Title: Leaked Test Game Screenshots Lead to Court Application for Preliminary Injunction by miHoYo
Recently, two popular games under miHoYo’s portfolio, “Genshin Impact” and “Blade and Blossom: Star Rail,” leaked their test versions on social media. Both games are highly regarded in the industry for their distinctive character designs, exquisite visual effects, and rich game content, making them popular choices among numerous players. However, miHoYo discovered that a game information streamer named Wu X某某 on Douyin had been long-term, specifically disclosing and disseminating game screenshots of the unreleased versions of these two games. The videos garnered extremely high views, with some reaching millions, and were often posted during the pre-release stages of the games’ new versions. Wu X某某’s actions not only infringed on miHoYo’s copyright but also severely impacted the company’s commercial interests, disrupting its operational strategies and rhythms, and threatening the player experience and long-term development of the company.
Consequently, miHoYo applied for a preliminary injunction against Wu X某某 to the Shanghai Xuhui Intermediate People’s Court. Upon receiving the application, the court convened a hearing and conducted a thorough review and deliberation. After carefully considering whether the applicant’s request had factual and legal grounds, whether it would cause irreparable harm to the applicant’s legitimate rights and interests, whether it would lead to significant imbalance in interests between the applicant and the respondent, and whether it would infringe upon public interests, the court issued an injunction order mandating the respondent Wu X某某 to immediately cease the dissemination of the unreleased versions of the game screenshots for the two games.
The issuance of this injunction is not only a powerful safeguard of miHoYo’s legitimate rights and interests but also an active contribution to the healthy development of the gaming industry. Leaked test game screenshots not only harm the rights of game developers but also affect the overall gaming experience of the players and disrupt market order. Through this injunction, the court effectively curtailed such behavior, safeguarded the fair competitive environment in the gaming industry, and provided robust legal protection for the legitimate rights and interests of game developers.
This incident serves as a reminder that both game developers and game enthusiasts should adhere to industry standards, respect intellectual property rights, and jointly foster a healthy and fair gaming environment.