Interpretation of Typical Cases from the Beijing High People's Court: How Live Streaming Revenue and Digital Collections Can Be Enforced

A recent enforcement case reported by the Beijing Higher People's Court has attracted widespread attention.

Authors: Xu Qian, Jin Weilin, Mankiw Blockchain Legal Services

A recent enforcement case reported by the Beijing Higher People's Court has attracted widespread attention. This case explicitly includes online virtual assets such as livestream revenue and digital collectibles within the scope of assets eligible for enforcement . This judicial practice provides an innovative approach to solving the "difficulty in enforcement."

Case Study: From "No Assets Available for Execution" to Successfully Seizing 200,000 Yuan in Live Streaming Revenue

After a contract dispute case between a certain industrial company and Mr. Wang entered the enforcement procedure, the court, through the investigation and control system, found that Mr. Wang had no traditional assets available for enforcement, such as real estate, vehicles, or bank deposits, and the enforcement procedure was temporarily terminated.

The applicant later discovered a lead: Wang had been engaged in diamond sales and promotion activities on a certain live-streaming platform for a long time, possessing a fixed account and income. This lead was submitted to the Beijing Court's "Execution Property Lead Transfer Center" and quickly transferred to the Fengtai District People's Court of Beijing.

After verifying the situation, the court issued a "Notice of Assistance in Execution" to the platform operating company, legally freezing and seizing approximately 200,000 yuan of live-streaming earnings from Wang's account . After the funds were received, both parties reached a settlement agreement to offset the remaining debt with future live-streaming sales commissions in installments. The successful handling of this case provides a workable model for handling similar new types of property enforcement cases.

Case Review: Standards for the Recognition and Enforcement Basis of Virtual Property

Virtual property on the internet possesses the dual attributes of " virtuality " and " property ": the former determines the uniqueness of its existence and enforcement path, while the latter constitutes the legal basis for its status as liable property.

1. Virtuality

Unlike traditional property, the "virtual nature" of online virtual property is manifested in three core elements:

• Intangible : It is not a physical object in the physical world, but a virtual object that exists in cyberspace. In essence, it is an electromagnetic record stored in a specific server.
• Dependence on space : It depends on cyberspace for its existence. Its creation, use and even transactions cannot be separated from the Internet. Once it is separated from the network platform, it loses its basis for existence.
• Property value is unstable : its economic value is usually recognized only within a specific group. For example, equipment in a particular online game has property value for the player of that game, but it does not have corresponding property value for other entities who have no contact with the game.

Legal basis:

Article 127 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates: "Where the law provides for the protection of data and virtual property on the internet, such provisions shall apply." This article clarifies the legal protection status of data and virtual property on the internet in the basic civil law.

2. Property Attributes

Despite its virtual nature, online virtual property possesses the three core characteristics of property, and therefore falls under the category of liable property:

• Value : It has objective economic value or market transaction price.
• Disposability : It can be possessed, used, and disposed of by the right holder.
• Liquidity : It can be converted into monetary funds through transactions, auctions, etc.

Therefore, virtual property possessing the aforementioned attributes is considered liable property, and courts may take enforcement measures against it in accordance with the law.

Scope of application: Which virtual assets might be "listed"?

In judicial practice, the types of virtual assets that can be enforced are constantly expanding:

1. Digital assets : such as digital collectibles (NFTs), etc.

2. Accounts and Virtual Items : Self-media accounts with high commercial value (such as Douyin, WeChat official accounts, etc.); gift-giving on live streaming platforms; high-level game accounts and rare equipment; valuable domain names.

3. Rights to income and management : Operating rights of online platform stores; membership rights with property attributes, etc.

4. Data assets : databases, customer information assets, etc., that are legally held by enterprises and have commercial value.

The criteria for judgment are as stated in the previous point: whether it has a clear property value, whether it can be effectively controlled, and whether it can be legally valued and realized.

Case Study Extension: Exploring Diversified Implementation Methods

Based on the aforementioned property attributes, in addition to the case mentioned at the beginning of this article, judicial practice has explored several other effective enforcement paths:

1. Direct auction for monetization

The Linshui County People's Court of Sichuan Province publicly auctioned a top-level gaming account belonging to a judgment debtor on a judicial auction platform. The account was ultimately sold for 213,000 yuan, successfully realizing its value. [(2025) Chuan 1623 Zhi 961]

2. Debt settlement in kind

In the labor dispute case between Zhou and a certain trading company in Zhuzhou, after negotiation, the applicant agreed to accept the live streaming account of the respondent company to offset all debts, and the case was closed after the account access was transferred.

