When the employment contract is terminated, does the employee need to return the WeChat account used during work to the company? After the Internet celebrity anchor terminates the contract with his brokerage company, who will own the live broadcast account? Can I change my account after terminating the labor contract? At present, there is an increase in new types of disputes surrounding the ownership of social network accounts.
In a recent case heard by the Intermediate People's Court of Foshan City, Guangdong Province, a radio station in Foshan and Mai had a dispute over the ownership of the right to use the account "djxxxxx" on a short ** platform.
According to the verdict, Mai was the host of the radio station. In July 2017, Mai applied for registration of "xxxxxx" on a short ** platform in his personal name, bound a personal mobile phone number and actually used it. In May 2019, the station decided to use "xxxxxx" to assist in business development. Up to now, "xxxxxx" has nearly 2.57 million fans and 41.82 million likes.
From May 2019 to September 2021, Mai released radio-related ** and live broadcast content in accordance with the requirements of the station, and at the same time produced his own personal ** and live broadcast content and posted it on the account involved in the case. During this period, the radio station and Mai both invested funds in the operation of the account. In September 2021, Mai submitted his resignation. In October of that year, the radio station filed a lawsuit, arguing that "xxxxxx" belonged to the radio station and that Mai should go through the resignation and handover procedures. Mai believed that the account should belong to him, and the two parties had a dispute over this.
1. Why do both parties believe that the account should belong to themselves, why is there such a dispute? What are the legal attributes of similar accounts? Isn't it the right thing for whoever registers?
Because in many cases, there is no clear agreement between the organization and the employee that dictates who should own the account they operate after the employee leaves. In this case, although Mr. Mak registered and operated the Chu Tsai account in his personal name, the radio station believed that his acts were within the scope of his duties, and therefore the account should be owned by the unit. However, Mr. Mak believes that the account was registered in his real name and was not used for job operation, because it should be owned by himself. That's why the two sides are at odds.
I think the statement that "whoever registers should belong to whom" is incorrect, because the user's real-name authentication is essentially a management measure that the competent authority and network service providers need to take for network security, and does not belong to the registration of property rights, so real-name authentication is not the only basis for determining the ownership of the right to use the account. The "Douyin" User Service Agreement stipulates that your registered account in "Douyin" is limited to your own use, and it is forbidden to give, borrow, rent, transfer, sell or otherwise license others to use the account in any form without the written consent of the company......"The ownership of the account is actually owned by Douyin, and the dispute between the radio station and Mai is the issue of the right to use the account.
For such issues, if the parties have not agreed or the agreement is unclear, it is necessary to make a judgment on the ownership of the rights and interests such as the account number, taking into account the nature of the legal relationship between the parties, the entity of account registration, the actual operation situation, and the ownership of the right to income.
2. What is the cause of action if such a dispute is to be sued? Labor disputes? Intellectual Property Disputes? Or is it a contract dispute?
In fact, this type of case is a new type of dispute, and the current cases include labor disputes, intellectual property disputes, contract disputes, etc. My view is that it is not possible to generalize, but to determine the cause of action according to the actual circumstances of the case. For example, if the case occurs in a labor dispute over resignation, the cause of action should be confirmed on the basis of the labor dispute. If someone has embezzled the account, the cause of action can be determined by a dispute over infringement of intellectual property rights.
3. What is the basis for the court's decision?
In the Internet era, the industry has undergone major changes. This has led to changes in the industry's business model, the role of employees, and the responsibilities of the unit. In this context, I don't think it is possible to determine the ownership of accounts that have operational value and can create traffic with a single thinking. For the joint use of self-** accounts, if the parties have no agreement or the agreement is unclear, just like the example in the case, with regard to the ownership of rights and interests such as the account number, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the nature of the legal relationship between the parties, the subject of account registration, the actual operation, and the ownership of the right to income to make a judgment.