中文 | English
1、什么是微信?
微信(即“Weixin”)是腾讯公司于2011年1月21日推出的一款基于移动互联网的应用程序。其主要功能是为用户提供免费的即时通讯服务,支持跨通信运营商、跨操作系统平台通过网络快速发送免费语音短信、视频、图片和文字。同时,微信通过共享流媒体内容的资料和基于位置的社交插件,如“朋友圈”、“公众平台”、“摇一摇”、“漂流瓶”等服务和功能向用户提供更为丰富的平台应用体验。同时,微信公众平台用户(微信公众帐号)可以依托平台功能向关注用户群发信息,实现对于信息的获取、分享和传播。因此,微信客户端兼具即时通讯工具和信息发布平台的双重法律属性,微信公众平台则是信息发布平台。而腾讯公司作为微信的开发运营商,是法律定义的“网络服务提供者”。
微信具有极为广泛的用户群体,根据统计,截至2017年11月,微信和WeChat(海外版同类应用程序)的合并月活跃账户数达到9.8亿 ,月活动公众号350万个,而公众号月活跃关注用户数为7.97亿,小程序已覆盖国民经济20个行业大类,200多个行业细分类目。
为给予用户良好的使用体验以及对用户隐私予以充分尊重和保护,微信秉持克制的设计理念和不骚扰用户的原则, 并将这些理念和原则贯穿在产品的方方面面,如:用户有完全的权限可以决定其他人可以通过何种方式将其添加为好友;可以选择关闭或者打开绝大多数“发现”栏目中的功能,包括广受喜爱的“朋友圈”功能;软件使用用户的数据会主动提前获得授权或者进行提示;朋友圈内容默认仅对陌生人展示十条、非共同的联系人点赞和评论不可见、不支持公开搜索等设置也体现了对于用户隐私根本性的尊重。
2、什么是微信品牌维权平台(BPP)?
微信品牌维权平台(BPP)是将用户举报的仿冒信息与具有鉴假能力的品牌方(即商标权利人)有效对接的仿冒信息打击媒介,其设立目的是为了尽最大可能保障品牌方的合法权益,突破即时通讯工具服务性质带来的侵权线索发现和侵权鉴别的瓶颈,引入微信用户、品牌方和微信一起共同对仿冒类侵权行为予以有力打击。
微信日常通过后台系统对用户提交的仿冒信息举报进行分类汇总,成功接入该平台的品牌方可以获得平台推送的与该品牌相关的仿冒信息举报线索,品牌方通过其专业的鉴别能力鉴别核实有关举报是否属实并通过微信品牌维权平台(BPP)反馈给微信,微信根据品牌方的鉴定结论及反馈对涉及仿冒信息的侵权微信帐号予以处置,并将处置结果通知用户和品牌方。
3、微信品牌维权平台(BPP)是否可以让品牌方一站式处理微信平台上涉及的所有侵权投诉?
微信品牌维权平台(BPP)的建立主要针对部分用户利用微信的即时通讯功能(主要是朋友圈)发布仿冒信息的侵权行为予以打击,目前该平台接受针对微信个人号发布仿冒/售假信息方面的侵权投诉,助力对品牌方商标权益的保护。
4、品牌方商标权以外的知识产权(如版权、专利等)或其他权益(名誉权、肖像权等)在微信平台上被侵犯,该如何进行维权?
微信品牌维权平台(BPP)聚焦于承接针对微信个人号商标权相关的投诉(如朋友圈发布仿冒信息),但微信已经建立起了全面、便捷的线上侵权投诉系统,覆盖微信公众帐号、个人帐号和小程序。为便于广大权利人及微信用户,投诉入口已经整合放置于微信安全中心(
https://weixin110.qq.com)的“举报维权”栏目下,如涉及其他权益被侵犯或非法内容等,可以通过一般侵权投诉系统根据相应的指引发起投诉。
5、微信品牌维权平台(BPP)是否开放给所有品牌方接入使用?
