Compiled from: Zhongxin News, The Paper, National Business Daily
 
Case review
On April 10, a court hearing notice from the Binjiang District Court in Hangzhou drew attention, stating that the unfair competition dispute case filed by Jay Chou and JVR Music Co., Ltd. against NetEase (Hangzhou) Network Co., Ltd., Guangzhou NetEase Computer System Co., Ltd., and Hangzhou NetEase Leihuo Technology Co., Ltd. will be heard by the Binjiang District Court on April 17. Due to the involvement of a famous artist and a network company, the news quickly sparked heated discussion online.

 
 

On the 10th, one of the plaintiffs, JVR Music Co., Ltd., confirmed that the main reason for the lawsuit by Jay Chou and the company is that NetEase's online game "World 3" privately launched a promotional activity offering Jay Chou's latest album and concert tickets during its previous game promotion, which constitutes infringement.
 
Jewel Company stated that in July 2022, during the promotional activities of NetEase's game "World 3," it privately launched a campaign offering Jay Chou's latest album and concert tickets without authorization. This infringement created a misleading impression that "World 3" had a specific connection with Jay Chou and Jewel Company. Therefore, after entrusting a lawyer, it decided to formally sue the three companies for unfair competition, requesting the court to order the three defendants to cease the infringement.

 
 

"Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 6
Business operators shall not engage in the following confusing acts that mislead others into believing that their goods are those of others or that there is a specific connection with others:
(1) Unauthorized use of identifiers identical or similar to others' well-known product names, packaging, decorations, etc.;
(2) Unauthorized use of others' well-known enterprise names (including abbreviations, trade names, etc.), social organization names (including abbreviations, etc.), and personal names (including pen names, stage names, translated names, etc.);
(3) Unauthorized use of others' well-known domain name main parts, website names, web pages, etc.;
(4) Other confusing acts sufficient to mislead others into believing they are others' goods or have a specific connection with others.

 
 

[1] The author's perspective
In today's media age, promotion and publicity have a certain driving effect on all industries, and if combined with celebrity influence, the effect is even better. For this reason, many businesses try to associate their promotional activities with celebrities. This time, NetEase set the prize as Jay Chou's album when promoting its own game, causing many fans to mistakenly believe that the game was related to Jay Chou, indirectly harming Jay Chou's interests.
 
In fact, as a large domestic enterprise with extensive business scope, NetEase should not have such a weak legal awareness. Ultimately, whether it is disregarding everything for profit or genuinely believing its actions are lawful and reasonable, we do not know. However, the court will ultimately rule according to the law, so let us wait and see.