Capture without Transfer? Copyright Registration and Platform Enforcement through the Gugu Gaga Meme in China

Abstract

The article examines how voluntary copyright registration may support platform enforcement where underlying ownership remains unresolved, using the Gugu Gaga case in China. In July 2026, a ByteDance subsidiary registered two entries associated with a penguin-costume meme whose source image originated from an independent online creator, although the precise content of the deposited works remains unavailable. The study employs doctrinal legal analysis within a single-case design, supplemented by qualitative document analysis. It examines legislation, six Chinese judgments, four platform agreements, campaign rules, registration records and complaint guidelines, with online materials preserved as dated captures. The examined agreements do not establish a transfer of copyright ownership to the registrant. Registration supplied a public record and a favourable, rebuttable evidentiary position without resolving the underlying entitlement. The complaint procedures indicate that registration credentials may support enforcement before substantive ownership is adjudicated. No enforcement linked to these registrations was identified during the study period. The article argues that, where registration creates an enforcement-ready credential without resolving underlying ownership, registration may function as ‘capture infrastructure’ by strengthening a claimant’s procedural position while shifting the burden of challenge to others.