为确保品牌维权平台(BPP)侵权打击及品牌保护的力度及有效性,保证品牌方鉴假能力的专业性以及准确率,微信会综合考虑下述情况对申请接入的品牌方予以审核,最终审核结果请以平台邮件通知为准。
申请接入的品牌方必需:
1) 为中国境内注册商标合法持有人;
2) 配备处理品牌维权事宜的专业团队并指定专门接口人;
3) 有在微信平台(个人号系统)维权的必要性,即品牌方商标权益在微信平台个人号系统上被侵犯的事实(品牌方可提供相应的分析报告供审核人员参考)。
如果品牌方具备下述条件,可能有利于您通过审核:
1) 品牌在中国境内具有较大影响力,如品牌的市场占有率,品牌忠诚度和全球领导力较强;
2)品牌方参与了相关的品牌、知识产权保护组织;
3)为中国驰名商标合法持有人。
若发现申请接入的品牌方非以品牌维权为目的申请接入平台的,如恶意投诉竞争对手,滥用微信品牌维权平台(BPP)进行品牌宣传等,微信将驳回品牌方的申请。
6、品牌方如何申请接入微信品牌维权平台(BPP)?
品牌方需先按照
《微信品牌维权平台接入指引》的要求提交申请材料,待微信团队审核通过后方可接入微信品牌维权平台(BPP)。
品牌方主要提供以下材料:
1) 品牌方资质文件,包括企业营业执照、商标注册文件;
2) 指定代理/接口人信息、身份证明文件以及合法有效的授权书;
3) 品牌方要求微信进行处理的声明书。
如上述文件涉及中国境外机构出具的文件,须经公证机构公证及我国驻该国大使馆或领事馆认证。
7、海外品牌方可否申请接入微信品牌维权平台(BPP)?
只要海外品牌方在中国境内有合法的商标权益,同样依照
《微信品牌维权平台接入指引》提交接入申请,惟涉及中国境外机构出具的文件,须经公证机构公证及我国驻该国大使馆或领事馆进行认证,如授权书、主体及权利证明文件等。
8、品牌方接入申请通过后,如何登录微信品牌维权平台(BPP)进行操作?
品牌方审核通过后,品牌名称将会出现在用户发起仿冒信息投诉时的品牌清单中,微信用户针对被仿冒的品牌发起的投诉信息会直接发给相应的品牌方予以鉴定。已接入平台的品牌方可通过授权登录的个人微信号扫码登录进处理后台,对收到的投诉线索予以鉴定,然后决定是否向微信发送侵权通知。
9、品牌方没有接入微信品牌维权平台(BPP),是否可以对微信平台上的仿冒侵权行为进行维权?
微信品牌维权平台(BPP)是拓宽品牌方获取侵权线索的一个额外途径,若品牌方没有或仍未接入该平台,但发现微信平台上(包括个人号朋友圈、公众号、小程序等)存在侵犯行为,仍可以通过一般侵权投诉系统发起投诉。
10、品牌方是否可以委托代理进行微信品牌维权平台(BPP)的维权事宜?
品牌方可自行或委托代理进行微信品牌维权平台(BPP)的维权事宜。微信将根据品牌方递交的授权文件及声明书审核品牌方侧维权事宜的接口人,并依此对品牌方授权的平台接入个人微信号配备相应的权限。
但品牌方应至少提供一位本单位员工作为联系人,同时申请材料如声明书等须以品牌方名义作出。
11、品牌方接入微信品牌维权平台(BPP)后有没有渠道查看微信用户的朋友圈以获取仿冒信息和线索?
如前述对微信产品及功能的介绍,朋友圈带有隐私性,不支持公开搜索。微信品牌维权平台(BPP)正是为了解决这一产品特点所带来的发现线索的困难而设计,品牌方可以通过微信用户对朋友圈上发布仿冒信息的投诉获得侵权信息和线索。
12、品牌方对用户提交的侵权线索进行鉴定后,微信会如何处理?
微信认可品牌方对自身产品鉴定的权威性,作为中立的平台提供方,微信会履行平台的合理审查义务,根据品牌方提交的鉴定结果及相应的侵权证据进行审核,然后依据法律法规以及微信平台规则作出处理决定。
13、品牌方就侵权线索作出鉴定后,若被投诉人对售假/侵权的鉴定结论有异议,微信会如何处理?
