Xu and Chen, both e-commerce operators, were involved in a dispute over the sale of jeans with similar appearances. Chen, dissatisfied with the pricing, sued Xu for allegedly infringing on the copyright of his original "INC Jeans".
Following legal action, the e-commerce platform imposed a sales ban on Xu's products. Despite Chen withdrawing the lawsuit later, Xu faced economic losses due to the ongoing ban and requested for Chen to resume litigation, which Chen ignored.
Subsequently, Xu took legal action against Chen and the e-commerce platform.
The first-instance court determined that Chen had engaged in dishonest conduct during copyright registration, displayed subjective malice towards competitors, and caused losses to Xu through malicious litigation. The court held Chen liable for damages, including compensation for economic losses, legal fees, and expenses.
The court's ruling required Chen to compensate Xu for economic losses amounting to 150,000 yuan ($20,768.50) and legal fees of 27,000 yuan, while also mandating that the e-commerce platform lift the sales ban on Xu's products. Chen appealed the decision to the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court, which upheld the original ruling, affirming Chen's liability for malicious intellectual property litigation.
The court's ruling in this case vividly illustrates the judiciary's firm stance against abusive litigation tactics that exploit legal procedures, thereby contributing significantly to addressing the issue of frivolous intellectual property lawsuits.
