Chinese artist Ye Yongqing apologizes for 30-year plagiarism of Belgian painter's works
Prominent Chinese contemporary artist Ye Yongqing has issued a public apology to Belgian painter Christian Silvain for plagiarizing his artworks.
The apology was made on Legal Daily on Thursday, following the final ruling of the Beijing Higher People's Court in the copyright infringement case.
Ye acknowledged the court's decision and expressed his sincere regrets to Silvain.
The apology Ye issued on Legaldaily on Thursday.
Back in 2019, Silvain told Belgian media that he had discovered Ye had been plagiarizing his work for over 30 years. "Birds, bird nests, bird cages, red crosses, airplanes – everything is there! Except my name. Otherwise, it looks exactly the same!"
Left: An artwork by Belgian painter Christian Silvain in 1990. Right: A work made by Chinese painter Ye Yongqing in 1994.
The bird motifs that Silvain mentioned have been central to Ye's works since the early 2000s.
Chinese artist Ye Yongqing.
That same year, Silvain filed a lawsuit accusing Ye of copying 87 of his works over a span of 25 years. Most of the disputed pieces were originally created by Silvain in the 1980s, with Ye producing remarkably similar works in the 1990s. Some of Ye's pieces created after 2000 also incorporated elements from Silvain's art.
Silvain also claimed that Ye profited from his copied works, seeking over 50 million yuan in damages and a public apology. While Ye did not contest all the allegations, he disagreed with several of Silvain's claims.
The Belgian artist Christian Silvain
Ye, whose clients reportedly include high-profile figures such as Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch, remains a prominent figure in the domestic auction market. Many of his works have sold for over 1 million yuan, with the highest fetching more than 6 million yuan. In contrast, Silvain's works are typically priced between 5,000 and 15,000 euros, according to Belgian media reports.
In 2023, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court ruled that Ye Yongqing must immediately cease the infringing activities. The court ordered Ye to issue a public apology to Silvain in a Chinese newspaper and pay 5 million yuan(US$686,062) in compensation. The court dismissed some of Silvain's additional claims. Both parties were granted the right to appeal the decision.
On August 31, 2023, Silvain confirmed the victory on social media, writing: "I am pleased to announce that after 4 years of waiting, we have won our case in China. The plagiarism of my work has been clearly recognized by the Beijing court."
