Enlight sued over copyright

Beijing Enlight Media Co, one of China's biggest private media and entertainment companies, saw its shares continue to dive Tuesday after being sued by a film production firm for "unfair competition and copyright infringement."

The Shenzhen-listed Enlight Media declined by 1.25 percent Tuesday to close at 33 yuan ($5.30) per share, against the 2.21 percent gain of the Shenzhen Component Index.

Enlight Media declined to comment when contacted by the Global Times Tuesday.

Wuhan Hua Qi Film & TV Production Co, which made the comedy Lost on Journey, held a press conference Saturday declaring that the company has sued Enlight Media for producing the comedy Lost in Thailand, a Chinese film which broke domestic box office records last year by making nearly 1.3 billion yuan in theaters.

According to Hua Qi, based in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Enlight Media may be guilty of unfair competition and copyright infringement because the two films share similar titles, lines and scenes.

Hua Qi's Lost on Journey earned 50 million yuan at the box office in 2010.

And the reputation the film has developed, according to lawyers representing Hua Qi, might have led people to believe that Lost in Thailand is a sequel to Lost on Journey, especially since it stars the same actors, Xu Zheng and Wang Baoqiang.

On Sunday, Hua Qi posted a notice on Sina Weibo announcing that the Beijing Municipal Higher People's Court has accepted the case.

In response to Hua Qi's accusation, Enlight Media suspended trading Monday, and posted an announcement Tuesday saying that the one-day suspension was arranged so they could investigate the matter.

"Lost in Thailand is an original film, approved by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and is protected by the national laws," reads Enlight Media's statement, which also notes that so far the company has not received any legal documents regarding the case.

Qi Lianfeng, a lawyer at Beijing Yingke Law Firm, told the Global Times that the lawsuit is unlikely to last long.

"If Hua Qi can provide solid evidence that Enlight Media took the advantage of the fame of Lost on Journey to produce or promote Lost in Thailand, Enlight Media may lose the case," said Qi. He said that at this point it is difficult to estimate how much the compensation would be if Hua Qi were to win.

Enlight Media disclosed Thursday that the company's profit for last year reached 310 million yuan, an increase of 76.5 percent over a year earlier, mainly thanks to the good market performance of Lost in Thailand, which had a budget of 30 million yuan.