As the copyright case of Chen Kaige and He Ge heats up, China's national TV station, China Central Television (CCTV), said Sunday it would not sue Hu although parts of a CCTV program were included in the videographer's 20-minute A murder sparked by a Chinese bun.

 

On Sunday, a CCTV spokesman said the station watched the online short video before Chen sued Hu. "We think the video is interesting and creative, but didn't pay much attention to whether it infringed on the TV program."

 

"As the author's purpose is to entertain netizens and the video itself doesn't contain any commercial content, we will not follow Chen Kaige."

 

However, the spokesman said he understood Chen's anger: "He spent more than four years on the movie, but Hu's video is more eye-catching than Chen's blockbuster."

 

Hu said earlier that Chen's lawyer had contacted him, but there was no agreement reached. Hu also refused a donation from netizens for the lawsuit. "I'm happy right now. I feel confident in my lawyer," he said.

 

A couple of celebrities, including actress Xu Jinglei, Chen's ex-wife Hong Huang and Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang, have announced their support of Hu.

 

(Shenzhen Daily February 21, 2006)