Practical Guidelines: From Leads to Payments

For creditors and their lawyers, the following strategies may be adopted:

Step 1: Clue gathering and investigation to determine if the person subject to enforcement is:

Stop focusing solely on traditional assets like real estate and vehicles. Your debtor may be hiding their wealth in their mobile phone. Please focus on investigating whether the debtor is active in the following areas:

• In the live streaming/short video community : Is he a streamer or highly active creator on a certain platform? Has he withdrawn his earnings from the live stream?
• In the gaming community : Are you a hardcore gamer? Do you own a high-level, well-equipped game account that can fetch a high price?
• Digital collectibles circle : Are you keeping up with the trend and holding NFTs, digital artworks, etc.?
• E-commerce/self-media circle : Do you operate Taobao stores, Xianyu accounts, WeChat official accounts, Douyin accounts, or other accounts that can generate revenue?

Step Two: Identify the target and submit "precise leads" to the court.

Finding clues is just the beginning; submitting them to the court is the key.

• Organize clues : Systematically organize the clues you have discovered, clearly stating the platform name, the other party's account ID, and the type of asset you suspect (such as live streaming revenue, store deposit, etc.).
• Formal submission : Compile these materials into a written document and formally submit them through the court's "Property Clue Transfer Center" or other official channels.
• In-depth investigation (advanced) : If more detailed information is needed (such as account transaction records, linked mobile phone numbers, etc.), you can apply for a lawyer's investigation order and use the order to retrieve the information from the relevant platform. This is much more effective than investigating on your own.

Step 3: Implement targeted measures based on financial resources, and submit specific implementation applications.

Different types of virtual assets require different enforcement methods. When submitting an application to the court, be sure to address the specific issue:

• If there is a balance in the account (such as live streaming earnings or wallet balance) : Apply directly to freeze and deduct the funds.
• Valuable virtual items (such as game equipment or unrealized copyright revenue) : Apply to the court for seizure and require the judgment debtor to deliver them.
• Assets with market value : Apply to the court to commission a professional agency to conduct an appraisal, and then conduct an online judicial auction to realize the proceeds and use them to repay debts.
• The most difficult accounts to handle (such as self-media accounts and shops) : This is not only about "blocking" the account, but also about applying to change the real-name authentication information! Only by changing the "owner" of the account to the creditor or buyer can the rights be completely transferred and the execution be truly in place.

Step 4: Platform Collaboration: Clarifying Legal Obligations

A court judgment requires the platform's cooperation to be truly effective. This step requires us to encourage the court to take the initiative:

• The letter to the platform requests the court to promptly issue a "Notice of Assistance in Execution" to the relevant platform (such as Douyin, Tencent, Alibaba Auction, etc.), clearly requiring the platform to fulfill its legal obligations such as inquiry, freezing, deduction, and cooperation in property transfer.
• Overcoming the difficulties : For virtual assets such as live streaming accounts and self-media accounts that require changes in ownership, it is essential to explicitly require platforms to assist in the mandatory change of "real-name authentication information" and "linked mobile phone number." This is crucial; otherwise, even if the account is blocked, the person subject to enforcement may still be able to recover it through appeal, resulting in the enforcement failing.
• Legal Basis : There's no need to worry about the platform's lack of cooperation. Supreme People's Court Guiding Case No. 267 has provided clear legal rules for this type of operation. With court documents and this precedent supporting it, the platform is obligated to cooperate in completing the ownership transfer, ensuring a smooth execution process.

Summarize:

From discovering clues to finally recovering funds, the path is clear: locate the person and the property → submit to the court → classify the application → platform cooperation.

Every step requires strategy and patience, but as long as the methods are appropriate, this "new continent" of virtual assets can also become an effective guarantee for creditors to realize their rights.

Conclusion

This case from the Beijing High Court sends a clear and important signal: virtual property is no longer just "a string of code" on a screen, but "real money" protected by law.

• For the courts , it breaks down the traditional boundaries of property, expands the scope of investigation and control into the digital realm, and opens up new paths for creditors to realize their rights.
• For lawyers , this is an upgrade in professional skills—only by understanding the rules of live streaming, gaming, and digital collectibles can they truly help their clients in the digital economy era.
• For the public , this is both a reassurance and a warning: your digital wealth will be protected by the law, but trying to evade debts by "hiding your assets in your phone" will no longer work.

The enforcement of virtual property judgments, moving from isolated cases to a routine practice, is an inevitable step in the judiciary's adaptation to the times. It extends the reach of the law into the digital world and provides tangible evidence for the value of every instance of digital labor.

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