若被投诉人对品牌方的投诉存在异议的,申诉人可根据
《申诉指引》向微信提出申诉,微信会对申诉进行形式审核,如不符合申诉指引要求的予以驳回;若符合申诉指引要求,微信作为中立的平台提供方,会依照相关法律法规的规定进行处理,并在合法的情形下将申诉人的通知书转送给品牌方。
若品牌方不认可申诉人的申诉,微信会将品牌方提供的相关证明材料转送给申诉人,若申诉人对于品牌方的意见及其提供的相关材料仍有异议的,微信建议申诉人和品牌方另行通过行政投诉、诉讼等方式直接和品牌方解决相关问题。
14、若被投诉用户被确认售假/侵权,微信的处罚手段及处罚规则是什么?
对于确认侵权的微信帐号,微信会根据其侵权行为、情节的严重程度,依照法律法规以及
《腾讯微信软件许可及服务协议》《微信个人帐号使用规范》等用户服务协议及使用规范,对相关内容进行删除、屏蔽,并对违规帐号处以包括但不限于警告、限制或禁止使用部分或全部功能、帐号封禁直至注销的处罚,并公告处理结果。
15、品牌方若对用户提交的侵权投诉及线索没有足够的证据鉴定产品的合法性,微信会如何处理?
如果根据用户提供的线索及证据品牌方无法鉴别是否有合法来源,品牌方可在后台中标记“挂起”,待收集更多信息/证据后反馈鉴定结论,对于该反馈结果微信暂不会对被投诉用户作出处理。
16、若品牌方确认微信用户发布仿冒信息,是否可以向微信申请协助提供侵权微信用户的相关信息,如联系电话、地址等,以作进一步作线下调查打击?
微信作为即时通讯工具和信息发布的社交平台提供者,尊重并保护用户的隐私是微信秉持的理念及原则。非经用户同意或遵守相关法律法规的要求或响应法律程序的情况,微信不会随意向第三方披露用户信息。
若涉及到微信上的个人资料等证据调取,品牌方需提供相应的司法/政府调查协助函按照腾讯内部司法协助流程申请协助。
17、除了通知-删除规则,品牌方可否向微信申请将注册商标作为内容信息发布关键词予以拦截,对品牌方进行主动保护?
微信主要功能是即时通讯工具及信息发布社交平台,用户良好的使用体验以及对用户言论自由、个人隐私的尊重与保护是微信在产品层面开展第三方权益保护的出发点和基础。微信朋友圈内容是半公开带有隐私性质的,因此微信不会主动进行关键词拦截;而且从实际操作上看,对信息内容关键词拦截也是一把双刃剑,与品牌相关的关键词的使用场景多样化,无法一刀切,否则会严重影响用户对微信产品的合法合理使用。
但是在微信的其他平台如公众平台,小程序中,我们有推行账号/名称关键词保护机制。
18、基于微信个人号聊天及朋友圈内容的私密性,品牌方有时候难以固定侵权证据,品牌方如何可以提高鉴定反馈的准确率?
品牌方(权利人)要求微信(网络服务提供商)履行法律规定的“通知-删除”义务时,需提供明确的侵权通知及初步的侵权证据。故为提高品牌方鉴定反馈的准确率,建议品牌方对用户提交的投诉线索做出专业可靠的鉴定结论作为侵权通知的证据材料,如:
1)提供被投诉产品的正品比对图,从产品自身版型、设计、材质、做工、包装等客观方面,明确提供仿冒品和正品间的区别;
2)通过加好友等方式,对被投诉帐号/产品获取自认仿冒、售假等方面的证据,但注意证据需显示被投诉帐号的名称/头像等信息以及涉及侵权的品牌名称/特定产品等。
中文 | English
1. What is Weixin?
Weixin is a mobile internet-based application launched by Tencent on January 21, 2011. Its main function is to provide free instant messaging services, which allows instant sending of voice messages, videos, pictures and texts using a mobile network across telecom operators and cross-operating system platforms. Furthermore, Weixin provides users with a richer social platform application experience through services and functions such as “Moments”, “Shake”, “Message in a Bottle”, based on sharing of media content and various location-based social networking plug-ins. Simultaneously, users of Weixin’s Official Platform (Weixin Official Accounts) can rely on the functions of Weixin Official Platform to send information to its followers, allowing them to receive, share and disseminate information. Therefore, Weixin App has the dual legal attributes of being an instant messaging tool and an information-publishing platform, with the Official Platform being the information-publishing platform. As the developer and operator of Weixin, Tencent is defined by law to be a “Internet Service Provider”.
