Debate Over IM Add-Ons in China

HONG KONG -- A computer-science instructor's arrest on charges of intellectual-property infringement has sparked a debate about whether a popular application that blocks Web advertisements is fair or foul.

The instructor, Chen Shoufu, 28 years old, created an "add-on" program called Coral QQ that modifies QQ, China's dominant instant-messaging service.

Chinese Internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd. owns QQ, and Mr. Chen's program changes how it's used -- in ways that many users like. Among them, it blocks advertisements, although it also includes some ads and spam from other Web companies as a way to get revenue for itself. It also resolves Internet addresses, pinpointing the computer from which a person is messaging, a feature Tencent offers, but for a fee of 10 yuan ($1.35) a month.

A photo of Chen Shoufu, from his home page, and Coral QQ's logo.

Both QQ and Coral QQ are available as free downloads on the Web. Mr. Chen offers software for download on his Web site, and he includes Tencent QQ, his own Coral QQ add-on and several commercial ads or spamware from other companies.

Mr. Chen created Coral QQ in 2001 when he was a student at the Beijing Institute of Technology, where he now works in the computer center as an instructor.

China has the world's second-biggest Internet market after the U.S., with more than 160 million users, and it is a thriving market for such add-ons. Coral QQ has about 40.6 million users, according to Chinese computer-science publication Pchome.

Tencent first complained to Mr. Chen in late 2002, saying Coral QQ violated its copyright and warning him to stop distributing it. He did. Mr. Chen then devised a noninvasive "patch" on the program -- a separate piece of software -- that would run concurrently with QQ on a user's computer and modify it as the two went humming along. In 2003, he resumed offering Coral QQ.

In 2006, as it became increasingly apparent that Coral QQ was only growing in popularity, Tencent filed a 500,000 yuan ($68,000) lawsuit alleging copyright infringement against Mr. Chen and won a judgment for 100,000 yuan, which Mr. Chen paid. In early August, Tencent complained to the police in Shenzhen, where it has its headquarters, and on Aug. 16 Mr. Chen was detained. Tencent said Mr. Chen was "making illegal profits and infringing on Tencent's copyright."

The confrontation has conferred a minor hero's status on Mr. Chen among China's Web users. Thousands have posted messages on blogs and forums in support of him.

Hong Bo, a widely known Beijing tech blogger who goes by the handle Keso, said in an interview that Tencent's QQ "is bullying Chinese users by monopolizing the market. Coral QQ helped those people, who wanted to use QQ but hated the software, become Tencent users."

Tencent introduced instant messaging in China when the country had just over two million Internet users. Today, QQ users send as many as three billion instant messages a day. But Tencent's dominance of the Chinese messaging market has at times vexed some of the 270 million users the company estimates the service has, including multiple subscriptions, often because of the pop-up ads and service fees.

"We believe that add-ons are not only an infringement on property rights but also a main cause of online safety problems for users," Tencent says. "Our aim is to better protect the users' rights while protecting the company's legal rights."

In a recent episode of a fast-paced legal-cases program called "Case Tracking," broadcast on a Shenzhen satellite-TV station, Liu Haihua of the Shenzhen public-security bureau in Nanshan district, said, "Coral QQ is making illegal profits from copyright infringement and binding in commercial ads. When users install Coral QQ in their computers, these commercials are automatically installed."

The police say the case is under investigation and wouldn't make Mr. Chen, detained in Shenzhen, available for comment.

You Yunting, a noted intellectual-property lawyer in Shanghai, says he is considering defending Mr. Chen and Coral QQ in court. He agrees with the court judgment against Mr. Chen but not with the criminal proceedings.

"He's wrong, but not so bad as to be jailed," Mr. You says.

China's Computer Software Copyright Regulations hold that providing revised software without the express agreement of the copyright owner may cause the provider to be civilly -- or criminally -- liable. There are few Chinese laws or regulations specifically governing add-ons, although add-ons to online games have been prohibited since 2003. As for whether an add-on application constitutes software piracy, Mr. You says it defies definition.

"Intellectual-property protection in China is still complex at this stage," he says.

Write to Juliet Ye at juliet.ye@wsj.com