In what is believed to be a case of first impression in China, on March 31, 2025, the Beijing IP Court, on appeal, ruled that Douyin (TikTok) was entitled to protection of its artificial intelligence (AI) transformation model under Article 2 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law but not under Copyright Law. Specifically, the Beijing IP Court upheld the original judgement against the defendant/appellant Yiruike Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (亿睿科信息技术（北京）有限公司) for violating Douyin’s competitive interest in its transformation model with the …
Category: Unfair Competition
Guangdong Higher People’s Court: 107 Million RMB Settlement in Pokémon Copyright and Unfair Competition Case
On February 21, 2025, Guangdong’s Higher People’s Court announced a settlement of 107 million RMB in favor of The Pokémon Company for copyright infringement and unfair competition. Pokémon had sued Guangzhou Mai Network Technology Co., Ltd., Huo Network Technology Co., Ltd. and others for copyright infringement and unfair competition disputes over the game “Pokémon: Remastered” in December 2021. Pokémon requested 500 million RMB and was awarded 107 million RMB in the first instance at the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court. The Guangdong High …
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation Releases 5 Typical Cases of Trade Secret Misappropriation
On December 31, 2024, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released 5 Typical Cases of Trade Secret Misappropriation (五起侵犯商业秘密典型案例). Administrative enforcement via the SAMR provides an additional mechanism to enforce intellectual property rights, although damages are not available. Strengthening the protection of trade secrets is an important task to optimize the fair competition market environment. The State Administration for Market Regulation has continued to increase its supervision efforts, deployed special anti-unfair competition law enforcement actions for many consecutive years, …
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation Releases Typical Cases of Unfair Competition on the Internet
On December 29, 2024, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SMAR) released Seven Typical Cases of Unfair Competition on the Internet (七起网络不正当竞争典型案例). In May 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation formulated and issued the Interim Provisions on Anti-Unfair Competition in the Internet and accordingly the SAMR released these cases to “effectively guide business entities to operate in accordance with the law, continue to regulate their own business behavior, and jointly create a good competitive environment.” Two of the seven …