Impact of Plagiarism in the Short Drama Industry on Investment Value and Business Models, and Reshaping of Industry Structure

Based on the research background provided, I will systematically analyze the impact of plagiarism in the short drama industry on investment value and business models, as well as how platform responsibility and copyright protection reshape the industry structure. To maintain rigor, the following conclusions are all based on retrieved materials and public information. In the text, [0] denotes data from securities firms/Jinling API, [1][2]… denote online search or news sources; complete references are attached at the end of the article.

Based on the background information provided:

• Cost of original short dramas: approximately 500,000-800,000 yuan
• Plagiarized projects can be compressed to 150,000-240,000 yuan (cost is about 30%-48% of original)

This cost difference constitutes the economic basis for plagiarism. Combined with retrieved materials:

• Short video industry scale: approximately 420 billion yuan (recent data), user scale: about 1.04 billion, usage rate: about 93.8%, average daily usage time per capita: about 156 minutes [1][2]
• The industry has shifted from the “traffic expansion” phase to the “high-quality content creation and technology integration” phase [1][2]

This indicates that after the traffic dividend peaks, when competition intensifies and platform procurement indicators lean towards conversion rates, content homogenization and systematic plagiarism are more likely to prevail.

• Short-term: The plagiarism model lowers production thresholds, and under traffic conversion orientation, it may bring higher short-term input-output ratios, but faces compliance and litigation risks.
• Long-term: If the copyright environment tightens, the removal of plagiarized content, compensation, and brand damage will increase “tail risks”, weakening long-term cash flow and valuation discounting.

• Kuaishou Financial Performance: Q2 2025 revenue was approximately 35 billion yuan (YoY +13.1%), of which “online marketing services” accounted for about 56.4% [3]. “Xingmang Short Drama”, as a representative of high-quality short dramas, co-produced AI short dramas with Keling AI, with cumulative views of nearly 200 million [3]. This indicates that the platform is tilting resources towards high-quality, technology-driven short drama tracks.
• Strengthened Regulation of Micro Short Dramas: The State Administration of Radio and Television promotes filing and review of micro short dramas, and the industry has moved towards standardization [2][5][6]. This means the compliance cost of pure traffic-driven plagiarism models will rise.
• International Trends in Copyright/Platform Responsibility: Warner and others have sued AI companies (such as Midjourney, MiniMax) over copyright issues, with claims up to $150,000 per case [4][8][10]. The signal of tightening international copyright and platform responsibility sets higher standards for compliance requirements of content and platform enterprises, potentially affecting overseas expansion and IP premiums.

• Rising Risk Premium: Tighter copyright and platform responsibility will increase compliance costs and litigation risks, thereby raising risk premiums and compressing overall valuation multiples.
• IP Protection and Original Premium: Platforms with sound copyright management, content review, and original incubation capabilities will gain stronger “quality premiums” and user retention. Materials mention that high-quality content creation, platform technology integration, and IP operation have become key directions [1][2].

• After platform procurement shifts from “conversion rate” to dual indicators of “content quality and compliance”, the “convenience” advantage of plagiarized projects will decline, and compliance and removal risks will rise.
• Original creation and IP incubation will become the core of differentiated competition: high-quality short dramas, IP derivatives, and cross-border operations have more long-term commercial value [1][2].

• “Short Drama +” Diversified Monetization:
  • Platforms like Kuaishou promote “short video-live streaming linkage” (short drama + live streaming), and the “live streaming +” model empowers traditional industries [3].
  • E-commerce short dramas, brand customization, and ad placements improve monetization efficiency.
• AIGC Empowerment Reduces Original Costs: Platforms use AI tools to assist script generation and intelligent editing, lowering the threshold for original production, thereby compressing the “price advantage” of plagiarism [1][2].

• Micro Short Drama Regulation: The State Administration of Radio and Television promotes filing/review, platform content review and marking, and establishes a responsibility chain [2][5][6].
• Platform Responsibility Clauses: Need to improve content review, copyright verification, and rapid removal mechanisms; otherwise, face regulatory pressure and reputation risks.
• International Reference: Global tightening of copyright protection and platform responsibility (such as copyright lawsuits against AI-generated content) [4][8][10] may affect the compliance strategies and cost structures of Chinese overseas platforms.

• Using AI for content fingerprint comparison, copyright identification, and infringement early warning to improve platform monitoring and creator rights protection efficiency.
• Technologies like blockchain evidence storage and smart contract authorization are expected to reduce evidence collection and enforcement costs (this is a trend analysis; currently, public cases are limited, and related reports are mostly in the exploration stage).

