Recently, 8848's declaration to sue the "clone" website 8848.net.cn has become a topic of great debate in China's e-commerce industry, with views differing quite dramatically.

Some say that 8848 took legal action simply because it couldn't stand being cloned any more, while others maintain that 8848 is making a fuss over nothing, as the only thing the defendant has in common is a similar logo. At the same time, there are those who believe that 8848 is using this is as an opportunity to promote itself.

All in all, the case is quite confusing, not least because 8848 took this action five years after the cloned website was established. 8848 itself has claimed to be distressed by claims that this lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt at self promotion, arguing that says it just wants to focus all attention on its business, rather of dealing with the complaints of consumers who are confused about the cloned website.

In its lawsuit, 8848 has requested that the defendant halt all inappropriate behavior including ceasing to use www.8848.net.cn, trademarks similar to those of 8848, and the like. The case will be heard in the coming days.

As the first e-commerce website in mainland China, 8848 was established on May 18, 1999. It owns www.8848.net, www.8848.com, a series of trademarks, logos as well as copyright permission. www.8848.net.cn was established on September 1, 1999. Despite the slight difference in domain names, the two do bear resemblances not only in appearance, but also in services.