Misjudged appeal to public

Should a performing troupe pay a scriptwriter for his or her work it has been performing? The answer should be in the affirmative as the playwright enjoys the intellectual property right to the work he or she wrote. This is common sense.

Yet the National Ballet of China believes otherwise when it comes to the classic ballet The Red Detachment of Women, which it has staged for many years. A court ruled in 2015 that the ballet troupe should pay the writer 120,000 yuan ($18,500) in royalties and litigation expenses after the scriptwriter sued the company for using his script without paying for the right to do so.

A higher level court rejected the troupe's appeal and upheld the original decision in 2017 and the money was transferred by force from the company's account in December. However, the National Ballet has been reluctant to accept the judgment, and it released a statement on the internet on Tuesday that has taken many people aback because of the way it accuses the judge of bending the law and dereliction of duty.