China News Service, April 11. According to the Supreme People's Court's WeChat official account on the 11th, the Supreme People's Court Civil Division has selected nine typical civil cases of judicial protection of personality rights, including the case of online bidding ranking infringement on the right to name, "AI companionship" Software Infringement Cases, etc.
In 2021, courts across the country will accept 192,675 first-instance personality rights disputes, a year-on-year increase of 19.2%. Among them, spiritual personality rights disputes such as reputation rights, portrait rights, and name rights have increased year-on-year.
This year is the second year of the implementation of the Civil Code. In order to demonstrate the remarkable achievements in judicial protection of personality rights of the people's courts, guide the courts across the country to correctly apply the legal system of personality rights of the Civil Code, establish rules of conduct, clarify the rules of judgment, and give full play to the education, evaluation, and judgment of judicial judgment. Guiding and demonstration functions, the Supreme People's Court issued typical civil cases for judicial protection of personality rights.
Typical civil cases of judicial protection of personality rights after the promulgation of the Civil Code
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1. Changing the names of minor children should follow the principles of voluntary and favorable growth
——The case of changing the name of a minor
2. The rights and interests of adopted daughters to engrave their names on the tombstones of their deceased adoptive parents are protected by law
——The case of engraving the name on the tombstone of the adopted daughter
3. Setting search keywords with competitor names for commercial promotion constitutes infringement of name rights
——The case of infringement of name right by online bidding ranking
4. Artificial intelligence software using the image of a natural person to create virtual characters without authorization constitutes infringement
——The case of "AI companion" software infringing on personality rights
5. Portrait silhouettes with obvious recognizability belong to the protection category of portrait rights
——A dispute over the right to portrait and name of famous artist Jia
6. The long-term failure of financial institutions to verify and correct the debtor's credit record may constitute a reputational infringement
——Debtor v. Financial Institution Reputation Infringement Case
7. Negative reviews that do not exceed the necessary limits do not constitute reputational infringement
——The case of property company v. owner's reputation infringement case
8. Installing a video doorbell in close proximity can constitute a violation of neighbor privacy
——Facial recognition device infringes on neighbor's privacy case
9. Large-scale illegal trading of personal information infringes on personality rights and social public interests
——Civil public interest litigation case of illegal trading of personal information
Case number one
Changing the names of minor children should follow the principles of voluntary and favorable growth
——The case of changing the name of a minor
A brief case
In October 2011, the defendant Xiang Mouyun divorced the plaintiff Xiang Shan (a minor) mother Zheng Mou, and agreed that the plaintiff would be raised by his mother Zheng Mou.
After the plaintiff lived with Zheng, Zheng changed his name to "Zheng Mouwen". The plaintiff used "Zheng Mouwen" to live and study all the time, and participated in mathematics, art, Latin dance, etc. in the name of "Zheng Mouwen". International competitions and many awards.
In December 2018, the defendant applied to a Yunxiang police station to change the plaintiff's name back to "Xiang Moushan".
After the plaintiff's name was changed back to "Xiang Moushan", his study, life, and competition all caused some troubles.
The plaintiff and his mother Zheng Mou and the defendant failed to negotiate with Mouyun. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting the defendant to cooperate with the plaintiff to change the plaintiff's name to "Zheng Mouwen".
During the trial, the plaintiff made it clear in court that he was willing to use the name "Zheng Mouwen" to continue his life.
The results of the referee
The People's Court of Hechuan District, Chongqing City held that the name is a sign of a natural person's personality participating in social life. According to the provisions of Article 1012 of the Civil Code, a natural person has the right to decide, use, change or permit others to use his name according to law. , but must not violate public order and good customs.
Disputes involving the interests of minors after the divorce of parents should adhere to the principle of maximizing the interests of minors.
In this case, the plaintiff has continued to use the name "Zheng Mouwen" for many years. This name is not only well known to relatives, friends, teachers and classmates, but has also become a sign of his personality and an important part of his life and study.
