Marking the conclusion of a long legal battle, the Beijing Higher People’s Court recently affirmed an August 24, 2023 decision by the Beijing IP Court against Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts Professor Ye Yongqing. The Beijing IP Court ruled that Ye infringed the copyright of Silvain in his paintings and ordered Ye to pay Silvain 5 million RMB, publish an apology and cease infringement. That apology was published in China’s Legal Daily on January 23, 2025.

The apology reads,

I, Ye Yongqing, have received the final judgment of the Beijing Higher People’s Court for the copyright dispute with Christian Silvain, case number (2024) 京民众471号。 The appeals court upheld the original judgment, case number (2019) 京73民初1376, and ruled that some of my works infringed. I respect the Court’s judgment, sincerely accept the criticism, review the lessons, and sincerely apologize to Mr. Silvain.

I have been unable to locate the appeals decision but a copy of the ruling from the Beijing IP Court courtesy of 书法订阅 is available here (Chinese only).