Searching for "Huabei" on Baidu leads users to loan services offered by "Yixiaoman" — and now the operator of Huabei, Ant Consumer Finance, along with Ant Group, has taken Baidu's search operator and Yixiaoman to court.
A public notice published by the Haidian District People's Court in Beijing on November 4 shows that Ant Group and Ant Consumer Finance filed suit against Shenzhen Yixiaoman Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. and Beijing Baidu Netcom Science Technology Co., Ltd., with claims of trademark infringement and unfair competition disputes.
Ant argues that Yixiaoman used "Huabei" as a search keyword to place advertisements, and demands that the company cease the relevant conduct and pay a total of 500,000 yuan in economic losses and reasonable expenses, while also demanding that Baidu Netcom bear joint liability.
Ant also asked Baidu to impose restrictions at the advertising placement stage: to stop setting "Huabei" and similar terms such as "Huabei" and "Beihua" as search keywords, and to add "Huabei" to a whitelist so that other parties can no longer use the term to place ads.
On the morning of November 12, a Tencent Finance test on the Baidu App found that when searching for "Huabei," the first result was marked "Official," and clicking it indeed led to the official Huabei promotional page, which stated that "Huabei PC services have been moved to mobile" and included an official QR code.
When searching instead for similar terms such as "Huabei credit limit" or "Huabei borrowing," ads labeled "Shenzhen Kuaiyiman Investment Consulting" appeared near the top of both result pages.
Clicking through, the page displayed in large text "maximum borrowable limit of 200,000 yuan" and offered an "Apply Now" form. At the bottom, it noted that the platform only provides loan consulting and does not directly provide lending services, signed by Shenzhen Kuaiyiman Investment Consulting Co., Ltd.
Tianyancha shows that Liu Jiayou holds 95% of the shares in both Kuaiyiman and the defendant in this case, Shenzhen Yixiaoman Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. Tencent Finance did not see the name of a specific lending institution on the pages viewed during this test.
The "Measures for the Administration of Online Marketing of Financial Products," which took effect on September 30, stipulates that loan product information should be released by financial institutions in their own name, and third-party internet platforms providing marketing services should prominently display the name or relevant identifier of the financial product provider.
Ant previously sued a loan app and won 1 million yuan in the first instance
Records show that Ant Group had previously filed lawsuits over loan apps using identifiers related to "Huabei" and "Jiebei."
A first-instance judgment published on March 26, 2021 showed that Hainan Qingde Big Information Technology Co., Ltd. used identifiers such as "Ant Loan Jiebei" and "Ant Jiebei Loan Huabei" in its loan app name and promotions.
The court found that Hainan Qingde used identifiers similar to the trademarks at issue in the same type of financial services, making it easy for users to mistake the source of the services, thereby infringing Ant Group's exclusive right to use its registered trademarks.
The first-instance court ordered Hainan Qingde to stop the infringement, publish a statement in the app at issue to eliminate the impact, and pay a total of 1 million yuan in economic losses and reasonable rights-protection expenses. The judgment involved three registered trademarks: "Ant Jiebei," "Ant Financial," and "Ant Huabei," with case number (2020) Zhe 8601 Min Chu No. 489.
In the Hainan Qingde case, users could directly see the disputed identifiers when opening the app or viewing promotions. But in this lawsuit, the issue is which ads appear on the results page when users type "Huabei" into the search box.
Search advertising keywords can be used in the backend to trigger promotions. What users see are the ad title, summary, and landing page after clicking, and they usually cannot see the keywords set by the advertiser in the backend.
At present, the notice from the Haidian District People's Court in Beijing has not disclosed the position of the ads in the search results, whether the title contained "Huabei," or which page the ads directed users to.
The two defendants this time are one investment consulting company and one search platform operator. Public business registration information shows that Yixiaoman was established in May 2023 with registered capital of 1.5 million yuan.
Ant argues that Yixiaoman used "Huabei" as a keyword to place advertisements. Regarding Baidu Netcom, Ant hopes the platform will restrict other parties from continuing to use the term "Huabei."
The similar terms "Huabei" and "Beihua" listed in the notice are examples cited by the plaintiff in its claims against Baidu Netcom. The notice currently does not disclose exactly which similar terms Yixiaoman had set.
Searching "Huabei credit limit" still puts a loan consulting ad first
On the morning of November 12, Tencent Finance searched for "Huabei" on the Baidu App. The first result carried a blue "Official" label, with the page showing the source as "Alipay rendered page," followed by content such as Baidu Baike.
It then searched for "Beihua," and the top of the results page was Baidu AI-generated content, which mentioned this lawsuit. Within the screenshots of both searches, no third-party loan ads appeared.
During the same period, when searching for the similar terms "Huabei credit limit" and "Huabei borrowing," the first result was titled "Formal borrowing - borrow with just an ID card - instant arrival."