As a minor who has reached the age of 12, the plaintiff has been able to understand the literal meaning of the name and the symbolic meaning of his personality. Taking into account his award-winning experience in many international and domestic competitions and his own true wishes, it is beneficial to the plaintiff to continue to use this name. Physical and mental health and growth.
Therefore, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, the defendant was judged to cooperate with the plaintiff to change the household registration name back to "Zheng Mouwen".
3. Typical meaning
This case is a typical case of applying the Civil Code to protect the legal right of minors to change their names.
In practice, disputes are frequently caused when one spouse changes the name of a minor after a divorce.
The trial court of this case adhered to the principle of maximizing the interests of minors, organically combined the latest provisions of the Personality Rights of the Civil Code with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors, and fully listened to minors with certain judgment and reasonable cognition. It respects citizens’ right to choose their own names, protects the personal interests of minors to the greatest extent, and has received good social effects.
Case 2
Adopted daughter's engraving rights on tombstones of deceased adoptive parents are protected by law
——The case of engraving the name on the tombstone of the adopted daughter
A brief case
The plaintiff Shi is in contact with the adopted daughter and sole heir of the late Shi Mouxin and his wife, and the defendant Shi Mouhe is the nephew of Shi Xin's church.
The Shijialing community relocated the graves of the villagers in 2009. The name of Shi Moulian was engraved on the tombstone of Shi Mouxin and his wife.
In the summer of 2020, when the Shijialing Neighborhood Committee moved tombs, in addition to financial compensation, the newly erected tombstones were provided by the community and their names were engraved according to the list reported by each family.
Shi Mouhe did not list Shi Moulian on the registration form to the neighborhood committee, resulting in the newly erected tombstone not engraving Shi Moulian's name.
Shi Moulian sued and requested that Shi Mouhe be ordered to engrave Shi Moulian's name on the tombstone of Shi Mouxin and his wife, return the cemetery relocation funds, and compensate for mental damage.
The results of the referee
The People's Court of Gangcheng District, Jinan City, Shandong Province held that in the first instance, according to Article 990 of the Civil Code, in addition to the specific personality rights stipulated by law, natural persons also enjoy other rights and interests based on personal freedom and personal dignity.
The names of relatives engraved on the tombstones of the deceased are a reflection of the later generations' memories of their relatives in traditional Chinese culture, and they have a great spiritual sustenance for future generations.
Adopted children engrave their names on the tombstones of their deceased parents, which is in line with public order, good customs and traditional customs, and in this way shows the special identity relationship with the deceased, and obtains social evaluation such as reputation and prestige. Therefore, the engraving of names on tombstones is related to the children's personal dignity. Correspondingly Rights and interests should be protected by law.
The name of the adopted daughter Shi Moulian was engraved on the original tombstone. Shi Mouhe deliberately omitted Shi Moulian's engraved name when he re-established the tombstone, which violated Shi Moulian's personality rights and should bear civil liability.
The first trial ordered Shi Mouhe to engrave Shi Moulian's name on the tombstone of Shi Mouxin and his wife according to traditional folk customs, and Shi Mouhe returned Shi Moulian's cemetery demolition fee of 3,736 yuan.
The Jinan Intermediate People's Court of the second instance upheld the original judgment.
3. Typical meaning
The rights and interests of adopted children to be engraved on the tombstones of their deceased adoptive parents are related to personal dignity and equality of personality, and are in line with the tradition of filial piety and public order and good customs. In this case, such personality rights and interests are included in general personality rights for protection, which responds to the need for the protection of new types of personality rights and interests arising from social development. , which has reference value for the handling of similar cases.
Case 3
Use competitor names to set search keywords for commercial promotion
constitute an infringement of the right of name
——The case of infringement of name right by online bidding ranking
A brief case
A tiger company is a search engine operator, which owns a search advertising business.
Company A purchased the above-mentioned services for the purpose of promoting the company, and used the name of “Company B” in the same industry as a key word to promote Company A in business within 3 years.
Searching for the keywords of Company B through the search engine involved in the case, the first two entries on the result page both point to Company A, while the entries on Company B's official website are relatively backward.
