Written by Li LIU and Xiaofang CAI

 

On April 21, 2025, the Supreme People's Court released "The Status of Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights by Chinese Courts (2024)" and 2024 typical intellectual property cases. These cases cover areas such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, anti-unfair competition, and trade secrets, and involve cutting-edge industries like biomedicine, AI technology, and online gaming.

 

By clarifying the adjudication rules, these cases strengthened the judiciary's role in safeguarding innovation-driven development and market order. For your information, we list the detailed descriptions and our comments of the typical cases as follows:

 

Case 1: Ownership Dispute over the Patent for "mRNA Osteoarthritis Drug"

Case Summary:

Shenzhen Zhenmou Medical Technology Co., Ltd. claimed that the patent right for an mRNA osteoarthritis drug owned by another company founded by Hu, a former employee, should be returned to Shen Zhenmou because the patented technology was developed during his employment at Shenzhen Zhenmou. After the first - instance court rejected the claim; the Supreme People's Court introduced a mediation mechanism in the second-instance. Considering the scientific research cooperation background of both sides, it facilitated a settlement agreement, resolved the dispute, and promoted their return to cooperation in the biomedical field.

Our comments:

In this case, the principle of "mediation first" was used to balance scientific research cooperation and intellectual property ownership. It reflects the judiciary's support for the transformation of cutting-edge technology achievements and provides an example for resolving disputes in the collaborative innovation of industry, academia, and research.

 

Case 2: Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition in the Real Estate Field

Case Summary:

Since 2002, Lanzhou Renmou Real Estate Co., Ltd. has used the "Renmou" trade name to develop real-estate projects. Renmou-related companies in many places alleged that this behavior infringed their trademark rights and constituted unfair competition. The court found that the legal representative of Lanzhou Renmou had purchased a property developed by a related company and was aware of the prior use of the "Renmou" trade name. However, he still maliciously registered the same trade name in the same industry, causing public confusion. Finally, the court upheld the first -instance judgment, ordering Lanzhou Renmou to pay 13.4 million RMB in compensation and eliminate the negative impact.

Our comments:

This case clarified the illegality of the malicious act of "knowingly using" to attach to others' reputation. It strengthens the cross-regional protection of enterprise trade names and trademarks and safeguards the market ecology of honest operation.

 

Case 3: Infringement of Trade Secrets by "Spoiling" Unreleased Game Characters

Case Summary：

Chen, a beta-tester, violated the confidentiality agreement by secretly photographing and leaking the images and skill data of unreleased game characters. The court issued a pre-litigation injunction within 48 hours, prohibiting disclosure, and determined that the test content constituted a trade secret. The first-instance judgment ordered Chen to stop the infringement and compensate 500,000 RMB. Neither party appealed.

Our comments:

This case involves the criteria for determining and adjudicating trade secrets based on undisclosed character designs and other information in the game, which is of positive significance for promoting the healthy development of the gaming industry. Pre litigation behavior preservation ruling, combined with the characteristics of the online gaming industry, provides timely legal relief to the applicant.

 

Case 4: Copyright Infringement Case of "AI Face - swapping"

Case Summary

Shanghai Yimou Network Technology Co., Ltd. developed the "Mouyan" mini - program. Using AI technology, it replaced the faces of users into Chen's original ancient-costume short videos to generate similar videos for profit. The court determined that this behavior, without permission, substantially reproduced the original work and infringed the right to network dissemination of works. Yimou Company was ordered to pay 7,500 RMB in compensation.

Our comments:

This case clarified that AI technology applications should not infringe the core expressions of works. It defines the reasonable duty of care for algorithm service providers and balances technological innovation and copyright protection.

 

Case 5: "Skin - changing" Game Infringement Case

Case Summary

The accused game "Moumouguan" was highly similar to "Moumou Awakening" in terms of overall structure, gameplay system, and numerical settings. Only the art assets were replaced, and it made a profit of 12.5 million RMB in two years. The court determined that gameplay rules were not protected by copyright law, but the overall imitation constituted unfair competition. It upheld the original judgment of 10.5 million RMB in compensation.

Our comments:

This case clarifies the applicable boundaries of copyright law and anti-unfair competition law. It curbs the "skin changing" plagiarism phenomenon and guides the game industry to drive competition through innovation.

 

Case 6: Unfair Competition Case of "Praising and Criticizing" in Online Reviews

Case Summary

A company in Suzhou published a sunscreen-clothing review article, fabricating data of Brand A to highlight its own Brand B. After actual testing, the court found the data to be untrue and determined that the company misled consumers through false reviews, constituting unfair competition. It was ordered to pay 45,000 RMB in compensation.

Our comments:

This case defines the boundary between "objective reviews" and "false marketing." It cracks down on acts of slandering others under the guise of reviews and maintains the transparency of consumer information and fair competition.

 

Case 7: Unfair Competition Case of Ticket - Snatching Software

Case Summary

Zheng developed a plug - in software to bypass the purchase-limit rules of a ticketing platform. Using technical means, he snatched tickets in bulk and sold them, increasing the platform's operating costs and making it more difficult for users to buy tickets. The court determined that his behavior disrupted the market order and ordered him to pay 20,000 RMB in compensation.

Our comments:

This case includes the abuse of technology within the scope of anti-unfair competition regulations. It warns developers to follow business ethics and protects consumers' rights to fair transactions.

 

Case 8: Criminal and Incidental Civil Litigation Case of Copyright Infringement Involving Popular Film and Television Works

Case Summary

Lu Mouqian built pirated websites to illegally spread more than 120,000 film and television works such as Full of Heat and made a profit of 1.48 million RMB from advertising. The court sentenced him to four years in prison for copyright infringement and ordered him to compensate the rights holders 880,000 RMB. All illegal earnings were confiscated.

Our comments:

The coordinated criminal and civil actions severely punish the piracy industry chain. It highlights the effectiveness of the "three-in-one" trial mechanism and strengthens the full-chain protection of film and television copyrights.

 

Conclusion

 

From the above-mentioned typical cases, it can be seen that Chinese law is now facing new legal disputes in the digital economy. It not only protects innovation achievements through refined adjudication but also regulates market competition with a value-oriented approach, providing a judicial example for building a strict and comprehensive intellectual property protection system.

 

If you need more details about the above information, please feel free to contact us.

  

Source: News Bureau of the Supreme People's Court