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The practices of “brushing orders and inflating credit ratings” to support false advertising, using others’ registered trademarks as keywords to divert traffic, and exploiting original elements from films to "ride the wave of popularity" and gain exposure—while leveraging technological benefits and the dividends of online traffic—raise the question: what legal rights and interests do these acts infringe upon? How can the people’s courts effectively protect legal rights and strike a proper balance of legal interests amid market competition and commercial promotion?
In recent years, with the rapid advancement of internet technologies and the vigorous growth of the platform economy, the traffic economy—emerging as a new form of economy that aggregates user attention, fosters platform interactions, and transforms commercial value into economic gains—has been reshaping the competitive landscape and business models of the market. Meanwhile, intellectual property (IP) case disputes related to the traffic economy have been steadily increasing, presenting new characteristics and challenges for trial, including the expansion of legal interest protection, the growing complexity of technical facts, and the increasing refinement of judgment standards.
To thoroughly implement the decisions and deployments of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on strengthening intellectual property protection and advancing the development of a law-based business environment, and to effectively support the national innovation-driven development strategy and the broader initiative of building a Digital China, the Shanghai Jiading District People's Court (hereinafter referred to as the “Jiading Court”) has recently held a press conference to release the White Paper on the Trial of IP Infringement Cases Involving the Traffic Economy and typical cases, thereby fully leveraging the role in the trial of IP infringement cases for supporting the development of new productive forces.
This press conference marks the 10th event in the “Promoting Justice, Making an Example—Further Advancing the Modernization of Shanghai Courts’ Work” series of press conferences.
At the press conference, Lu Wenjia, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the Jiading Court, briefed on the court’s trial of IP infringement cases related to the traffic economy from July 2022 to February 2025, following the jurisdictional adjustment in 2022. Xiao Meihua, Chief Judge of the Civil Division, presented the Typical Cases of Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights involving the Traffic Economy. Yang Yingfei, Member of the Party Leadership Group, Head of the Political Department, and the court’s official spokesperson, presided over the event.
The trial of IP infringement cases involving the traffic economy
The White Paper notes that from July 2022 to February 2025, the Jiading Court accepted a total of 355 IP infringement cases related to the traffic economy, concluded 298 of them, and recorded a mediation and withdrawal rate of 71.14%. Cases related to the traffic economy accounted for approximately one-tenth of all IP infringement cases, with the case volume showing a steady upward trend.
In terms of the amount of subject matter of litigation, the total value of these cases exceeded CNY 150 million, with an average of CNY 430,000 per case and a maximum of CNY 30.2 million in an individual case from July 2022 to February 2025. More than 60% of the cases involved amounts of subject matter of litigation below CNY 100,000, most of which were batch enforcement actions targeting homogeneous infringement behaviors. High-value cases were primarily concentrated among well-known enterprises and brands, with the rights involved carrying significant commercial value.
In terms of cause of action, among the IP infringement cases involving the traffic economy accepted by the Jiading Court, 212 involved trademark rights, accounting for nearly 60% of the total caseload. The remaining cases primarily concerned copyright and unfair competition (including those with multiple causes of action). Given the diverse and complex forms of infringement in such cases, those involving multiple causes of action account for nearly 30% of the total.
In terms of the litigation parties, the traffic economy industry generally relies on platforms and entails collaboration across multiple links and among various parties. Among these cases, 30 involved software download platforms, 30 involved self-media platforms, 173 involved shopping platforms, and 122 involved search engines.
In terms of alleged infringement, IP infringement cases in the traffic economy feature diverse infringing practices. The IP infringement cases involving the traffic economy accepted by the Jiading Court can be broadly categorized into seven types: keyword bidding for search engine ranking manipulation; keyword-based traffic diversion on shopping platforms; unauthorized use of the likeness or elements of well-known individuals; game reskinning; brushing orders and inflating credit ratings; unauthorized data scraping; and exploiting technical vulnerabilities for unauthorized display.
According to the White Paper, IP infringement cases involving the traffic economy exhibit the following key characteristics:
First, cases involving keyword bidding in search rankings are on the rise. With the rapid advancement of large-scale AI models, internet platforms are continuously upgrading their search engine algorithms to improve user experience. Some businesses use search engine keyword bidding as a marketing strategy, leveraging their competitors’ commercial identifiers to achieve greater visibility. The number of such cases accepted by the Jiading Court has increased year by year, covering a wide range of sub-sectors including retail, catering, and gaming services.
Second, traffic affiliation tactics are becoming increasingly covert. On the one hand, as platforms continue to enhance their content review mechanisms, operators are adopting more discreet and covert tactics. On the other hand, technological advancements have facilitated the evolution of traditional infringement tactics—such as forced redirection, copying of viral content, and the creation of fake trending topics—which now exploit algorithmic loopholes to subtly and precisely embed keywords, thereby circumventing regulation and attracting traffic.
