BEIJING - A court in Beijing rejected an appeal by mainland scriptwriter Yu Zheng on Friday in a plagiarism case with popular Taiwan romance novelist Chiung Yao as the plaintiff.

The Beijing Higher People's Court upheld the first-instance verdict issued in December 2014, ordering Yu Zheng and four companies involved in to pay five million yuan ($771,600) to Chiung Yao, while Yu should apologize for copying her work.

Chiung Yao claimed that the plot of TV series "The Palace: The Lost Daughter," with Yu Zheng as the scriptwriter, was almost identical to her novel "Mei Hua Lao" (Plum Blossom Scar). He never sought permission to use her work.

"The Palace: The Lost Daughter" was aired on Hunan Satellite TV on the mainland in 2014.

She filed a lawsuit to the No. 3 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing in April 2014, asking Yu Zheng and four television companies to stop the infringement and compensate her 20 million yuan. She also demanded Yu make a public apology.