Giving full play to its role as a functional court, the Beijing Internet Court (BIC) has been striving to serve digital governance in Beijing and made tangible achievements in 2021.

In 2021, the BIC accepted 55,926 cases and closed 46,005 of them. Each judge closed an average of 1,095 cases, ranking first among the courts in Beijing.

Ⅰ Strengthening rule-oriented cyberspace governance

1. Protection of online cultural products was strengthened by standardizing network communication routes of intellectual property rights and defining the boundaries of fair use of works in accessible film communication, self-media content creation and film and television production, in order to balance protection of copyright owners and communication of their works.

2. Efforts were made to strengthen governance of online platform ecology. A way of identifying sellers and operators under the C2C transaction mode was established. Failure to inform consumers of discrepancies in delivery fees was disapproved to encourage online takeout platforms to improve protection of their users' rights and interests.

3. Work was done to strengthen building of a cyberspace with integrity. The faking of transaction volume was disapproved, with compensation amounts to be based on the faked amount. It was determined that inducing fabricated "likes" from consumers with cash back promises constitutes fraud.

4. Work was done to crack down on illegal online industries. When attempts were made to operate websites illegally by taking advantage of ICP filing loopholes, the website access service providers involved were ruled liable for legal responsibilities. The BIC worked with telecommunications authorities and domain registration institutions to block semi-illegal industrial chains.

Ⅱ Ensuring high-quality justice to safeguard the construction of the capital into a digital economy benchmark city

1. The BIC was among the first partners of the Beijing International Big Data Exchange.

2. The BIC joined the digital economy expert working group of Beijing’s construction of the “two zones” (the demonstration zone for expanding opening- up of the service sector and the pilot free trade zone).

3. The BIC established a research group on data rights and interest protection.

4. The BIC conducted eight seminars on the construction of a “judicial protection chain” regarding data rights and interest protection.

5. The BIC promoted the construction of the "Chang'an chain" ecological alliance. 

Ⅲ Formulating a green cyberspace ecology of a diversified dispute resolution system by upgrading the litigation-source governance model

1. The BIC intensified the e-copyright litigation-source co-governance model and strengthened judicial and administrative coordination with related authorities. It mediated 7,977 non-litigation cases and succeeded in 6,095 of them, a mediation success rate of 88.2 percent. 

2. By copying the e-copyright model, the BIC established a mediation platform to resolve disputes through methods other than litigation, and successfully resolved 4,060 photo-related copyright disputes involving 15 photographers and over 60,000 photos.

3. The BIC also worked to enhance e-copyright dispute resolution efficiency. Focus was placed on the top 20 litigants in 2020’s number of copyright dispute cases and targeted work was carried out. In 2021, only half of them stayed on the top 20 list. The total number of cases filed by the top 10 litigants in terms of litigation volume decreased by 37.85 percent, from 8,437 to 5,250. 

Ⅳ Enhancing people's sense of gain, happiness and security by protecting their rights and interests in cyberspace

1. In a campaign to provide people-centered service, the BIC conducted four rounds of opinion solicitation, with 118 pieces collected. The average waiting time for the judge to pick up the call was reduced to 21 seconds. The time to execute case-related payment was only 2.2 days and the payment execution rate was 99.2 percent.

2. The BIC led the way in improving the online litigation regulation system. A guideline of onus of proof on three types of cases, online shopping disputes, online right infringement disputes and disputes about rights to disseminate information about a work by network was made and delivered to over 1,500 litigants.

3. The network judicial protection of minors was vigorously strengthened. The BIC established the first internet juvenile tribunal in China and released a guideline on strengthening online judicial protection of minors. 

Ⅴ Fostering talents to provide a solid guarantee for the development of the rule of law in the cyberspace

1. Individual role models were selected and promoted nationwide.

2. Aiming to build a "university-like court", the BIC deepened communications and cooperation with law schools at over 10 universities by giving on-campus lectures, attending seminars and forums, and providing online legal publicity programs.