2024-05-05-北京知识产权法院-2024涉数据产业竞争司法保护白皮书（中英文版）_68页_1mb

Beijing Intellectual Property Court White Paper Summary: Data Protection and Competition Law

The document examines competition-related data cases in China's digital economy, highlighting the need to protect data rights under evolving legal frameworks. Key points include:

1. Data's Role in Digital Economy

• Data is critical for digital growth, with the Chinese economy heavily reliant on it.
• Laws, like those supporting digital strategies, encourage innovation, making data governance and protection essential.
• These cases involve industries such as internet, IT, and manufacturing, with data serving as a key resource.

2. Case Overview and Trends

• From 2021 to 2023, Beijing IP Court handled increasing data-related competition cases:
  • Volume: 75, 90, and 174 cases in 2021–2023, driven by internet involvement (over 80%).
  • Types: Mostly traditional unfair competition, but novel issues like data scraping, ad blocking, account renting, and interference surged.
  • Outcomes: Over 67% of cases found to be unfair competition, often upheld through principle clauses or specific Internet regulations.

3. Protection Strategies for Data Rights

• The court broadened competition concepts to cover novel data disputes, emphasizing ethical and economic harms.
• Identified seven key unfair competition types: data scraping, artificial traffic boosting, ad blocking, traffic hijacking, account leasing, software interference, and trade secret misappropriation.
• Applied multiple factors (e.g., user welfare, innovation impact) to balance interests and determine liability, with data value assessed through expert testimony, circumstantial evidence, or statutory standards.

4. Challenges and Proposed Solutions

• Legal ambiguity: Need for clearer rules, evidence rules, and better handling of commercial ethics to resolve evolving digital disputes.
• Technical facts: Difficulty in uncovering evidence in tech-related cases, fast-moving digital frameworks, and multi-party involvement complicates investigations.
• Balancing values: Tensions exist between innovation, consumer harm, and competition needs.
• Suggestions:
  • For businesses: Strengthen internal data compliance, source data ethically, and secure user consents.
  • For governments: Improve data registration, enforce fair access principles, establish data exchanges for transparency, and support public data utilization.

Overall, the court reinforces consumer fairness and business ethics, stressing a multi-stakeholder framework to ensure data issues align with broader digital development goals.