(Yicai Global) Nov. 14 -- US game developer Blizzard Entertainment has won an intellectual property infringement case in China over its online multiplayer shooting game Overwatch.

A Shanghai court ruled that Xiamen-based 4399 Network must pay almost CNY4 million (USD569,725) to Blizzard for ripping off features of Overwatch in two of its mobile games, Xinhua News Agency reported today.

The court said on Nov. 13 that Blizzard and its Chinese agent NetEase had sued 4399 Network over the two mobile games, accusing the latter of stealing too many elements from Overwatch, including game mode, character design, game interface and battle maps.

Blizzard's claim can be traced back to October 2017, when 4399 Network argued in a subsequent trial that the overall scenes of a shooting game are not a movie-like work but a random performance by players according to the game's rules. Though its two products borrowed gameplay and ruleset from Overwatch, they were also innovative, and hence did not constitute infringement.

In its judgment, published yesterday, the Shanghai court noted that Overwatch's game scenes are original and dynamic images that can be recognized as a movie-like work. The defendant's two products substantially resemble Overwatch in game design, constituting an infringement.

This is the first time that a Chinese court has identified shooting games as a movie-like work in an intellectual property right protection case. China's copyright law does not yet list online games as legal works, Xinhua noted.

Blizzard released Overwatch in May 2016. Priced at CNY198 (USD28.20) for a standard edition, it had sold over 10 million copies in China as of June.