On April 21, coinciding with the 25th World Intellectual Property Day, the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court released the 2024 White Paper on the Status of Intellectual Property Judicial Protection and the Top Ten Typical Cases. The white paper indicates that in 2024, the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court handled a total of 10,888 first-instance cases, with the structure ratio of first-instance and second-instance cases rising from 8:2 in 2023 to 8.5:1.5. This reflects an increasing demand for intellectual property protection and a further emphasis on the importance of specialized adjudication.
The ten typical cases released cover various fields, including biomedicine, computer software, well-known trademarks, and new plant varieties. Among them, the case of unfair competition involving a game virtual property trading platform, represented by Llinks lawyers【(2022) Yue 73 Min Zhong 3597】, was selected as Case Two. This case addresses the specific protection pathways for online virtual property rights. The Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court has actively adapted to the new circumstances and requirements of the internet industry, maintaining fair competition in the internet sector and orderly development of the online gaming industry. This case was also previously included in the People's Court case database.
Upon accepting the commission, Llinks lawyers conducted an in-depth analysis of the case facts, gathered and organized key evidence, and carried out a thorough legal analysis. After going through the second-instance process, they ultimately secured a favorable verdict for their client, achieving a substantial compensation of 3 million yuan, effectively safeguarding the client's legitimate rights and interests. Additionally, this case has significant demonstrative value for judicial practices related to the internet, as it first explicitly defined the legal attributes of different types of virtual property and clarified the boundaries of the behaviors of game trading platforms providing trading services, contributing to the healthy and orderly development of the digital market.
