Kingsoft Co. Ltd. vs. Zhou Hongwei ( Kingsoft Triumphs)
Released on：2016-06-12
On July 2013, in the case of Kingsoft Co. Ltd. vs. 360 Chairman Zhou Hongyi, heard by the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court, King and Capital lawyer Yang Damin secured a favourable decision for their client and plaintiff Kingsoft, after the District People’s Court had ruled in favour of Zhou Hongwei in their 2011 decision.
The defamation suit brought against Hongwei was significant in that it involved the use of microblogs via internet companies Sina, Sohu, Netease and Weibo, to spread slanderous rumours and was the first case of microblogging defamation in China. The “Southern Weekend Magazine” named it one of the “Top Ten Influential Chinese Litigation Cases” in 2011.
The court awarded Kingsoft RMB 500,000.00 in damages, demanded that Zhou Hongwei immediately take down the microblogs and issue a public apology for seven consecutive days.
Contrary to the first ruling, Yang Damin successfully argued that despite the fact that Zhou Hongwei was not a senior government official, he still had a responsibility to state the facts accurately given his public notoriety and strong public following.
The defamation suit brought against Hongwei was significant in that it involved the use of microblogs via internet companies Sina, Sohu, Netease and Weibo, to spread slanderous rumours and was the first case of microblogging defamation in China. The “Southern Weekend Magazine” named it one of the “Top Ten Influential Chinese Litigation Cases” in 2011.
The court awarded Kingsoft RMB 500,000.00 in damages, demanded that Zhou Hongwei immediately take down the microblogs and issue a public apology for seven consecutive days.
Contrary to the first ruling, Yang Damin successfully argued that despite the fact that Zhou Hongwei was not a senior government official, he still had a responsibility to state the facts accurately given his public notoriety and strong public following.
