up to 3 yuan. After looking at the "Member Service Agreement" of the platform, Wu Shengwei found that iQiyi and consumers signed an agreement that iQiyi can unilaterally modify at any time. The agreement states that "iQiyi has the right to The operation strategy unilaterally decides and adjusts the content of VIP membership services. When resolving disputes, the latest membership agreement you agree shall prevail." Wu Shengwei said that this obviously violates the principle of fairness and belongs to an unequal treaty.
At the beginning of December 2019, Wu Shengwei sued iQiyi to the court, requesting confirmation that several terms in the Agreement were invalid.
The latest agreement:
If the user continues to operate, it is deemed to have been accepted
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter visited iQiyi on June 1st and saw that iQiyi members are divided into gold VIP members and star diamond VIP members, which are 218 yuan/year and 398 yuan/year, of which star diamond VIP members Can enjoy free advance on demand. The reporter saw that in the iQiyi "VIP Member Service Agreement" updated on May 23 this year, "iQiyi has the right to change VIP members in accordance with changes in laws, regulations and policies, requirements of the copyright party, and changes in its own operating strategy. The service content (including but not limited to VIP member rights details, charging standards, charging methods) will be partially or completely changed. Regarding the aforementioned changes, iQiyi will announce it through the corresponding service page, website letter or other reasonable ways, and Effective from the date of publication. After the publication, your continued operations (including but not limited to clicking to agree, or continuing to purchase, or completing payment behavior, or using VIP member services, etc.) are deemed to have accepted the aforementioned changes."
At the same time, the agreement mentions that the charging methods and charging standards for VIP membership services (including automatic renewal), "paid movies", "advance on demand" and other paid on demand services are determined by iQiyi based on the company's operating costs and operating strategies. Independently decide after comprehensive consideration (adjustment includes but not limited to promotion, price increase, etc.), and show it to you on relevant product service promotion and payment pages. Your agreement to continue your operation is deemed to be your knowledge and agreement to the changed charging method and charging standard.
For advanced on-demand, iQiyi said in the "Agreement", "'advance on-demand' is to meet the needs of the majority of users to watch some TV shows and variety shows in advance..." At the same time, iQiyi is also in the "Agreement" Commitment, the advanced on-demand service model does not affect users' enjoyment of existing VIP membership rights.
The court pronounced:
Platform unilateral change contract
Damage the main rights and interests of members
On the afternoon of June 2, the Beijing Internet Court conducted a live trial of the "advance on demand" case of iQiyi's "Qing Yu Nian". After nearly two and a half hours of trial, the court sentenced in court. The court held that the effectiveness of the unilateral change clause was the focus of the dispute in this case. As a service-based network platform, timely adjustment of service content and update of service models have their industry necessity and realistic rationality. In view of the characteristics of service models, it is not unreasonable to stipulate unilateral changes in terms of terms in the form of terms and conditions. It should be premised on not damaging the interests of users."
Combined with the facts found by this court, the iQiyi platform unilaterally changed the terms of the contract, and launched a paid advance on-demand service model during the broadcast of the TV drama "Qing Yu Nian", which made the movie viewing experience enjoyed by gold VIP members far below It is expected to significantly reduce the entertainment and satisfaction of Gold VIP members watching movies and TV shows, which actually damages the main rights and interests of Gold VIP members. Therefore, in this case, the unilateral increase of the paid advance on-demand clause by iQiyi Company did not change the effectiveness of the contract. .
Secondly, the "Agreement" also stipulates that if the agreement changes, but the member does not agree to change the content, the member has the right to choose to stop using it. If the member still continues to use the VIP service, it is deemed to have agreed to change all the content.
The court held that this was literally not wrong, but in combination with other provisions in the Agreement, it can be seen that iQiyi did not provide VIP members with a convenient channel to terminate contracts and refund VIP member fees, resulting in The content that agreed to change, its right to cancel the VIP membership agreement can not be performed, which constitutes substantial damage to the rights of VIP members.
The court specifically pointed out that iQiyi continued to launch new service models to maximize the benefits of the platform, which should be based on compliance with legal regulations. In summary, the judge believes that in this case, the relevant behaviors of the iQiyi platform can neither be established as a unilateral contract change nor a negotiated contract change. The increase in the payment of iQiyi on December 8, 2019 is ahead of schedule The terms on demand are not legally effective. On this basis, iQIYI Company’s paid advance on-demand launch within the scope of satellite TV hit TV series and iQIYI high-quality homemade dramas constitutes a breach of contract and shall be liable for breach of contract.
For the paid advance on-demand service that violates the agreement between Wu Shengwei and "Hot Drama Early Watch", iQiyi constitutes a breach of contract and shall be liable for continued breach of contract.
At the same time in the "Agreement", iQiyi's paid advance on-demand mode does not have legal effect on the plaintiff Wu Shengwei. The court ruled that within 10 days from the effective date of this judgment, the defendant Beijing Aiqiyi Technology Co., Ltd. provided the plaintiff Wu Shengwei with the original gold VIP membership rights of the iqiyi platform for 15 consecutive days, so that it could enjoy the iqiyi platform The updated viewing rights of the popular TV series and iQiyi's high-quality homemade dramas.
Within 10 days from the effective date of this judgment, the defendant Beijing Aiqiyi Technology Co., Ltd. compensated the plaintiff Wu Shengwei for the loss of 1,500 yuan in notarization fees, and rejected Wu Shengwei's other claims.
IQiyi responded:
Will continue to improve products
Reserve the right to appeal
On the evening of June 2nd, iQIYI's official Weibo post responded, stating that the launch of the advanced on-demand mode was to meet users' increasingly diverse content viewing needs. Appropriate", while promising to continuously improve products and services. For other judgment information, the right to appeal is reserved.
On the afternoon of June 2, after the sentencing was over, Wu Shengwei said in an interview that he was satisfied with the verdict. Regarding the judgment, the notarization fee of 1,500 yuan supported by the court, he believes that it is already relatively high in a single case compared with the one or two hundred yuan he bought for the member. For personally letting iQiyi cancel the advanced on-demand, he also thinks it is unlikely to be achieved. "But this time the judgment made me feel that the law is relatively fair and just." He said that through this case, he also wanted to express, "Internet companies should respect users, they can innovate, change, and increase membership. The rights and interests make the rights and interests of the members more and more colorful, but in the process of change, the original member rights should not be compressed. Even if they are compressed, they should go through a certain process and force changes. It is definitely illegal." Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News Reporter Hu Ting Zhang Ling