Beijing court rules on AI model unfair competition case
A Beijing court ruled that a technology company had engaged in unfair competition by copying another company's AI model structure and parameters used in a cartoon-style photo and video filter. The court found the models 91.7% identical and ordered compensation of 1.6 million yuan, establishing that trained and optimized AI model parameters constitute protected competitive interests.
What happened
In June 2020, a technology company launched a 'Metamorphic Cartoon Effect' feature on its short-video app that used AI to reconstruct facial features and convert user-captured photos and videos to cartoon style. Two months later, a defendant technology company launched a 'Girl Manga Effect' with visual results highly similar to the plaintiff's effect.
The plaintiff sued, claiming the defendant copied its AI model structure and parameters. Court examination found both models shared 36 convolutional layers, with 33 identical, yielding a consistency rate of 91.7%. The defendant claimed the model was independently developed by a South Korean company but provided no development contracts or training data.
Reported impact
The court found the visual similarity of the two effects meant the defendant's 'Girl Manga Effect' constituted a substantial replacement for the plaintiff's 'Metamorphic Cartoon Effect,' causing material harm to the plaintiff's competitive interests.
Index analysis
The court determined that AI model parameters and structure formed through data training and optimization constitute competitive interests protected under China's anti-unfair competition law. The court stated the defendant directly copied the plaintiff's model structure and parameters, violating commercial ethics in AI research and development and damaging market competition order.
Governance controls
The court ruled that operators investing substantial resources and creative labor in collecting training data and optimizing model structure are entitled to legal protection of the resulting AI model as a competitive interest. The judgment clarified that unauthorised use of another's trained and optimized AI model parameters and structure constitutes unfair competition.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.