Recently, the Guangdong Intellectual Property Protection Association announced the list of “2024 Intellectual Property Case Examples”. Beijing Longan (Guangzhou) Law Firm has two cases selected due to its profound professional expertise and rich practical experience. The lawyers handling these cases are: Wu Rangjun, Yu Yao, Liu Xuehua, and Feng Huichan. This selection demonstrates the strong capabilities and leading position of Longan Guangzhou in the field of intellectual property.
For this evaluation, the Guangdong Intellectual Property Protection Association invited industry experts such as Tan Haihua, President of the Copyright Tribunal of the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court, Xiao Haitang, President of the Patent Tribunal of the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court, and An Xuemei, President of the Guangdong Intellectual Property Financial Innovation Institute, to conduct the evaluation. Based on five criteria—representativeness, complexity, impact, professionalism, and novelty—the experts conducted a comprehensive, detailed, and rigorous analysis of 211 cases submitted by 69 applicant entities. Ultimately, 35 cases were selected, and it was no easy feat for Longan Guangzhou to have two cases chosen.
Case 1
Dispute over online unfair competition in the game trading of “Huanle Mahjong” between Tencent Computer Systems Co., Ltd. of Shenzhen and Tencent Tianyou Technology Co., Ltd. of Shenzhen (hereinafter “Plaintiff”) and Guangzhou Mengyou Network Technology Co., Ltd. and Long (hereinafter “Defendant”)
Lawyers Handling the Case
Wu Rangjun, Yu Yao, Feng Huichan
Case Details
The Plaintiff is a leading game developer and operator in China. As the operator and developer of the involved game “Huanle Mahjong,” it has legal rights to this game.
The Plaintiff found that the Defendant provided improper trading services for game coins through its online store. That is, after collecting fees from buyers, the Defendant transferred the game coins to the buyers’ accounts by using player accounts to simulate transactions. This constitutes unfair competition. To stop the Defendant’s infringement and protect the Plaintiff’s legal rights, the Plaintiff filed a lawsuit with the court.
On July 22, 2024, the Huangpu District People’s Court of Guangzhou accepted the lawsuit filed by the Plaintiff.
On September 11, 2024, the Huangpu District People’s Court scheduled a hearing and the Plaintiff and Defendant exchanged evidence and debated the facts of the case.
On November 25, 2024, the Huangpu District People’s Court of Guangzhou issued Civil Judgment No. (2024) Yue 0112 Min Chu 15950, determining that the Defendant committed unfair competition. The judgment ordered the Defendant to compensate the Plaintiff for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling 1 million RMB, and required the Defendant to apologize.
Neither party appealed, and the judgment became enforceable.
Significance of the Case
This is the first case in China involving unfair competition related to game coin trading in the chess and card game sector. It involves top domestic game companies, making it a groundbreaking case. The lawyers handling the case paid attention to communicating with the parties involved, and explained the facts and relevant legal issues in a clear way through litigation. They analyzed the specific trading patterns of the alleged infringement in multiple aspects. During the trial, the lawyers demonstrated excellent writing and adaptability skills, accurately describing the infringement and its scope, and defining the legal boundaries of the alleged unfair competition in game coin trading. This has high reference value for clients and the game industry.
Case 2
Dispute between DaYingWei Company and Yitai Company over infringement of utility model patent rights
Lawyer Handling the Case
Liu Xuehua
Case Details
In this case, Lawyer Liu Xuehua represented Yitai Company in responding to and appealing the lawsuit.
In April 2021, DaYingWei Company sued Yitai Company for infringement of utility model patent rights (patent name: a mobile phone number display stand, patent number: ZL 201721717014.0, hereinafter referred to as “parking sign” patent). The first-instance case number was: (2021) Yue 73 Zhi Min Chu 885. On December 14, 2022, the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court issued a first-instance judgment, determining that Yitai Company had committed infringement, but the legal source defense was valid. The judgment ordered Yitai Company to stop offering for sale and selling the infringing products, and Yitai Company to compensate DaYingWei Company for reasonable expenses of 8,000 RMB. Other claims of DaYingWei Company were dismissed.
Both Yitai Company and DaYingWei Company appealed the first-instance judgment to the Supreme People’s Court.
The Supreme People’s Court held hearings and examinations on June 16 and December 6, 2023. After analysis, the Supreme People’s Court determined that the infringing product did not fall within the scope of claims 2 and 3 of the patent, and ultimately overturned the first-instance judgment, dismissing all claims of DaYingWei Company.
Significance of the Case
DaYingWei Company filed hundreds of lawsuits across the country regarding its “parking sign” patent. This case is one of them and is a significant intellectual property case with influence both nationwide and in Guangdong Province.
Before this case, similar infringing products were all judged to be infringing. In this case, by interpreting the claims using patent examination records and applying the principle of non-retaliation, the scope of the patent rights was reasonably determined. Based on this, a correct comparison was made to determine that it did not fall within the scope. This case serves as a model and provides guidance for similar cases. The Guangdong Higher People’s Court referred to this second-instance judgment in a related case (DaYingWei Company v. Hongtai Company regarding infringement of utility model patent rights (2024) Yue Zhi Min Zhong 320).
Long
An
Guangzhou
The successful selection of these two cases is not only a high recognition of the professional skills of Longan Guangzhou lawyers in the field of intellectual property, but also a strong proof of their rich experience and keen insight in case handling. In the future, Longan Guangzhou will continue to keep up with developments in the field of intellectual property, continuously improving its professional level and service quality, and contributing to the creation of a healthy, orderly, and innovative intellectual property environment.