The ad body introduced online consulting services for multiple loan products, with a "Book Now" button on the page and labels at the bottom reading "Shenzhen Kuaiyiman Investment Consulting" and "Ad."
In the visible content of this ad, no specific loan product name or actual lending institution name appeared. Scrolling further down, another ad labeled "Donglan County Hongcheng Microfinance" appeared in the search results, with the title "Apply with an ID card, funds arrive in as fast as one minute."
Between the two ads, the "Related Searches" section also listed search terms such as "5000 loan without review and direct disbursement" and "small loans that must be approved."
When searching for "Huabei borrowing," Baidu prompted, "Did you mean 'Huabei borrowing'?" Below the prompt, the first result was an ad for a "7-day short-term loan," also labeled "Shenzhen Kuaiyiman Investment Consulting," with copy saying "apply with just one ID card."
After Tencent Finance clicked into the ad promotion entry, the top of the page indicated a "maximum borrowable limit of 200,000 yuan," and noted that the specific limit would be subject to actual approval. The process listed on the page included filling in information, limit approval, and loan withdrawal.
The form required a name, mobile phone number, and city, and asked users to select the desired limit. The qualification section allowed multiple selections, including owning commercial housing, having a housing provident fund, or paying social insurance. Above the submit button was a link to the "Personal Information Authorization and Privacy Policy."
The lower part of the page said it could provide "multiple loan plans from partner financial institutions," and the footer stated that "this platform only provides loan consulting and does not directly provide lending services," identifying Shenzhen Kuaiyiman Investment Consulting Co., Ltd.
Tencent Finance did not see the specific names of partner financial institutions on the page viewed this time, and the entity that opened the account for the specific loan platform involved in the ad could not yet be determined.
A Tencent Finance check of Tianyancha found that "Shenzhen Kuaiyiman Investment Consulting Co., Ltd." and the defendant listed in the court notice, "Shenzhen Yixiaoman Investment Consulting Co., Ltd.," are controlled by the same person. Liu Jiayou holds 95% of both companies and serves as executive director and general manager of both.
Both companies were established in 2023. Kuaiyiman was formerly named Shenzhen Silaier Trading Co., Ltd., with registered capital of 1.1 million yuan. Yixiaoman was formerly named Longyuqian (Shenzhen) Trading Co., Ltd., with registered capital of 1.5 million yuan.
Both companies list microfinance business in their registered business scope, but whether they have actually obtained the corresponding business license still needs verification.
After the "930" new rules, ads should clearly state who is lending
The "Measures for the Administration of Online Marketing of Financial Products," effective from September 30, include internet promotion of financial products or financial institution business brands and the provision of transfer channels for purchasing financial products within the scope of online marketing of financial products.
If a search ad involves loan promotion, there are corresponding requirements for the ad copy, the display of the financial institution's name, and the transfer page after clicking.
Article 10 of the Measures prohibits the use of inducement phrases such as "low threshold" and "instant arrival." In the ads seen in Tencent Finance's test, "borrow with just an ID card" and "apply with just one ID card" highlighted the application threshold, while "instant arrival" and "funds arrive in as fast as one minute" highlighted disbursement speed. These expressions point in a similar direction to the prohibited wording listed in the Measures.
Article 5 of the Measures requires that third-party internet platforms providing services for online marketing of financial products should accept entrustment from financial institutions in accordance with the law, must not exceed the scope of entrustment, and must not subcontract or disguisedly subcontract.
Article 24 stipulates that third-party platforms should prominently display the name or relevant identifier of the financial product provider. For those providing online marketing services for loan products, product information should be released by financial institutions in their own name.
In the test, the first ad for "Huabei credit limit" showed the name of a consulting company, and within the visible range did not show which financial institution provided the loan product. After clicking into the detail page, it only showed a form for users to fill in loan application information, and the bottom only noted the consulting company's name.
On October 31, the National Internet Finance Association of China released "Q&A on Implementing the Measures for the Administration of Online Marketing of Financial Products (Part One)," using "Huabei" and "Jiebei" as examples to explain brand isolation requirements.
Ant Consumer Finance may use these two brands to promote the loan services it provides. Other financial institutions cooperating with entities related to Ant Group may not use these two brands to promote their own loans.
When third-party platforms conduct online marketing for partner financial institutions, they should prominently display the type of financial product, product name, and financial institution name. From the promotion page to the application page, Article 5 of the Measures also provides that if a third-party platform provides consumers with a transfer channel to purchase financial products, it should jump to the financial institution's proprietary platform.
The ad clicked by Tencent Finance this time directed users to a page that attracted them to fill in information with the promise of a "maximum borrowable limit of 200,000 yuan," and defined its own service at the bottom as loan consulting.
When the Haidian District People's Court published the notice, the Measures had already been in effect for more than a month. The notice did not disclose the specific placement time of the ads at issue, nor whether the plaintiff cited the Measures. Ant's request for Baidu to set a whitelist for "Huabei" advertising keywords still awaits further court review.