互联网不兼容行为中“恶意”的解释与认定

The Explanation and Determination of “Bad Faith” in the Act of Unfair Competition of “Bad Faith Incompatibility” on the Intenet

“恶意不兼容”是《反不正当竞争法》2017年修订时确立的互联网新型不正当竞争行为之一。《反不正当竞争法》第12条从行为方式、损害后果和行为表现三个方面确立了“恶意不兼容”的认定标准,其中,“恶意”的判断既是关键也是难点。《反不正当竞争法》对不兼容行为设置“恶意”要求,是为了提高不兼容行为的违法性标准,体现了法律规制的谨慎态度。“恶意”的认定不应放松更不应放弃。可以从认知上的“恶意”与意图上的“恶意”两个方面来解释“恶意”的含义,前者指只有直接故意才可能构成“恶意”,后者指行为人必须存在明确的不当意图。实践中,“恶意”的认定只能基于个案,即通过判断不兼容行为的具体属性、行为人及其竞争对手的行为表现,以客观证据来证明行为人存在“恶意”;必要时“恶意”也可推定,然后由行为人来反证自己不存在“恶意”。

“Bad faith incompatibility” is a new type of act of unfair competition related to the Internet established in the 2017 amendment of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China( AUCL).Art.12 of AUCL establishes the standard of “bad faith incompatibility” from three aspects:means,damage consequences and behavior performance.Among them,the identification of “bad faith” is not only the key but also the difficulty.The requirement of “bad faith” in AUCL represents the high standard of identifying such act of unfair competition and also reflects the cautious attitude of legal regulation.The determination of “bad faith” should not be relaxed,still less should it be abandoned.The meaning of “bad faith” includes “knowing” and “intention”.The former refers to“direct intention”,while the latter refers to the improper intention of the actor.In practice,the determination of “bad faith” can only be based on individual cases and proved by circumstance evidence,mainly examining the performance and extent of incompatibility,the behaviors of the actor and its competitors,etc.When necessary,“bad faith” can also be presumed,and then the actor can prove that he does not have“bad faith”.