A COMPANY in Shenzhen has been ordered by Bao’an District People’s Court to compensate Mo Yan, the 2012 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, 2.1 million yuan (US$304,710) for the infringement of his name and portraiture rights, according to a release by Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court on Monday.

The Bao’an court also ordered the company, which is engaged in the production and sale of ceramic heat-tolerant boilers, to make a public apology in the Guangming Daily.

A court investigation showed that Mo once took a photo and wrote inscriptions for a man surnamed Dong, a shareholder in the company.

Without Mo’s consent, the company made a video June 17, 2017, to promote the company’s businesses using Mo’s name and photograph. The video’s narrative stated that Mo, China’s first Nobel Prize laureate in literature, highly praised the boiler after using it and invited Dong, the founder of the company, to his home as a guest to discuss literature and ceramics. The end of the video claims that Mo said cooking with the ceramic boiler makes a difference in the taste of the dishes, and he hopes the company will sell the products to the world to benefit the health of humankind.

After being circulated online, the video had received 7,073 views by Oct. 23, 2018. On June 22, 2017, the company also used the name and photo of Mo in the company’s advertisements, put photos in prominent places on its websites and mentioned that Mo had called the entrepreneurial Dong a comrade-in-arms.

The company also placed Mo’s inscriptions and photos in exhibition halls to promote itself and mislead consumers.

The court determined that the company was liable for rights infringement, fabrication, damaging Mo’s image and using multiple ways to infringe, and decided on a compensation of 2.1 million yuan.

(Han Ximin)