The Haidian District People’s Court in Beijing just released its 2025 White Paper containing details of 10 “typical” cases handled by the court in 2024, many of which deal with novel issues of fact and law brought about by new technologies.
In one of these cases, Deng Da, now an attorney at East IP represented the plaintiff Sina.com against Shenzhen Tuoling Technology Co., Ltd. in an unfair competition case asserting that the defendant had, without permission, selectively crawled sports news and headlines published on the plaintiff’s Sina Sports online news service, then redistributing the data gathered through multiple websites and apps operated by the defendant that offer sports news and information. The plaintiff alleged that these activities diverted user traffic and functioned as a substitute for its Sina Sports service, thus resulting in losses to the plaintiff and improper benefits for the defendant.
The Haidian Court held in the first instance that the plaintiff’s Sina Sports service deserved legal protection under the Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL) based on upon evidence of its success in compiling and presenting sports information that created true commercial value. The court then held that the defendant’s behavior violated the general prohibition on unfair competition in Article 2 of the AUCL, specifically noting that the defendant’s acts were unfair to the plaintiff, harmed the long-term interests of consumers and negatively impacted upon market order.
The defendant was ordered to cease its acts of unfair competition and compensate the plaintiff in the amount of RMB 1.156 million (~US$158,000).
Neither party appealed the court’s decision, and thus the judgment was deemed final and effective.
