Vietnamese animation studio Sconnect was awarded 400,000 Chinese yuan (US$55,450) in compensation after winning a copyright infringement case against a Chinese television and communications company which breached its copyright on a cartoon featuring a character named Wolfoo.

Wolfoo, released in 2018, is an animated series about a little wolf and his family and friends.

Sconnect, won its copyright infringement case against Wuwei Fenglingdu, a Chinese television and communications company, through its partner in China—Shanghai Leadjoy Culture Communication Co. Ltd., Sconnect announced on Wednesday.

Wolfoo is relatively popular in China, resulting in several copyright violations.

On April 1, 2022, Sconnect signed a contract with Shanghai Leadjoy Culture Communication Co. Ltd. to publish the cartoon in China.

Sconnect authorized its Chinese partner to screen over 3,000 Wolfoo episodes, with each episode lasting two to three minutes, on digital platforms in China, including Tencent, Youku, and iQiyi, over a three-year period.

Sconnect also empowered Shanghai Leadjoy to resolve issued related to intellectual property and Wolfoo brand protection in China.

Shanghai Leadjoy found that Wuwei Fenglingdu’s copyright had uploaded hundreds of Wolfoo episodes on Youku and Tencent.

Shanghai Leadjoy then contacted the legal representative of Wuwei Fenglingdu, demanding the deletion of Wolfoo videos on the two platforms and compensation but the latter rejected the demands.

In late April last year, Youku and Tencent removed any Wolfoo videos uploaded by Wuwei Fenglingdu due to the copyright infringement.

However, the company still wound up reuploading Wolfoo videos on Tencent.

As a result, Shanghai Leadjoy authorized Jin Mao Law Firm in Shanghai to file a lawsuit against Wuwei Fenglingdu.

Jin Mao Law Firm filed the lawsuit and documents in a court in Wuwei City, Gansu Province, China in November last year.

Wuwei Fenglingdu then agreed to pay Shanghai Leadjoy 400,000 Chinese yuan ($55,450) in compensation for copyright infringement.

Wuwei Fenglingdu made its full payment on June 14 this year.

Sconnect had earlier involved in a legal battle for the intellectual property rights with Entertainment One UK Limited (EO), the producer of Peppa Pig, an animated series about a family of pigs.

EO filed lawsuits against the former in Russia, the UK, and Vietnam, saying Wolfoo was a remake of Peppa Pig.

EO has also reported Wolfoo videos to YouTube, leading to the video platform’s removal of thousands of Wolfoo videos, which had billions of views.

Sconnect also sued the British company in the Hanoi People’s Court in August last year for unfair competition, claiming losses of nearly $292,000 as a result.

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