MiHoYo Wins Lawsuit! Three Bilibili Creators Fined 60,000 RMB for Leaking Unreleased Game Characters

Recently, the Xuhui District People's Court in Shanghai released details of a landmark intellectual property case involving the gaming industry. Three Bilibili content creators were sued by MiHoYo for uploading unauthorized gameplay footage of the character 'Kazuha' from Genshin Impact before the official release.

MiHoYo initially sought damages totaling 820,000 RMB across the three defendants. However, the court ruled that while the defendants infringed on the company's right to disseminate information over the internet, they were ordered to pay a total of only 60,000 RMB. The case is now closed with no appeals filed.

The ruling sparked intense debate within the gaming community. Users on the NGA forum generally feel that the 60,000 RMB fine is a 'slap on the wrist' and fails to act as a significant deterrent, with some joking that it wouldn't even cover the payroll costs of the employees who handled the lawsuit. Discussions also covered whether this would result in a criminal record—which it won't, as it's a civil case—and calls for more aggressive crackdowns on the 'leakers' who provide the source material.

Many observers suggest that unless the punishment is significantly increased or the source of these leaks is cut off, these 'traffic leeches' who profit from unauthorized content will continue to emerge.