On March 19th, according to Qichacha, the unfair competition dispute case involving Guangzhou NetEase Computer System Co., Ltd., among others, and JVR Music Limited will go to a second trial on March 26th.
The appellants in this case are Jay Chou and JVR Music Limited, while the respondents are Guangzhou NetEase Computer System Co., Ltd., NetEase (Hangzhou) Network Co., Ltd., and Hangzhou NetEase Leihuo Technology Co., Ltd. (all are entities related to NetEase's game "Justice Online").
In April 2023, JVR sued NetEase for unfair competition, stemming from a 2022 promotion for the game "Justice Online" where NetEase hosted a retweet lottery to win Jay Chou's new digital album and concert tickets.
The plaintiff argued that NetEase's actions constituted unfair competition by leveraging Jay Chou's immense popularity, the high anticipation for his new album, and the wide dissemination of his music to drive traffic to their game, ultimately profiting and constituting unfair competition.
Ultimately, the first trial ruled in favor of the defendant, "Justice Online," and dismissed all of JVR's claims for compensation, totaling 2.05 million CNY.
The court reasoned that the retweet lottery is a common promotional tactic on Weibo, and that "Justice Online"'s giveaway of Jay Chou's digital album and other player benefits, being non-profit in nature, is unlikely to lead the public to associate Jay Chou as a spokesperson, and did not violate business ethics. Therefore, NetEase was not deemed to have engaged in unfair competition.