• Strengthened Advantage of Head Platforms: Platforms with technical and compliance infrastructure (such as Kuaishou’s “Xingmang Short Drama” and Keling AI technology empowerment) are more capable of integrating original resources and IP operations [3].
• Two Paths for Small and Medium Creators:
  • Original creation and vertical deepening: rely on platform tools and IP cooperation to improve content quality and brand premium.
  • Compliant “low-cost innovation”: reduce production costs through AIGC and achieve “fast-paced iteration” under compliance premises.

• Long-term Allocation: Prioritize allocating to platforms and content companies with “copyright management capabilities + content ecosystem + AI tools”; these enterprises are more likely to enjoy “quality premiums” and IP derivative dividends [1][2][3].
• Risk-Averse Allocation: Remain cautious about entities relying on traffic delivery, weak compliance, and high content homogenization.

• Compliance Risk: Tighter regulatory policies and strengthened platform responsibility may lead to the removal of some content, fines, and increased litigation costs.
• Rising Barriers: Higher thresholds for technology investment and copyright operation, small and medium teams face pressure of integration or elimination.
• International Copyright Trends: Overseas copyright lawsuits and tightened platform responsibility may put forward higher compliance requirements for cross-border business and cooperation [4][8][10].

The systematic plagiarism issue in the short drama industry is essentially a contradiction between the “quick money logic” and the long-term nature of copyright/platform responsibility. As the industry enters the high-quality and standardized phase, the economic basis for plagiarism is being weakened:

• Short-term: Traffic dividend attenuation, platform indicators lean towards quality and compliance.
• Medium-term: Regulatory policies and technical tools promote the implementation of copyright protection and platform responsibility.
• Long-term: Platforms with IP operation, original incubation, and technical empowerment will gain higher market concentration and valuation premiums.

Investors should pay attention to platforms’ copyright governance capabilities, content review systems, and technical investment; creators need to transition to original creation and compliance to cope with industry structure reconstruction. For further quantitative analysis (such as rights protection costs, sensitivity of illegal removal and revenue, valuation model calibration), it is recommended to enter the in-depth research mode to complete calculations based on more granular data.

[1] Yahoo Finance (ZhiShi Stock Selection): Strengthen AI to Boost Momentum, Kuaishou Should Be Collected at Low Prices. The article mentions short video user scale, usage rate, and industry transformation direction (2024 industry scale approx. 420 billion yuan, CAGR over 40% in recent 6 years, average daily time per capita 156 minutes, industry upgrade to high-quality/technology integration) [1].
[2] Yahoo Finance (Kuaishou Q2 Earnings Report): Cases and commercial data related to Kuaishou’s Xingmang Short Drama and Keling AI Short Drama, reflecting the platform’s direction of tilting resources towards high-quality short dramas and technical empowerment [3].
[3] FT/Industry News: MPU FlexTV won “TOP10 National Micro-Short Drama Overseas Platforms”, reflecting the development of micro short drama platforms and industry standard references [6].
[4] Axios: Disney, NBCU, WBD sue Chinese AI company MiniMax over copyright disputes, indicating the global tightening trend of copyright and platform responsibility [8].
[5] WSJ/Industry News: China relaxes drama rules to strengthen content supply, mentioning the encouragement direction for documentaries, animations, and high-quality short dramas, which indirectly confirms the emphasis on content quality and compliance [7].
[6] Industry Materials (Image Text Description): Show micro short drama regulation/filing, platform review, and compliance requirements, corresponding to domestic regulatory and platform responsibility strengthening signals [2][5][6][7].
[7] Deadline: Warner sues Sling TV over content distribution and copyright clauses, reflecting the continuous game of copyright and platform responsibility in distribution and compliance [9].
[8] Red94: Warner Bros. Discovery joins 2025 AI lawsuits, seeking up to $150,000 in statutory damages per case, indicating the increase in copyright claim intensity and compliance costs [4].
[9] BW Legal World: Copyright association files application to Mumbai High Court over recording copyright in Netflix programs, indicating stricter responsibility of online platforms in content procurement and copyright verification [5].
[10] Various Media Materials: Keywords like “copyright protection, platform responsibility, regulatory policies” appear multiple times in image text, reflecting the industry’s attention to copyright and platform responsibility and compliance trends [1][2].

Note: All analyses and recommendations in this article are based on the above public materials and the research background provided; if relevant cases and data need to be quantified, further retrieval and detailed modeling can be done in the in-depth research mode.