In the News: First-Ever AI Parameters Ruling; New Pharma Strategy; and Market Access Restrictions Eased
Beijing IP Court issues first ruling on protecting AI model parameters; Chinese pharma companies are using “NewCo” strategy to expand overseas; and China reduces entry restrictions for select industries.
Credit: Timon/Adobe Stock
Douyin Wins AI Model Unfair Competition Case
On March 31, 2025, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court issued a landmark judgment which, for the first time in China, held that the structure and parameters of AI models “constitute competitive interests protected under the Anti-Unfair Competition Law.”
Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, has a “comic transformation effect” feature on its app on Android. It is based on a self-developed PIX2PIX model, “which, through a specific neural network structure and parameter configuration, enables users to generate anime-style images that correspond to their real-life appearance when using the Douyin app.” The B612 Kaji app, later developed by Yirui Technology, had a remarkably similar “manga girl effect.” Very similar results arose when photos and videos applied both effects, and the models, when compared, had similarities in multiple respects. Douyin sued, arguing “that its model had been trained with substantial human and computational resources and possessed distinct technical characteristics and strong market competitiveness,” Xianyang Jiang, a partner at Beijing Hairun Tianrun Law Firm, wrote in an article posted on LinkedIn.
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