电子游戏规则作为“其他作品”保护的误区——兼对作品定义的反思

Misconceptions in the Protecting of Video Game Rules as"Other Works":A Reflection on the Definition of Works

2020年我国《著作权法》修正后,有的法院在审理涉及游戏规则抄袭的著作权侵权纠纷案件中,放弃了以往用视听作品保护游戏规则的做法,转而寻求“符合作品特征的其他智力成果”的兜底保护。这种做法误解了《著作权法》规定的作品定义,违背了“思想/表达二分法”原理。同时,我国《著作权法》规定的作品定义存在缺陷,虽然游戏规则可以满足“能以一定形式表现的智力成果”的条件,但无法据此认定游戏规则是可以享有著作权保护的“表达”。因此,我国法院不能仅仅以被告的游戏模仿了原告游戏的游戏规则而得出著作权侵权的结论。

After the revision of China's Copyright Law in 2020,some Chinese courts have begun granting copyright protection to game rules under the category of"other intellectual achievements that meet the characteristics of works",rather than treating them as audiovisual works.This approach reflects a misunderstandings of the definition of works stipulated in the Copyright Law,and violates the"idea/expression dichotomy".Additionally,the definition of works in the law has some flaws.While game rules may qualify as"intellectual achievements which can be expressed in a certain form",they do not constitute"expressions"that can enjoy copyright protection.Therefore,it is not advisable for courts to find copyright infringement merely based on the fact that the defendant's game replicates the rules of the plaintiff's game.