QBPC Internet Committee will continue its cooperation with the Peking University Law School this year to research this topic responding the difficulties members face. By increasing the research on QBPC members and other intellectual property rights holders, we aim to better understand the actual problems and challenges of intellectual property protection, providing more accurate data and case support for the establishment of the evaluation index system. In the future, we will feedback the evaluation results and the important demands of QBPC members and other intellectual property rights holders to the enforcement authorities and the relevant platforms.

The project will hold a kick-off meeting on 22nd May 2024 to introduce the project background, research framework and principles, final report outlook, and provide guidance for filling out the upcoming survey questionnaire. Welcome to provide for comments and suggestions regarding the report.

Background:

In the 2022"E-commerce Platform Intellectual Property Protection Index Evaluation System Research Report" released in November 2023, based on the background of different development stages and varying intellectual property protection systems across various e-commerce platforms, we preliminarily researched and clarified what elements a scientific and reasonable intellectual property protection system for e-commerce platforms should consist of and from which dimensions it should be evaluated. This was done in accordance with existing laws, regulations, standards, platform IP protection reports, and industry practices. The established report includes six dimensions: complaint and reporting mechanisms, infringement handling measures, credit evaluation mechanisms, proactive prevention mechanisms, social co-governance systems, and social opinion data. Major platforms were scored on these aspects, and outstanding cases were showcased for mutual learning among platforms.

At the same time, we have observed that in the past year or two, internet platforms have been expanding their businesses, incorporating more business models, and becoming comprehensive "big companies" in the context of stimulating e-commerce development. This expansion has attracted more merchants, but the current laws do not explicitly address IP infringement issues on e-commerce platforms. Members have frequently reported that the relaxation of platform store qualification reviews (such as C-stores) has led to an increase in infringing stores that are difficult to monitor. The rapid iteration of copycat products makes it difficult to promptly remove links, causing significant commercial losses. New business forms have raised the need for exploring intellectual property protection in new scenarios such as live streaming, cross-border e-commerce, and delivery. There is also a gap between the overall level of brand protection by the platforms and the expectations of the rights holders. When both platforms and rights holders fulfill their obligations under so-called statutory duties but fail to achieve the goal of IP protection, it is worth discussing what kind of future cooperation mechanisms can effectively respond to these challenges.