Audi apologizes for copyright infringement

(ECNS) -- Audi's manufacturer in China apologized Sunday for its ad text that was accused of copyright infringement, and removed the videos from all platforms.

In the advertisement released Saturday by FAW-Volkswagen Sales Co., a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, its brand ambassador Andy Lau Tak-wah vividly made an introduction to Xiaoman, or Lesser Fullness, one of 24 solar terms, which drew widespread praise on the internet.

However, on Saturday an influencer on the Chinese video platform Douyin named "Beida Mange," who has over four million followers, criticized the brand, claiming that the video content was copied from his work.

At around 10 a.m. on Sunday, FAW-Volkswagen issued a statement in which Audi apologized for the trouble caused to Lau and relevant parties.

In the statement, Audi said the video was produced by advertising agent M&C Saatchi Plc, and ordered the company to deal with potential copyright infringement as soon as possible.

On Sunday noon, M&C Saatchi also issued a statement to offer a "sincere apology", saying its team serving Audi "had a weak copyright awareness." It said it would try its best to compensate the original author.

The video has been liked and reposted more than 100,000 times on WeChat’s video channel and played more than 4.55 million times on Audi’s official Weibo account. Andy Lau Tak-wah has also deleted the video from his Douyin account.