Yesterday, a Shanghai court rejected Craigslist-like Chinese web platform Ganji’s unfair competition lawsuit against competing site Baixing. The suit arose after Baixing users mined the QQ numbers of Ganji users from Ganji’s site, and then spammed those users’ email accounts with advertisements for Baixing’s competing services. The Shanghai court found that this behavior did not qualify as unfair competition and thus rejected Ganji’s suit.
Both sites offer listings and community features with a low-frills design that is reminiscent of Craigslist, and both are popular sites for Chinese users looking to find anything from a used television set to a new apartment or a new nanny for their baby. The spat that culminated in yesterday’s decision dates back to at least March of 2011, and Baixing has officially discouraged users from using spam emails as a promotional method, and even froze some spammers’ accounts, but Ganji claims that Baixing’s efforts to curb this behavior have been less than fully sincere.
But the court says no. If past battles between internet companies in China are any indication, we can expect these companies to quietly respect the court’s decision, not file any further suits, and certainly not engage in an increasingly ugly war of words in the press any on BBS forums nationwide. You know, either that or the exact opposite of that.
[Dongfang Morning News via Sina Tech]
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