Company B believed that Company A used Company B's name to attract customers without authorization during online promotion, infringing its name right. A Tiger Company knew that the above behavior constituted infringement and still offered assistance, so it sued the court and asked Company A and a Tiger Company to stop Infringement, apologize, eliminate the impact and jointly and severally compensate for the loss of 300,000 yuan.
The results of the referee
The Guangzhou Internet Court held that, in accordance with Articles 1013 and 1014 of the Civil Code, legal persons and unincorporated organizations have the right to name, and no organization or individual may interfere, embezzle, or counterfeit. Infringe its name right by other means.
Company B, as a well-known enterprise, has a certain economic value in its name.
Company A's unauthorized use of Company B's name for marketing will inevitably cause economic losses to it, and has infringed its name right.
A Tiger Company, as the operator of the search engine involved in the case, carried out paid advertising business, its obligation to review the keyword settings of Company A should be higher than that of ordinary network service providers.
Because a certain tiger company failed to properly perform its review obligations, it objectively provided assistance to the infringing acts involved in the case, which constituted joint infringement.
Therefore, it was ordered that Company A and a Tiger Company apologized in writing, clarified the facts, eliminated the impact, and jointly and severally compensated 65,000 yuan.
3. Typical meaning
Name right is an important identifying right for an enterprise to engage in commercial activities, and has gradually become the core asset of an enterprise.
This case is based on the new track of digital economy development. By revealing the business logic of BPC advertising, it is clear that the legally registered business names of others are protected, and no one may infringe upon the right of others’ business names by “rubbing hot spots” or “adjacent to famous brands”.
At the same time, this case also determined the review obligations of network service providers, urging them to use their technological advantages to substantively review the ownership of keywords such as "Bidding Ranking", so as to restrict trademark infringement and unfair competition, and regulate the industry competition order. , Building a healthy brand economy has a positive effect.
Case 4
Artificial intelligence software uses the image of a natural person to create virtual characters without authorization, which constitutes infringement
——The case of "AI companion" software infringing on personality rights
A brief case
The defendant operates a certain smartphone accounting software, in which users can create or add "AI companions" by themselves, set the name, avatar, relationship with the user, mutual appellation, etc. The system function sets the interactive content between the "AI Companion" and the user, which the system calls "training".
The plaintiff He is a public figure. Without the plaintiff's consent, an "AI companion" identified by the plaintiff's name and portrait appeared in the software. At the same time, the defendant opened the role to many users through algorithm applications, allowing Users upload a large number of plaintiffs' "expression packs" and create interactive graphic and textual content to achieve the function of "training" the "AI companion".
The plaintiff believed that the defendant had infringed upon the plaintiff's right to name, portrait, and general personality, so he took the case to the court, asking for an apology and compensation for economic losses and consolation funds for mental damage.
The results of the referee
After hearing, the Beijing Internet Court held that in the software involved in the case, the user used the name and portrait of the plaintiff to create a virtual character, made interactive materials, and projected the overall image of the plaintiff's name, portrait, personality characteristics, etc. onto the AI character. The AI character forms the avatar of the plaintiff, and the defendant's behavior belongs to the use of the overall personality image including the plaintiff's portrait and name.
At the same time, the user can set up an identity relationship with the AI character, set any mutual appellation, and “tune up” the character through production materials, so as to form an experience of real interaction with the plaintiff. The above-mentioned function settings of the defendant for the case also involve the freedom of personality of natural persons and the Personal dignity.
Although the specific images and texts are uploaded by the user, the defendant's product design and application of the algorithm actually encouraged and organized the user's uploading behavior, and directly determined the realization of the core functions of the software. The defendant is no longer just a neutral technical service provider. As a content service provider, it is liable for infringement.
Therefore, the defendant used the plaintiff's name and portrait without consent, and set up system functions involving the plaintiff's personal freedom and personal dignity, which constituted an infringement of the plaintiff's right to name, portrait and general personality rights.
The defendant was ordered to apologize to the plaintiff and compensate the loss.
3. Typical meaning
With the further innovation of the Internet industry model in the post-epidemic era and the continuous development of new technologies such as virtual reality, the application of virtualized representation of natural person personality elements is increasing.
