Copyright infringement and protection in holographic performances: From the Chinese perspective

• Date: 01 July 2017
• Author: Jerry Jie Hua
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.12079
• Published date: 01 July 2017

DOI: 10.1111/jwip.12079

NOTE

Copyright infringement and protection in

holographic performances: From the Chinese

perspective

Jerry Jie Hua

Shanghai International College of

Intellectual Property, Tongji University,

Shanghai, China

Correspondence

Asst. Prof. Jerry Jie HUA, Shanghai

International College of Intellectual

Property, Zonghe Building, Tongji

University, 1239 Siping Road, Yangpu

District, Shanghai 200092, Shanghai, China.

Email: jerryhua@tongji.edu.cn

Funding information

Shanghai Planning Office of Philosophy and

Social Science, Grant number: 40000 RMB

The last several years have witnessed the growing

popularity of holographic forms which show images of

deceased or living celebrity performers on stage. The

growing use of holograms in live performances has caused

legal issues with respect to copyright protection, trademark,

and right of publicity. The discussion in this note focuses on

the two following primary questions on copyrights. First, in

order to produce holographic images and avoid copyright

infringement, from whom should the producer obtain

copyright and what kind of rights do they have? Second,

are the produced holographic performances copyrightable

so that the producer can prohibit unauthorized use? A

discussion of these issues will lend clarity to the boundaries

of copyright infringement and copyright protection in the

production of holographic performances and promote

widespread use of holographic images in live performances.

KEYWORDS

copyright, copyrightability, holographic performances, license,

ownership

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INTRODUCTION: COPYRIGHT CHALLENGES FROM HOLOGRAPHIC

PERFORMANCES

The last several years have witnessed the growing popularity of holographic forms which shows images of deceased

or living celebrity performers, or any other desired individual or image on stage. Some examples of this trend include

the post-mortem appearance of Tupac Shakur, an American rapper, at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Annual

© 2017 The Authors. The Journal of World Intellectual Property © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

J World Intellect Prop. 2017;20:133–142. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jwip

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