Viewing the software ecology, traffic and new battlefields from Tencent's prosecution

China Commercial Daily (Reporter Peng Tingting) Not long ago, Tencent (the subject is Application Treasure) sued vivo in improper competition in Jinan, Shandong. The reason for the prosecution is that vivo restricts the user to download the app from Tencent Application Bao, and let users go to the app store to download the APP in an app stored in the vivo mobile phone. Behind the wind and clouds, a battle for commercial ecology and traffic has intensified.

The origin of traffic for a long time

According to the information of the Jinan Intermediate People's Court, the plaintiff/appellant is Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd., Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., the defendant/the appellant is Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd. Yu Economic Trade Co., Ltd..

This lawsuit is the advantage of Tencent Application Bao vivo using the advantages of the bottom system of the mobile phone. By inserting the pop -up window, text, buttons, setting risk detection and other methods, it is limited to the user's normal download and installation application treasure and the application of the application through the application. Free application stores to download or install applications to obtain more traffic and commercial benefits.

Is the lawsuit against Tencent Application Treasure and whether there are vivo induction users? The reporter called vivo, and Vivo told the China Business Daily reporter that the problem should not be repaid for the time being, and everything is based on the judgment results.

Undoubtedly, in the market pattern of all flowers, everyone wants to share a share. The reason why Tencent and Vivo's lawsuits are in trouble is the entrance attributes of the traffic entrance of the app store, making it a must -have for Tencent and mobile phone manufacturers. Open a certain external link inside WeChat, and the application treasure "jumps out". Searching for "Application Treasure" with Vivo's app store will be used by "warm reminder" to be safe and convenient.

It is precisely because the application market is an important "traffic entry" of APP, and third -party app stores and mobile phone manufacturers' own application stores have begun competition and games. "From the dispute between vivo and Tencent, it can be seen that major brands are competing for market share, which is nothing wrong, but this is not a benign market competition. What Vivo and Tencent are more open and tolerant markets." Chinese texts. "Chinese text. Zhang Dexin, the editor -in -chief of the Tourism Innovation and Entrepreneurship Think Tank Series, told China Business Daily that there are many application channels for Android. Unlike Apple's iOS ecosystem, its App Store is the only application download channel.

In fact, vivo is not the only mobile phone manufacturer to be prosecuted by the application. In the past few years, Tencent has sued the Android manufacturers such as Huawei and OPPO because of the download and installation of application treasures. And vivo was not the first time to be sued by the application. As early as 2017, Tencent Application Bao and vivo had favored the book because of improper competition.

So, under the market that is full of flowers, is it suspected of monopoly on software distribution channels? Meng Bo, executive director of the Digital Economic and Legal Affairs Department of Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, analyzed the reporter of China Business Daily. There are cases that network service providers use technical means to affect user choices. With the consent of other companies, they will In the legally provided network products or services, the act of mandatory target jump, violating the law, disturbing the market competition order, violating consumers' right to know and choice, harming the legitimate rights and interests of other operators, constituting unfair competition Essence

Competition is inevitable

With the rapid development of the Internet industry, the competition of third -party app stores and mobile phone manufacturers' own application stores is inevitable. Application stores not only have a large amount of traffic, but also have real interests. Among them, mobile games are the most typical.

The reporter learned that in the mobile game market, traditional channel vendors such as the application market played an important role in the promotion and distribution links of game products. The joint operation of game manufacturers and mobile terminal manufacturers, third -party application platforms and other channels have always been an important operating model of the gaming industry.

In this mode, game developers operate a game with one or more game channel vendors. The game manufacturer is responsible for game development and testing, online, and channel vendors are responsible for providing game display promotion, download, installation and billing services. When the player completes the payment, the channel dealer will pay the revenue of the game developer. For channel vendors, this is not just as simple as the "pit fee" that has been enjoyed. The platform also needs to invest funds to maintain the game server. For the opponent, the Internet advertising income, including this app pre -installed and applied promotion, has become the source of almost all their advertising revenue.

Many examples can explain that in January 2021, Huawei Game Center announced that it was launched on the entire Tencent game product, which caused a stir. Although the "Glory of the King" in Tencent's game has been restored to the shelves, this also puts the differences between the application of Internet applications and mobile phone manufacturers on the table.