Weixin has an extremely wide user base. According to statistics, as of November 2017, Weixin and WeChat (the overseas version of Weixin) have combined 980 million monthly active user accounts, 3.5 million monthly active official accounts with 779 million active users following the official accounts. Launched mini programs cover 20 major industries and more than 200 sub-categories of sectors of the national economy.
In order to give users a good experience and fully respect and protect the privacy of users, Weixin adheres to the design concept of restraint and the principle of not harassing users, and these concepts and principles are embedded in all aspects of the product: users have full authority in deciding how others can add them as friends ; they can choose to deactivate or activate most of the features found in the Discover section, including the popular "Moments" feature; Weixin will seek authorization from users or prompt the user before using any user data; by default only the latest ten pieces of contents posted in “Moments” are shown to strangers, likes and comments from non-mutual contacts will not be seen, and settings that do not support open searches also reflect the fundamental respect for user privacy.
2. What is Weixin’s Brand Protection Platform (BPP)?
Weixin’s Brand Protection Platform (BPP) is an anti-counterfeiting platform that effectively links information of counterfeiting reported by users with the brand owners (right holder of the trademark) who have capability of authentication. The purpose of the platform is to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the brand owner to the greatest extent possible, to address the bottleneck of infringement identification caused by the service nature of instant messaging tools and social platforms, allowing Weixin users, brand owners and Weixin being able to jointly combat releasing or disseminating counterfeiting information and trademark infringements.
Weixin routinely collects and summarizes counterfeit information submitted by users through the back-end system. Registered brand owners may receive the reports related to their brand from the platform. Brand owners shall authenticate and verify the submitted reports with professional identification capability and give feedback to Weixin through Weixin’s Brand Protection Platform (BPP). Weixin will dispose of the infringement account involving counterfeit information according to the brand owner's conclusion and feedback, and notify the user and brand owner of the disposal result.
3. Can Weixin’s Brand Protection Platform (BPP) allow brand owners to handle all infringement complaints on Weixin’s platform?
The establishment of the Brand Protection Platform (BPP) aimes to fight against infringement of releasing counterfeit information by certain users using Weixin’s instant messaging function (mainly “Moments”). Currently, the platform accepts infringement complaints against Weixin personal accounts about releasing or disseminating counterfeit information, and helps to protect brand owner’s trademark rights and interest.
4. Intellectual property rights other than trademark rights (such as copyrights, patents, etc.) or other rights (such as reputation rights, portrait rights, etc.) are infringed on the Weixin platform. How are these rights protected?
The Brand Protection Platform (BPP) focuses on complaints against Weixin personal account related to trademark rights (such as releasing of counterfeit information in Moments), however Weixin has established a comprehensive and convenient infringement complaint e-system, covering Weixin official accounts, personal accounts and mini programs. In order to facilitate the extensive rights holders and Weixin users, the portal of the infringement complaint system has been integrated into the “Reporting and Rights Protection” section of the Weixin Security Center (
https://weixin110.qq.com). When other rights are infringed, or illegal contents are involved, users can complain through the infringement complaint e-system in accordance with the appropriate guidelines.
5. Is the Brand Protection Platform (BPP) open to all brand owners to apply for registration?
In order to ensure the strength and effectiveness of the crackdown on infringement and the protection of brand owner’s rights and interests, and to ensure the professionalism and accuracy of the brand owner's ability to verify the counterfeit item, Weixin will comprehensively consider the following circumstances to review the brand owner that applies for access. Weixin will notify brand owner the evaluation result of their application through the platform’s email service.
The brand owner applying for access must:
1) Be the legal holder of a registered trademark in China;
2) Be equipped with a professional team dealing with brand protection and designate a special correspondent;
3) Have necessity of defending trademark rights on the Weixin platform (personal account system), that is there being infringement violating trademark rights of the brand owner on the Weixin personal account system (the brand owner can provide the corresponding analysis report for application).
