Taobao, Tmall get injunction against rival over online flow
Print Edition
IN a first for China, a local court has issued an injunction against unfair competition against a local shopping website that stole the traffic from online shopping platform.
The Intermediate People’s Court of Pudong New Area yesterday ordered the b5m.com to stop installing a plug-in application that diverted traffic from Taobao.com and Tmall.com, while also monitoring the shopping process.
“If the traffic theft was not stopped immediately, the defendant can steal large flows of traffic during the coming Single’s Day shopping frenzy,” the court said in a statement.
The court said it was proved that b5m.com had used plug-in software to guide online shoppers from Taobao.com to its website that constituted unfair competition.
Taobao and Tmall.com, owned by internet giant Alibaba, sued the Shanghai-based rival and its owner and operator. They sought preliminary injunction as well as a public apology and 20 million yuan in compensation.
“Though Taobao and Tmall have upgraded and encrypted the websites, b5m.com installed the application through the users’ web browsers,” the websites told the court. B5m.com has a similar home page like Taobao.com and online shoppers can hardly make out the difference. Many unsatisfied shoppers thought it was Taobao.com, the court heard.
After online shoppers installed the b5m.com software, allegedly to compare prices of products, they would be guided to b5m.com from Taobao and Tmall, said Xie Turui, Taobao.com’s lawyer.
“The plug-in software cannot be removed and monitors the shopping process of the users,” Xie told the court.
Taobao and Tmall.com complained to the Pudong market watchdog in June, but the b5m.com kept stealing large traffic from them.
“B5m has stolen at least 50 million website views between July and August and guided another 70 million users to visit the B5m.com,” Taobao and Tmall told the court.
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