This case clarifies the personality rights of natural persons and their virtual images, and at the same time conducts a useful exploration of the evaluation criteria for algorithm applications, which is of great significance to strengthening the protection of personality rights in the era of artificial intelligence.
Case 5
Portrait silhouettes with obvious recognizability belong to the protection category of portrait rights
——A dispute over the right to portrait and name of famous artist Jia
A brief case
The defendant, a biotechnology company, published a commercial promotion article on its official account, using a portrait silhouette formed by processing a photo of a well-known artist, Jia. The article introduced that the company was about to welcome a mysterious "Blue Friend". "And provided a large number of clearly directional character clues, and a lot of comments in the comment area of the article mentioned the name of a certain person or his online nickname.
The plaintiff, A, believed that the defendant had violated his right to portrait and name, so he sued the court and asked the defendant to immediately remove and destroy relevant offline publicity materials, make a public apology, and compensate for economic losses.
The defendant argued that the silhouette of the portrait did not reflect the facial features, and could not identify personal characteristics such as gender, age, identity, etc. through it. It was not recognizable and did not have the attributes of a portrait. short, the scope of influence is small, no economic loss was caused to the plaintiff, and the tort liability should not be assumed.
The results of the referee
The People's Court of Chengdu High-tech Zone held that after hearing, the Civil Code clearly defined portraits based on the three elements of "external image", "carrier reflection" and "recognizability", especially the recognizability as the most critical factor in judging whether it is a portrait.
In this case, even though the defendant processed the plaintiff's photo and could not see the complete facial features, the facial contour (including the hairstyle) shown by the silhouette still had the plaintiff's personal characteristics and belonged to the plaintiff's external image. The content of the text description is highly recognizable. The "accurate portrait" described by the character's characteristics greatly enhances the recognizability of the portrait silhouette. A large number of comments selected in the comments section of the article involved comment that the portrait silhouette is A, further confirms the recognizability of the portrait silhouette.
To sum up, the portrait silhouette in the article involved in the case is clearly identifiable when combined with other content in the article, so it constitutes an infringement of the plaintiff's right to portrait, so the defendant was ordered to apologize and pay the plaintiff 100,000 yuan for economic losses.
3. Typical meaning
This case is a new type of infringement of portrait rights after the implementation of the Civil Code. The defendant tried to illegally obtain the portrait interests of well-known artists by taking advantage of the vagueness of the rules, which aroused social concern.
This case is tried in accordance with the latest provisions of the Personality Rights of the Civil Code, which reflects the legislative spirit of substantive and complete protection of citizens' portrait rights. The law-abiding atmosphere of the portrait.
Case 6
Financial institutions have long been lazy in checking and correcting debtors' credit records
may constitute an infringement of reputation
——Debtor v. Financial Institution Reputation Infringement Case
A brief case
The plaintiff Zhou XX provided a joint guarantee for the loan of Mo XX, an outsider, to the defendant Shanglin XX Bank. Later, the effective judgment made in 2018 determined that Zhou XX's guarantee responsibility was exempted.
Three years later, Zhou Moumou was prompted by the leader of his unit to inquire about his personal credit at the Credit Information Center of the People's Bank of China on April 25, 2021, and found that he had been included in the bad credit record, so he raised a written objection to a bank in Shanglin. , and apply for the elimination of bad credit records.
However, the bank did not report the credit correction information after receiving the objection raised by Zhou Moumou, resulting in Zhou Moumou's bad credit record record has not been eliminated, Zhou Moumou is restricted in financial activities such as credit cards and loans.
Zhou Moumou then sued the court, requesting Shanglin Bank to assist in revoking Zhou Moumou's bad guarantee credit record, compensate for mental damage and reputation damage, and publish an apology to eliminate the impact.
The results of the referee
The Shanglin County People's Court of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region held that, according to the provisions of Article 1029 of the Civil Code, credit evaluation is related to personal reputation, and civil subjects have the right to protect their own credit evaluation from being infringed by others, and have the right to Improper credit evaluation raises objections and requests to take necessary measures such as correction and deletion.