The survival space and value of third -party application stores are indisputable. According to Ai Media Consultation data, the mobile application developers interviewed are more inclined to distribute APPs in the Android Application Mall channel, and the proportion of interviewed developers in the third -party application mall and mobile phone manufacturer application mall accounts for 52.1%and 41.2%, respectively; while Platform openness (63.2%) is the primary consideration of its channel selection.

The reporter learned that many platforms "properly" jumping "traffic hijacking" through the "user agreement" method. The reporter saw on an APP "User Agreement" that the agreement clearly "this software may call a third -party system or support the use or access of users through third -party support, and the results of the use or access are provided by the third party." So, is this type of coercive user protocol valid? Meng Bo told reporters that these clauses that did not negotiate with the other party when the user agreement was reused in order to reuse it was the format terms. Combined with the current case analysis, the key to determining the legal effect of the formats in the network user agreement is whether the network operator has achieved a reasonable prompt obligation stipulated in Article 39 of the Contract Law. In addition, Article 40 of the Contract Law stipulates that the provision of the format clause exempts its responsibilities, aggravate the other party's responsibilities, and eliminate the main rights of the other party, this clause is invalid.

The lawsuit between Tencent and vivo is just the beginning, and there will be many such scenes in the future. If you want to completely break this deadlock, you have to compete from benign.

Benatural software ecology to be constructed

The market is still a big market. According to the "2022 Global Mobile Market Forecast" released by App Annie, the arrival of 2022, smartphones have become the most trusted devices for more users, and users manage and pay their services they depend through smartphones. Mobile devices provide a streamlined, credible and efficient subscription management method, and the data also proves this: For online video applications, user expenditures will reach $ 12 billion, which will double more than 2020.

According to data released by the Prospective Industry Research Institute, global users' expenditure for mobile APP continued to increase. From 2018 to 2021, the number of APPs with an annual expenditure of more than $ 100 million in global users increased significantly. Add nearly 100.

Ai Media Consulting Analysts believe that with the continuous improvement of social informationization and accelerating electronic equipment, mobile phone netizens have continued to grow, and the coverage of all netizens has basically achieved. Essence Often, mobile applications that can register and log in through a simpler, convenient and safe way bring better experience to users.

The big market must require a good industry ecology. Many domestic application stores have ushered in strict screening in the market. The development status of the application store is closely related to the comprehensive strength of the enterprise, including the mobile ecosystem of the company's own terminal and the underlying chip.

"The mobile application market has entered the stage of ecological competition." Ai Media Consulting analysts believe that current mobile applications are almost divided by Internet giants, especially Alibaba and Tencent. There are super app access, and each application is diversion and collaborative. In the future, competition in the mobile application market will be more towards ecological competition among enterprises. Manufacturers that provide users with all -round service will have greater opportunities to promote the growth of other ecological products.

Huang Jiangping, deputy chief worker of the China Software Evaluation Center, suggested that the independent research and development of the integration application of "software definition" should be supported. Data -driven information technology industry changes, accelerate the cross -border integration and innovation development of new generation of information technology, and define hardware and software definition systems through software, bring more new products, services and model innovations, and give birth to new formats and economic growth point. At the same time, it is recommended to support the research and development of independent open source and open technical products in the industry field to form an independent open source ecosystem. First, it can avoid the blockade of technology, improve the level of industry software technology, and promote innovation; the second is that the software can be controlled and controlled to ensure that information security is easier to control; the third is to allow industry software manufacturers Innovate, accelerate its products to further deepen the application in the industry.

The policy level is also standardized. The National Internet Information Office has recently released a new revised "Regulations on the Management of Mobile Internet Application Information Service". There are 27 new rules, including the main responsibility of information content, authentic identity information certification, classification management, industry self -discipline, social supervision and administrative management. The new rules will be implemented from August 1, 2022. The relevant person in charge of the National Internet Information Office said that the amendment to the release of new rules is to further supervise mobile Internet applications in accordance with the law to promote the healthy and orderly development of application information services.

The winning or losing may be due to their respective strength. The judgment of judicial institutions such as Jinan Intermediate People's Court cannot solve the problem once and for all. Regardless of the Android application market, the Apple App Store, or other app stores, the planning and services around the developer's ecology may just start.

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