Literary goddess Cheer Chen ended her 18-year relationship with B'in Music founder Tiger Chung in 2019. Two years ago, Chung filed a lawsuit against Chen, accusing her of violating six charges, including the leakage of trade secrets under the Criminal Code. Yesterday (12th), after an investigation, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office announced that Chen’s act of backing up files was for preservation only, that there was no external disclosure, nor any actual damage to the plaintiff. As a result, the charges against Cheer Chen were deemed insufficient, and all six accusations were dropped without indictment. Yesterday, Cheer Chen forwarded a fan's congratulatory message and wrote “Thank you, everyone” in response.
According to Taishin News, the case was triggered by Tiger Chung’s belief that Cheer Chen, without company approval, had copies of the company’s exclusively authorized albums, singles, and concert audiovisual publications made onto a NAS hard drive through a manager. This was suspected to violate six charges: unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets, unauthorized disclosure of computer secrets, breach of trust, unauthorized acquisition of electromagnetic records, violation of the Copyright Act through unauthorized reproduction infringing on property rights, and violation of the Trade Secrets Act through unauthorized reproduction of trade secrets.
In response, B’in Music claimed copyright or exclusive license to the copied works, while Cheer Chen’s side stated she had no intent to infringe on others’ rights. She pointed out that in industry practice, producers usually give singers a copy of the master recordings for further discussion, and after the work is completed, a final version is also provided for the singer’s confirmation to ensure quality. She denied any criminal intent. After news emerged yesterday that all six charges had been dropped, Cheer Chen shared a fan’s post, writing: “Thank you, everyone” and “hugs.” Someone said they wanted to happily scream until May, to which she responded, “Go ahead.”
Source: China Times