The Supreme People’s Court (SPC), China’s top court, recently released the top 10 IP cases and 50 typical IP cases of 2023. Encompassing patents, trademarks, copyrights, new plant varieties, anti-unfair competition, and anti-monopoly, these cases span a wide spectrum of intellectual property categories. They delve into crucial realms and sectors of the modern era, including core technological innovation, renowned domestic and international brands, the digital economy, and the seed industry.
These cases can provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the Chinese IP landscape. In the upcoming weeks, China IP will publish the English version of the top 10 IP cases of 2023.
Case VI: Case Involving Unfair Competition Dispute over "Data"
Case Brief:
Beijing XX Network Technology Co., Ltd., the operator of Sina Weibo, accused Guangzhou XX Information Technology Co., Ltd. of illegally using server APIs (application programming interfaces) to scrape a large amount of microblog data for storage and sale through malicious technical means, constituting unfair competition.
The court of first instance ruled in favor of Beijing XX Network Technology Co., Ltd., concluding that Guangzhou XX Information Technology Co., Ltd.'s conduct constituted unfair competition. The court ordered Guangzhou XX Information Technology Co., Ltd. to compensate 20 million yuan for economic losses and 272,680 yuan for reasonable expenses.
Dissatisfied with the decision, Guangzhou XX Information Technology Co., Ltd. appealed.
In the second instance, the High People’s Court of Guangdong Province affirmed that Beijing XX Network Technology Co., Ltd. enjoyed lawful rights to control and legally utilize the microblog data, allowing it to gain economic benefits.
Guangzhou XX Information Technology Co., Ltd. used deceptive technical methods, such as changing IP (network address) and UID (user account), to scrape a large amount of data from the microblog server APIs for storage and sale to unspecified internet users without any processing, thereby profiting unlawfully.
Guangzhou XX Information Technology Co., Ltd.’s conduct largely increased the risk of the microblogging platform being substantively replaced and posed data security issues, including potential leaks of personal privacy and sensitive information, which violated the principles of fairness, good faith, and business ethics, disrupted the competition order in the data market, and seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Beijing XX Network Technology Co., Ltd. and consumers. Such conduct constituted unfair competition as stipulated in Article 2 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law.
The court calculated that the profit from the infringement, based on a median charging rate of one yuan per 100 accesses, was approximately 21,797,900 yuan.
Given the long duration of the alleged infringement, the large scale of data transfer, and the serious damage caused, the court found it appropriate to fully support the compensation claim of Beijing XX Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Therefore, the court dismissed the appeal and upheld the original judgment.
Typical Significance: This case serves as a typical example of illegal data scraping for trading and resale. The judgment strikes a balance between "effective protection" and "orderly circulation" of data, clarifies the boundaries of data rights protection, and reflects the judicial stance of guiding market entities to "acquire and use data in a reasonable and lawful manner".
