Recently, lawyers Wu Rangjun, Yu Yao, and Zhang Siqi from the Yanshang Team of Beijing Longan (Guangzhou) Law Firm won a lawsuit on behalf of Tencent in the case of “Heping Elite” game skin leakage. The court determined that the defendant’s actions constituted an infringement of trade secrets and commercial defamation, and imposed punitive damages. The court fully supported Tencent’s claim for 9 million yuan in compensation, and ordered the defendant to publish a video to eliminate the impact. The defendant has also released a corresponding apology video.
This amount surpassed the previous compensation record of 1 million yuan in similar cases represented by the Yanshang Team. It becomes another high-level compensation case in the field of game skin leakage.
These victories represent another remarkable achievement by the team in the game industry. It also shows the trust and cooperation between the team and Tencent’s legal department.
“Heping Elite” has also released a statement regarding rights protection.
Illegal unpacking must be punished; judicial decisions serve as a warning!
Basic Facts of the Case
The defendant, Zheng Moumou (“Cat Instructor”), since 2023, has used illegal methods to reverse-engineer the game’s programming. He has published unannounced “Heping Elite” game skin designs and false operational information on platforms such as TikTok, Kuaishou, REDnote, and Bilibili, in order to gain traffic and profit. This has caused significant losses to Tencent.
Tencent entrusted the Yanshang Team to file the lawsuit. After trial, the court fully accepted our arguments. The court determined that the game skin designs constitute trade secrets. The defendant’s illegal acquisition and disclosure of these trade secrets constitute unfair competition. Additionally, the court recognized that the defendant’s public release of unverified false information without any information from the plaintiff’s side, and the continued release of information after the plaintiff’s release, claiming that the plaintiff changed its operations temporarily, caused many users to misunderstand. This also constitutes commercial defamation.
In terms of compensation, the court accepted our claim that the losses exceeded ten million yuan. With punitive damages, the court fully supported our claim of 9 million yuan. The court also ordered the defendant to eliminate the impact.
Liaison Process
Before representing this case, the Yanshang Team had represented dozens of cases related to trade secrets in various fields such as chemical engineering, electronics, high-end manufacturing, new materials, semiconductors, internet, and games. In the case of “Heping Elite” skin leakage, the Yanshang Team also represented the People’s Court of Baoan District, Shenzhen in a related infringement case against the defendant “Li Moumou” (“Little Fat Commentary”). The court also fully supported the plaintiff’s claim of 1 million yuan.
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The team is aware of the complexity of trade secret cases. In the face of the defendant’s use of third-party tools to crack the game and publish unannounced skin information across platforms, the team developed a comprehensive litigation strategy of “first securing rights, then determining losses, then providing evidence.” This ensured that the court fully accepted our views on three key issues: the determination of trade secrets, the characterization of infringement, and the calculation of punitive damages.
Characterization: Regarding the unannounced skin designs, our team systematically analyzed the secrecy, value, and confidentiality measures of the information involved, forming a complete chain of trade secret protection.
Infringement: There are many copyrighted skins involved in this case, and a large number of infringing videos. Since the defendant claimed that what he published was already public, the timing of the infringing videos is also important. Our team thoroughly examined the details of the skins involved, and presented the defendant’s prior publication in a visual format, clearly showing that the defendant was the first to publicly release the plaintiff’s confidential information.
Compensation: The full support of 9 million yuan, especially the application of punitive damages, is a major breakthrough in this case. Our team prepared carefully to ensure that high compensation serves as a warning against game skin leakage. With the 1 million yuan compensation awarded by the People’s Court of Baoan District, Shenzhen, and considering the advantages of this case, we continued to strive for a higher compensation amount.
Based on the plaintiff’s losses and the defendant’s profits, and considering the complex nature of the infringement, including trade secret infringement and commercial defamation, our team developed 4 different compensation calculation methods and presented them to the judge in a chart format. The court ultimately adopted our compensation formula and determined that the plaintiff’s losses exceeded ten million yuan.