Brand owners with the following conditions may find it easier to pass the review:
1) The brand has great influence in China considering the significant market share, brand loyalty and global leadership;
2) The brand owner participates in relevant brand and intellectual property protection organizations;
3) The brand owner is the legal holder of one of China's well-known trademarks.
If it is found that the brand owner that is not applying to access the platform for the purpose of brand protection but for purposes such as to make malicious complaints against competitors or to abuse the Brand Protection Platform (BPP) for brand promotion etc., Weixin will reject such application.
6. How does a brand owner apply to access Weixin’s Brand Protection Platform (BPP)?
The brand owner must first submit the application materials in accordance with the requirements of the
《Access Guidelines for Weixin Brand Protection Platform》; brand owner may only access the Weixin Brand Protection Platform (BPP) upon the Weixin team’s approval.
The brand owner will need to provide the following materials for application:
1) Brand owner qualification documents, including business licenses and trademark registration documents;
2) Specific agent/corresponding contact person information including identity documents and lawful power of attorney;
3) The declaration stating that the brand owner requires Weixin to process their materials.
If the above documents include documents issued by institutions outside China, they must be notarized by a public notary and authenticated by the Chinese embassy or consulate in that country.
7. Can overseas brand owners apply to access Weixin’s Brand Protection Platform (BPP)?
As long as the overseas brand owner has legal trademark rights in China, it can submit the application for access according to the
《Access Guidelines for Weixin Brand Protection Platform》. However, documents issued by institutions outside China must be notarized by a public notary and authenticated by the Chinese embassy or consulate in that country, such as a power of attorney, identity and qualification documents.
8. After the brand owner’s access application is approved, how do they log in to Weixin’s Brand Protection Platform (BPP) and operate it?
After the brand owner’s application has been approved, the brand name will appear in the brand list when a user initiates the counterfeit information complaint. The complaint information initiated by the Weixin user for the counterfeit information will be directly sent to the corresponding brand owner to be authenticated. The brand owner that has access to the platform can log into the processing back-end system by scanning QR code of the login portal with the authorized Weixin account, and identify the reported infringement clues, and then decide whether to send the infringement notification to Weixin.
9. If the brand does not have access to the Brand Protection Platform (BPP), can it still protect itself against counterfeiting and infringement on the Weixin platform?
Weixin’s Brand Protection Platform (BPP) is an additional way to broaden the brand owner's access to infringement information. If a brand owner without access to the BPP finds that there are infringements on Weixin platform (including Moments, official accounts, mini programs, etc.), the brand owner can still lodge the complaint against the infringement account through the infringement complaint e-system.
10. Can the brand owner entrust an agent to defend their rights on the Weixin Brand Protection Platform (BPP)?
The brand owner can independently or entrust an agent to carry out the protection of their rights on the Weixin Brand Protection Platform (BPP). Weixin will review the power of the agent according to the submitted authorization documents and declarations, and will accordingly grant access to the personal account with corresponding authority.
However, the brand owner shall provide at least one employee of the brand owner as the contact person, and the application materials such as the declaration form shall be issued in the name of the brand owner.
11. Is there any channel for brand owner having access to the Weixin Brand Protection Platform (BPP) to view the Weixin users' Moments to obtain counterfeit information and clues?
As mentioned above in the introduction of Weixin products and functions, the Moments comes with a privacy setting that does not support open searches. The Weixin Brand Protection Platform (BPP) is designed to solve the difficulties in discovering the infringement clues caused by the product feature. The brand owner can obtain infringement information and clues through the Weixin users' report.
12. After the brand owner authenticating the infringement clues submitted by Weixin user, how will Weixin handle it?
Weixin recognizes the authoritativeness of brand owner to authenticate its own products. As a neutral platform provider, Weixin will fulfill the platform's reasonable review obligations to review the authentication results submitted by the brand owner and the corresponding infringement evidences, and will take relevant measures against infringement accounts in compliance with the laws and regulations as well as the Weixin platform’s regulations.
13. If the reported user is in dispute with the brand owner’s conclusion of the authentication on counterfeiting information, what will Weixin do?