As a professional institution that provides credit evaluation information, a bank in Shanglin has the right and obligation to accurately, completely and promptly report the user's credit information. If the credit evaluation is found to be inappropriate, it shall promptly check and take necessary measures.
In this case, a bank in Shanglin failed to timely verify that Zhou Moumou had been exempted from guarantee liability in accordance with the law, and after receiving Zhou Moumou's objection application, it still did not report the credit correction information, which caused the credit system to judge Zhou Moumou's integrity. Making false records and negative evaluations resulted in Zhou XX being restricted in handling financial activities such as credit cards and loans, and his behavior constituted an infringement on Zhou XX's reputation.
Therefore, it was ruled that the defendant should submit personal credit correction information to the Credit Information Center of the People's Bank of China. Since the submission of the correction information is sufficient to eliminate the impact, Zhou's claims for compensation for losses and an apology should not be supported.
3. Typical meaning
In recent years, there has been an increasing number of cases of reputational rights disputes caused by financial institutions failing to verify and correct debtors' credit records.
This case applies the relevant provisions of the Civil Code on "credit evaluation" in accordance with the law, and clarifies that financial institutions have the obligation to truthfully record, accurately reflect, and update users' credit records in a timely manner. It is of positive significance for citizens to enhance their personal credit awareness and legally safeguard their credit rights and interests.
Case 7
Negative reviews that do not exceed the necessary limits do not constitute reputational infringement
——The case of property company v. owner's reputation infringement case
A brief case
The plaintiff, a property company, provides property management services for a community, and the defendant Wu and Xu, who is not in the case, are the owners of the community.
On December 11, 2020, Xu posted a 15-second short video in the owner's WeChat group, and published in the group "The maintenance fund of the house is used at the gate of the community. You all signed it, do you agree?" Defendant Wu A person went on to post, "It's so much money for a little bit now, what should I do when the elevator is broken, the roof is broken, the maintenance fund is overwhelmed by the property, patted the butt and left, who will the owner go to!" "I really want to. The overhaul will fend for itself without money. It’s too black-hearted.” “So it’s imminent to set up an owner’s committee in this community.” He stopped Wu and asked Wu to apologize, and Wu continued to post "Why should I apologize to you", "What I said is the truth" and so on.
The plaintiff, a property company, believed that the defendant Wu's remarks infringed on his right to reputation, so he sued the court and asked Wu to publicly apologize and compensate for the losses.
The results of the referee
The Intermediate People's Court of Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province held that, according to the provisions of Articles 110 and 1024 of the Civil Code, legal persons and unincorporated organizations enjoy the right of reputation in accordance with the law, and no organization or individual may use insults , defamation, etc., infringe on the right of reputation of others.
The use of special residential maintenance funds involves the vital interests of the owner. The defendant Wu, as the owner of the community, made a negative evaluation of a property company of the plaintiff in the WeChat group of the owner involved in the case concerning the application and use of the special maintenance funds. Although it is uncivilized and imprecise, it does not exceed the necessary limit, and it is not enough to cause damage to the social evaluation of a property company.
The property company is an enterprise legal person that provides services to the owners, and has a certain tolerance obligation to the owners’ speeches in the owner group around their vital rights and interests.
Therefore, the defendant Wu did not constitute an infringement of the plaintiff's right to reputation.
At the same time, the court held that the owners should rationally express doubts and state their views when exercising their supervisory rights.
To sum up, the judgment dismissed the plaintiff's claim of a property company.
3. Typical meaning
This case clarifies that if the owner's negative evaluation of the supervision matters in order to protect his own rights and interests does not exceed the necessary limit, it does not constitute an infringement of the property company's reputation.
Case 8
Installing video doorbells in close proximity could constitute a violation of neighborhood privacy
——The case of face recognition device infringing on the privacy rights of neighbors
A brief case
The plaintiff and the defendant are neighbors of the front and rear buildings in the same community, and the closest distance between the two is less than 20 meters.
