International Law

Waging an ?internet war? in China

By China Briefing

Abuse of public forums designed to defame plaintiffs slowly being reined in

Feb. 17 - In an ongoing trend in China, large numbers of legal disputes, which should be the preserve of the courts, are being aired via public forums. At China Briefing for example, we are involved with several litigation suits over the inappropriate use of deliberately similar domains and brands, all of which have had to end up in the hands of our lawyers for action after attempts to reconcile the issues failed. In two of these of these cases, threats have been made against our businesses, with one instance assuring of an ?internet war? to be waged if legal action was instigated against the defendant. Regrettably, this has lead to libelous comments relating to individuals and businesses connected to China Briefing appearing on various sites and forums concerned with China. The situation doesn’t just affect China Briefing however; it has been for some time a serious matter of national concern. Steps however, are being taken to rein in such abuse.

There are a number of issues here: firstly, tracking offensive material, identifying perpetrators and taking action; secondly, appropriate website management, and thirdly, issuing writs for libel in Chinese courts.

In our specific cases, as disputes have arisen concerning domain registrations and copyright issues, inevitably these have been placed in the hands of our lawyers to take action; WIPO, in the case of domain registrations, and the People?s Court in China. This should be end of the matter, however, with abuse targeting the business as revenge or mischief making appearing on public forums the procedure becomes more tedious, time-consuming, and of course costly. So what can be done if you find yourself the target of such abuse? (more…)

Full post as published by China Briefing Blog on February 17, 2008 (boomark / email).