Data, personal information and virtual assets
Current specialist categories include network-data disputes, online personal-information and privacy disputes, and network virtual-property disputes.
01Position in the system
Current jurisdiction changed in November 2025
Guangzhou Internet Court centrally hears designated first-instance internet cases within Guangzhou that belong at basic-court level. Its official jurisdiction notice applies the Supreme People's Court's revised 2025 rule and identifies nine current categories. It also expressly redirects several categories formerly concentrated in internet courts—including online financial-loan, online copyright, e-commerce product-liability and traditional online personality or property tort claims—to other competent courts under ordinary jurisdiction rules.
What it doesSpecialist internet-case adjudication.
When it mattersSouth China platform and online-contract disputes that fall into the internet-court path.
02Jurisdiction
What this court is designed to hear
Use the court's current notice, not the former 2018 category list, when deciding where to sue.
Online competition and transactions
The scope includes network unfair competition, domain-name cases, specified e-commerce shopping contracts and network-service contracts concluded and performed online.
Regulatory and public-interest proceedings
Specified administrative cases concerning network regulation and internet public-interest litigation brought by procuratorial organs may fall within the court's current remit.
•Process orientation
How the institutional process fits together
A practical orientation based on the institution's published materials; current rules and the arbitration agreement control.
Apply the post-2025 category list
Classify the claim under the current jurisdiction rule and the Guangzhou court's adjustment notice, paying particular attention to categories that moved back to other courts.
Check territorial and level requirements
Establish the Guangzhou connection and basic-level jurisdiction. Review any agreed forum clause for legal validity and actual connection.
Enter through the current service platform
The court's official site points users to its upgraded online litigation service. Check live notices rather than relying on a saved legacy URL.
Submit a complete electronic case file
Provide the complaint, party details, jurisdiction facts, evidence and authorizations in the required form, while retaining source files and originals.
Track procedure and appeal route
Follow directions for mediation, evidence exchange, hearing and service. Appeals ordinarily go to the designated local intermediate court, while matters within a specialist court's remit follow the specialist route.
•Practical scenarios
Questions that change the research route
Use these examples to identify what must be checked before treating the institution as the correct forum.
| Situation | Why it matters | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A Guangzhou-connected dispute concerns network virtual property | Virtual-property ownership, infringement and contract disputes are expressly within the current list | Legal characterization, territorial facts, platform records, account control and relief requested. |
| The claim concerns online copyright infringement | The Guangzhou court's current notice says former concentrated online-copyright categories should be filed in another competent court | Intellectual-property jurisdiction, territorial connecting factors, court level and preservation needs. |
| A platform's standard terms name Guangzhou Internet Court | A jurisdiction agreement may matter for eligible contract or property disputes | Actual connection, incorporation, notice, fairness and standard-term validity requirements. |
03Official resources
Court and procedure resources
Start with primary institutional sources. Verify service links and procedural status before relying on a filing path.
05Related legal concepts
Build the vocabulary around your research
Short, practical definitions for concepts most likely to appear alongside this institution.
01
Research tag
Concentrated jurisdiction
Assignment of specified case categories from across a city to one specialist court.
02
Research tag
Forum agreement
A contractual jurisdiction term whose enforceability depends on governing procedural and standard-term rules.
03
Research tag
Specialist appeal route
An appeal path determined by local intermediate-court designation and any applicable specialist-court jurisdiction.
06Primary sources
How this entry was source-reviewed
The review date describes when the listed primary sources were checked. It is not a guarantee that jurisdiction remains unchanged after that date.
Guangzhou Internet Court official site and jurisdiction noticeCurrent nine-category scope, removed former categories and litigation-service route.
Open source
SPC 2025 Internet Court Jurisdiction ProvisionsCurrent national categories, agreements, designated cases and appeal framework.
Open source
SPC Online Litigation RulesNational framework for online filing, evidence, hearings, service and participant protections.
Open source
Reference boundary
Do not use the superseded 2018 list as a filing checklist.
The current rule narrowed and refocused internet-court jurisdiction from 1 November 2025. Confirm the cause of action, Guangzhou connection, court level, any specialist jurisdiction and the current platform before filing.