If the reported user has any objection to the complaint of the brand owner, the reported user may file appeal materials as required and notify Weixin according to the
《Appeal Guidelines》. Weixin will conduct a formal review of the appeal, and if it does not meet the requirements of the Appeal Guidelines, it shall be rejected; As a neutral platform provider, upon receiving the notice conforming to the Appeal Guidelines from the appellant, Weixin will deal with it according to the relevant laws and regulations, and will forward the appeal notice to the brand owner in the circumstances complying with the requirements of the laws and regulations.
If the brand owner has objection to the appeal, Weixin will forward the relevant supporting materials provided by the brand owner to the appellant. If appellant is still in dispute with the brand owner's opinions and related supporting materials, Weixin recommends the appellant and the brand owner directly solve their problems through administrative actions, litigation and/or other ways.
14. If the user being reported is confirmed to be an infringer, what penalties will Weixin place on them?
For the Weixin account that is confirmed to be an infringer, Weixin will review the seriousness of the infringement, and take measures against the infringement accounts, including removing the infringing content, warnings, restrictions or prohibition of using part or all of functions of Weixin, and even block or withdrawal of the account, in accordance with the laws and regulations as well as the user service agreements and usage specifications such as the
《Agreement on Software License and Service of Tencent Weixin》and the
《Weixin Personal Account Usage Specification》. Weixin will also announce the penalties.
15. If the brand owner has no sufficient evidence to prove the illegality of the product contained in the infringement complaints and clues submitted by the users, how will Weixin handle it?
If the brand owner cannot identify whether there is illegality according to the clues and evidence provided by the user, the brand owner can mark the product as “suspended” in the back-end system, and Weixin will not take measures against such reported account until the brand owner collects more information/evidence and feedbacks the evaluation conclusion to Weixin.
16. If the brand owner confirms that the Weixin users have posted counterfeit information, can they seek Weixin’s help to provide relevant information about the infringing Weixin users, such as contact numbers, addresses, etc. for further offline investigations?
Weixin, as a social networking platform for instant messaging tools and information dissemination, respects and protects the privacy of users: this is part of the philosophy and principles of Weixin. Weixin will not disclose user information to any third parties unless obtaining user’s consent or complying with the relevant laws and regulations or as required by legal proceedings.
If it involves Weixin’s assistance in evidence obtaining, such as personal information of Weixin users, the brand owner shall provide the investigation assistance order issued by corresponding judicial/governmental authorities and apply for assistance according to Tencent's internal procedure.
17. In addition to the Notice and Take down, can the brand owner apply to have the registered trademark blocked within the releasing content as proactive protection strategy?
The main function of Weixin is as an instant messaging tool and information-publishing social platform. The user's good experience, the respect and protection of users' freedom of speech and personal privacy are the starting point and foundation for Weixin to protect third party’s rights at the product level. The content of Weixin’s Moments is with privacy nature, Weixin will not actively carry out keyword interception or blocking; and from a practical point of view, keyword interception and blocking of information content is a double-edged sword: considering manifold usage scenarios of keyword relating to registered trademarks, simply blocking will seriously affect the legitimate and reasonable use of Weixin products.
However, we have implemented account name’s keyword protection mechanism on other platforms such as Weixin Official Platform and mini programs.
18. Based on the privacy of Weixin personal account conversations and the content of the Moments, it is sometimes difficult for the brand owner to locate the evidence of infringement. How can the brand owner improve the accuracy of authentication conclusion?
When the brand owner (as the right holder) requests Weixin (as the Internet Service Provider) to fulfill the “notification and take down” obligation stipulated by law, it must provide clear notice of infringement and preliminary evidence of infringement. Therefore, in order to improve the accuracy of the brand owner's notice of infringement, it is recommended that the brand owner makes professional and reliable authentication conclusions on the complaint clues submitted by the user as evidence materials of the infringement, such as:
1)To provide an authentic comparison of the products being complained and clearly distinguish the difference between counterfeit goods and genuine products from the objective aspects such as product type, design, material, workmanship and packaging etc.;
2) To obtain evidence of releasing counterfeit information for the account/product being reported by adding friends etc., specifically the evidence showing the name/profile photo of the account being complained against, and the brand name/specific product involved in the infringement.