Significance
For a long time, the game industry has suffered from skin leakage issues. However, due to the concealment of the infringers, difficulty in quantifying losses, and high costs of protecting rights, the industry has faced difficulties in protecting its rights.
This judgment clearly includes unannounced game skins and operational information in the category of trade secrets, and declares through the compensation of nearly ten million yuan that “stealing and disclosing unannounced game content through illegal means is no longer a low-cost, high-profit strategy.”
The judgment reflects the judicial authorities’ respect for the value of the intellectual property market and their strict stance against malicious infringement. It serves as a strong deterrent against future leaks.
Yanshang Team
- Team Introduction
The Yanshang Team is led by Wu Rangjun, the deputy director of the management committee and senior partner of Beijing Longan (Guangzhou) Law Firm. The team consists of more than ten professionals who graduated from well-known universities such as Peking University, Edinburgh University in the UK, Renmin University of China, Sunyong University, Macau University, South China University of Technology, and Jinan University. They have a solid legal foundation and interdisciplinary expertise.
Profile of Team Leader:
Lawyer Wu Rangjun graduated from Peking University and has dual qualifications as a lawyer and patent agent.
Current Positions:
Member of the Intellectual Property Professional Committee of the National Lawyers Association
Consulting expert for civil and administrative cases at the Supreme People’s Procuratorate
Director of the Trade Secret Professional Committee of the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Research Association
Director of the Longan Bay Intellectual Property Research Center
Arbitrator at the Guangzhou, Xiamen, and Zhuhai Arbitration Committees
Expert in the Guangdong Foreign Lawyers Elite Pool
Part-time professor at the Law School of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
External tutor at the Law School of South China University of Technology
Key Honors:
Starlight Figure of Young Lawyers at the Guangzhou Lawyers Association
Top 15 in the LEGALBAND China Lawyer Special Recommendation List (for games and esports)
Best Choice Lawyer in South China for Clients
One of the 50 Intellectual Property Elite Lawyers under 50 in China
Top 10 Intellectual Property Lawyers in the Greater Bay Area
Brand Star Lawyer in the Entertainment and Sports Field by Law New Society
Top 20 Intellectual Property (Copyright) Lawyers by Law New Society
- Business Areas
The team always adheres to the philosophy of “professional depth and warm service” and the development approach of “professionalism + industry.” They have been engaged in legal services in the game industry for over ten years. They understand the characteristics and business logic of the game industry. They aim to provide professional services that support clients’ development. The team focuses on solving major legal issues faced by industry clients across the entire process. Their business areas include intellectual property, civil and commercial litigation and arbitration, permanent legal counsel, compliance projects, and criminal litigation.
- Team Advantages
Deep Industry Knowledge: With over ten years of experience in the game industry, they are familiar with the legal needs throughout the development, distribution, and operation process. They can effectively address unique challenges in the industry.
Rich Experience: They have served hundreds of game clients, handling hundreds of litigation and compliance projects. They have represented many benchmark cases in the industry, using innovative strategies to protect clients’ rights.
Comprehensive Services: They always adopt a team-based approach, providing professional services such as intellectual property, civil and commercial litigation and arbitration, criminal rights protection and defense, compliance projects, and permanent legal counsel.
First Case in Several Industries: The team has handled 10 cases involving behavior bans in 8 courts across 5 provinces in China, all of which have been successful.
The team has created and published the “Annual Observation Report on Online Game Litigation” for 5 years. They have organized dozens of seminars on online game litigation, inviting experts such as Professor Wang Qian, Professor Li Yang, Professor Cui Guobin, and Professor Zhang Weijun. Professional judges from the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court, Guangzhou Internet Court, Beijing Intellectual Property Court, Shanghai Pudong Court, and Hangzhou Court, as well as legal representatives from well-known game companies, participated in these seminars.
- Team Honors
The intellectual property cases handled by the team have been selected as typical cases by the Supreme Court, various high courts, and intellectual property courts. The civil and commercial litigation and arbitration cases handled have received “Business Achievement Awards” from the Lawyers Association. The theoretical research articles they wrote have won awards such as Top Ten Papers and Annual Papers.