Third, the integration of new technologies into infringement practices is becoming more pronounced. Some infringers use technical tools to scrape large volumes of commercial data from other websites and impose paywalls that restrict access to members only. Others interfere with search engine algorithms to manipulate result rankings, thereby disrupting normal page order and undermining market order.
Fourth, infringing practices are becoming increasingly diverse. These practices include traffic fraud, brand piracy by obfuscating trademarks of well-known brands, and game reskinning, among others. For example, some operators manipulate store rankings by engaging in fake transactions and posting fabricated positive reviews, thereby distorting transaction data and misleading consumers. Others attract user traffic by imitating popular games, thereby facilitating rapid commercial conversion.
Establishing a working mechanism and innovating judicial governance models
The white paper reviews and summarizes the practices adopted by the Jiading District People’s Court since July 2022 in adjudicating IP infringement cases related to the traffic economy. Anchored in the region’s strategic focus on digital economy development, and in response to the technical complexity and high volume of such cases, the Court has enhanced the development of specialized trial teams, pioneered new models of judicial governance, and established a dedicated working mechanism for handling IP infringement cases.
Firstly, implementing a differentiated approach to case management by streamlining simple and complex cases and applying standardized procedures for categorized cases;
Secondly, promoting collaborative online governance and building a diversified co-governance pattern;
Thirdly, expanding circuit trials and carrying out outreach and awareness initiatives targeting enterprises;
Fourthly, leveraging the digital economy base to enhance the integration of theoretical research with judicial practice.
Issuing guidelines on risk prevention and control to regulate and guide market order
Traffic has become a new production factor and a key carrier of commercial value. To effectively mitigate intellectual property risks, optimize platform ecosystems, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the traffic economy, the white paper—drawing on judicial practices, typical cases, and governance experience—proposes the following risk prevention and control guidelines:
Firstly, establishing a sound intellectual property management system;
Secondly, ensuring that platform operators fulfill their responsibilities for review and oversight;
Thirdly, improving internal review mechanisms within enterprises;
Fourthly, strengthen channels for public supervision and collaborative governance with users;
Fifthly, focusing on substantive innovation in content creation.
Briefing on six typical cases to set exemplary precedents
At the event, the Jiading Court released Typical Cases of Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights involving the Traffic Economy. By summarizing six recently concluded representative cases, the Court aims to provide practical references and guidance for enhancing intellectual property protection in the traffic economy sector.
[Representative Comments]
Zhou Wei, a deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and Deputy General Manager of the Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Certification & Tech Innovation Center Co., Ltd. (SMVIC), was present at the event.
In celebration of World Intellectual Property Day, the Jiading Court released a white paper on the trial of cases involving the traffic economy and typical cases, vividly demonstrating its proactive commitment to addressing the governance demands of the digital economy. For an extended period, the Jiading Court has closely aligned its judicial practices with the distinctive characteristics of IP infringement cases in the traffic economy. By innovating judicial governance models, the Court has clarified the boundaries of platform liability through judgment rules, addressed the challenges of technical concealment through trial of categorized cases, and fostered industry-wide compliance through circuit trials. By embedding intellectual property protection into the traffic economy ecosystem, the Court has created a replicable model for judicial IP protection in the digital era. It is hoped that the Jiading Court will continue to strengthen efforts to protect the traffic economy, promote its healthy and sustainable development, and effectively safeguard the high-quality development of new productive forces.
Chen Dong, Deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and On-board Mechanic at the Shanghai South EMU Depot of Shanghai EMU Depot, China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd.
In the context of the flourishing digital economy, the Jiading Court has released a white paper on the trial of cases involving the traffic economy and typical cases, systematically organizing the judicial practices and judgment rules concerning traffic economy disputes. This initiative provides an in-depth analysis of infringement practices and governance challenges in new technological scenarios, injecting judicial insight into the rule of law construction for the digital economy. In recent years, the Jiading Court has closely aligned with national strategies, employing innovative mechanisms such as "specialized trial teams + guidelines for trial of categorized cases " and "diversified collaborative governance" to effectively address frontier issues like data scraping, leveraging trending topics, and fraudulent traffic transactions. These efforts have effectively safeguarded the legitimate rights of enterprises and contributed to the healthy development of the digital economy. It is anticipated that the Jiading Court will further leverage the exemplary role of its Judicial Practice Base for the Digital Economy, contributing more Jiading experience and wisdom to the global governance of the digital economy.
上海市嘉定区人民法院流量经济知识产权司法保护典型案例（2022年7月—2025年2月）.doc
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