On the basis of the existing security monitoring facilities in the community, the defendant installed a video doorbell on the entrance door using face recognition technology, which can automatically shoot and store videos, in order to monitor the surrounding area of the residence at any time. Bedrooms and balconies of many residents of the building.
The plaintiff believes that the defendant can control the video doorbell and monitor the plaintiff's house for a long time through the mobile phone app, which violates his privacy and makes his life uneasy.
The defendant believes that the sensing distance of the video doorbell is only 3 meters, and the plaintiff's home photographed is blurry and does not constitute privacy. It has never intended to spy on the plaintiff, and the other party should understand that it does not agree to remove or move the video doorbell.
Later, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting that the defendant remove the video doorbell, make an apology and pay compensation for property damage and mental damage.
The results of the referee
The Qingpu District People's Court of Shanghai held that, although the defendant installed the video doorbell in its own space, the scope of the equipment shooting exceeded its own area and ingested the plaintiff's residence.
The residence is private, it is the starting point and foundation of the tranquility of personal life, and it is very important to maintain personal dignity and personal freedom.
The video doorbell can start shooting through the dual modes of face recognition and background control, and can record and store video for a long time. In addition, the plaintiff and the defendant have been in close proximity for a long time, which provides the possibility to identify the image, so as to obtain private information and information in the house. The behavior is realistic and feasible, and the peace of life of the plaintiff will indeed be disturbed.
Therefore, the installation behavior of the defendant has violated the privacy rights of the plaintiff.
The defendant argued that it had no subjective intention to infringe on the plaintiff's privacy, and that the plaintiff should tolerate this opinion, which was groundless in law and was not accepted by the court.
Since there is no sufficient evidence to prove that the plaintiff caused actual mental and material damage due to the defendant's actions, the court supported the plaintiff's request for the defendant to remove the video doorbell, but did not support its request for an apology and compensation for losses.
3. Typical meaning
This case explores the order of rights protection when the use of artificial intelligence devices and the enjoyment of privacy rights conflict, emphasizing the priority protection of privacy rights, and demonstrating a humanistic standpoint. Certain lessons and guidance.
Case Nine
Large-scale illegal trading of personal information infringes on personality rights and social public interests
——Civil public interest litigation case of illegal trading of personal information
A brief case
Since February 2019, the defendant, Mr. Sun, sold more than 40,000 pieces of personal information including names, phone numbers, email addresses, etc. that he purchased and exchanged from the Internet at a price of 34,000 yuan through WeChat, QQ, etc. The outsider Liu.
Liu, an outsider in the case, used the fake foreign exchange business promotion after obtaining relevant information.
The plaintiff of the public interest lawsuit believes that the defendant, Mr. Sun, openly and illegally traded and provided personal information on the Internet without the permission of others, causing more than 40,000 pieces of personal information to be illegally traded and used, and seriously infringing on the personal information rights and interests of many unspecified subjects in the society. As a result, the public interests of the society were violated, and a civil public interest lawsuit was filed accordingly.
The results of the referee
The Hangzhou Internet Court held that after hearing, Article 111 of the Civil Code stipulates that any organization or individual that needs to obtain the personal information of others shall obtain it in accordance with the law and ensure the security of the information, and shall not illegally collect, use, process or transmit the personal information of others. Do not illegally buy, sell, provide or disclose personal information of others.
Without the consent of many unspecified natural persons, the defendant, Mr. Sun, illegally obtained the personal information of unspecified subjects, and illegally sold it for profit, which violated the public information security interests carried on the personal information of unspecified social subjects.
Then Sun was ordered to pay 34,000 yuan in compensation for public interest damages in accordance with the benefits obtained from the infringement, and apologized to the public.
3. Typical meaning
This case is the first civil public interest litigation case for personal information protection after the implementation of the Civil Code.
This case accurately grasps the legislative spirit of the Civil Code to protect the rights and interests of personal information, focuses on safeguarding the security of personal information of unspecified social subjects, clarifies that large-scale infringement of personal information constitutes an infringement of social and public interests in the field of public information security, and demonstrates that judicial protection of personal information rights and interests, The determination and strength of social and public interests.