Renowned Chinese artist and retired teacher from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Ye Yongqing, was accused of plagiarism by Belgian artist Christian Silvain in 2019, leading to a lawsuit. In August 2023, Ye Yongqing lost the case and was ordered to cease infringement, publish an apology, and compensate 5 million RMB. Ye Yongqing appealed to the Supreme Court but was recently denied, finalizing the ruling.
After losing the final lawsuit, Ye Yongqing published an apology statement on January 23 in the Chinese newspaper “Legal Daily.”
The apology statement reads as follows: “I, Ye Yongqing, have received the final judgment from the Beijing Higher People’s Court in the copyright dispute with Christian Silvain, case number (2024) Jing Min Final 471. The final court upheld the original verdict, case number (2019) Jing 73 Min Initial 1376, and ruled that some of my works infringed. I respect the court’s decision, accept criticism sincerely, reflect on the lesson, and offer a heartfelt apology to Mr. Silvain.”
In 2019, Silvain publicly accused Ye Yongqing through various Belgian media outlets, claiming that Ye had been plagiarizing his art for 30 years and selling it at over 100 times the original price, earning 163 million RMB.
Ye Yongqing consistently denied the plagiarism allegations, only acknowledging that the other party had a “deep influence” on him. It was reported that he also counter-sued Silvain in Belgium for defamation and infringement of reputation.
In August 2023, Ye Yongqing was found guilty of plagiarism and was required to immediately stop the infringement, publish an apology in the “Global Times,” and pay a compensation of 5 million RMB.
Unsatisfied, Ye Yongqing appealed to the Beijing Higher People’s Court. Earlier this year, the court confirmed that the initial ruling was appropriate and should be upheld. Ye Yongqing’s appeal lacked factual basis, leading to the rejection of the appeal in the second trial, maintaining the original verdict as the final judgment.
Born in 1958, Ye Yongqing is a well-known curator, art activist, and professor at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute.
Christian Silvain, born in 1950 in Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, is a self-taught artist.
Public records show that in addition to several galleries in Belgium, Silvain has held exhibitions in New York, Paris, and Cologne, Germany, and participated in various art fairs in Europe and America.