The Lawsuit That Created a Legend: How One Legal Threat Forced the Birth of QQ
What you'll learn:
- • How to turn a legal crisis into a strategic opportunity
- • Why forced changes sometimes lead to greater success
- • How to maintain user loyalty during a brand crisis
- • Why proactive risk management beats reactive damage control
Imagine you've spent two years building a brand, and suddenly you receive a legal letter telling you: your brand name infringes on someone's trademark. You must stop using it immediately, or face massive compensation claims.
This was Ma Huateng's nightmare in 2000. By then, OICQ had tens of millions of users and commanded over 90% of China's instant messaging market. An overnight name change didn't just mean enormous financial losses—it could mean losing users and watching their brand collapse.
If you were in his shoes, what would you do? Compromise or fight?
This is the story of how a legal threat accidentally created one of the world's most recognizable brands.
What you'll learn from this crisis story:
- How to turn a legal crisis into a strategic opportunity
- Why forced changes sometimes lead to greater success
- How to maintain user loyalty during a brand crisis
- Why proactive risk management beats reactive damage control
The Threat from Across the Ocean
A Letter That Changed Everything
Spring 2000 in Shenzhen was getting hot, but Ma Huateng felt a bone-deep chill.
An American legal letter lay quietly on his desk. The sender: AOL (America Online). The content was brief and devastating: Tencent must immediately stop using the name "OICQ" as it allegedly infringed on ICQ's trademark rights.
"It was like a bolt from the blue," Ma Huateng later recalled. "We already had over 10 million users, and OICQ was a household name in China. Suddenly having to change our name was like asking us to kill ourselves."
The Giant's Trademark War
The story began two years earlier. When Ma Huateng and Zhang Zhidong developed OICQ in 1998, they were indeed inspired by ICQ, developed by Israeli company Mirabilis. ICQ stood for "I Seek You," while OICQ meant "Open ICQ"—Ma Huateng wanted to express an "open ICQ."
But in 1998, AOL acquired ICQ for a staggering $407 million, turning this Israeli startup into part of an American internet giant overnight. As OICQ rose in the Chinese market, AOL began to feel threatened.
"They probably never expected this small software from Shenzhen, China, to grow so fast," an early Tencent employee recalled. "When OICQ's user numbers surpassed ICQ's, AOL couldn't sit still."
The Impossible Demand
The legal letter's demands were harsh:
- Immediately cease all use of the "OICQ" name
- Remove all OICQ-related promotional materials
- Pay substantial compensation for "trademark infringement"
- Publicly apologize to ICQ users
For Tencent, this was almost a death sentence. OICQ wasn't just a product name—it was their entire brand identity, their user base, their market position.
"We calculated that if we really had to pay compensation, it could bankrupt the company," Chen Yidan, Tencent's chief administrative officer, remembered. "But if we didn't comply, we faced the risk of being completely banned from the market."
The Dark Night of Decision
Emergency Meeting in a Small Conference Room
That night, Tencent's five founders gathered in their small conference room. The atmosphere was heavy—everyone knew this decision would determine the company's fate.
"Fight or compromise?" Ma Huateng posed this question to his partners.
Zhang Zhidong, the technical expert, was the first to speak: "From a technical standpoint, our OICQ and their ICQ are completely different products. We're not infringing."
But Chen Yidan, responsible for legal affairs, had a different view: "The problem is, we're a Chinese company, they're American. Even if we're right, the legal costs of fighting this could drain us dry."
The room fell silent. Everyone understood the cruel reality: sometimes being right isn't enough—you also need the resources to prove you're right.
The Weight of Ten Million Users
What worried Ma Huateng most wasn't the legal battle, but the users.
"We had over 10 million users then. They knew OICQ, they loved OICQ. If we suddenly changed our name, would they still trust us? Would they think we were a different company?" Ma Huateng later described his concerns.
This wasn't an unfounded worry. In the internet age, brand recognition is everything. Many companies have collapsed simply because of a name change that confused users.
A Sleepless Night of Agonizing
Ma Huateng barely slept that night. He kept asking himself: "Is there a way to turn this crisis into an opportunity?"
He walked to the window and looked out at Shenzhen's neon lights. This young city had grown from a small fishing village to a modern metropolis in just twenty years. If Shenzhen could reinvent itself, why couldn't OICQ?
"Maybe this forced change is actually an opportunity," he thought. "Maybe we can create something even better."
The Birth of a Legend
From OICQ to QQ: A Stroke of Genius
The next morning, Ma Huateng called another meeting. This time, his attitude was completely different.
"We're going to change our name," he announced, "but we're not going to see this as a defeat. We're going to see it as an opportunity to create something even better."
The name "QQ" came from an employee's suggestion. At first, many people opposed it—it seemed too simple, too childish. But Ma Huateng saw its genius:
- Easy to remember: Two identical letters, impossible to forget
- Easy to pronounce: The same sound in any language
- Cute and friendly: Perfect for young users
- Completely original: No trademark issues
"QQ sounds like a baby's first words," Ma Huateng explained his thinking. "It's innocent, friendly, and memorable. Isn't that exactly what we want our users to feel?"
The Brilliant Transition Strategy
But how do you change a brand name without losing users? Tencent's strategy was masterful:
Phase 1: Dual Branding They began using "OICQ (QQ)" in all materials, gradually introducing users to the new name.
Phase 2: User Education They launched a campaign explaining why the change was happening, positioning it as "evolution, not replacement."
Phase 3: Complete Transition They officially became "QQ" but kept emphasizing: "Same great service, better name."
The Unexpected User Reaction
The result surprised everyone. Not only did users accept the new name, many actually preferred it.
"QQ sounds cuter than OICQ," one user commented. "It feels more like a friend's nickname."
The simplified name also made the software feel more accessible to non-technical users, expanding Tencent's user base beyond tech-savvy early adopters.
Turning Crisis into Opportunity
The Legal Settlement
Ultimately, Tencent reached a settlement with AOL. The terms weren't disclosed, but both sides seemed satisfied. AOL got their trademark protection, and Tencent got to keep operating with their new name.
"Looking back, that lawsuit was the best thing that happened to us," Ma Huateng reflected years later. "It forced us to create a better brand than we ever could have imagined."
The QQ Revolution
The name change marked the beginning of QQ's golden age:
- 2001: QQ users surpassed 50 million
- 2002: QQ became China's dominant messaging platform
- 2005: QQ users exceeded 100 million
- 2010: QQ had over 600 million active users
More importantly, "QQ" became more than just a product name—it became a cultural phenomenon. People didn't just "use QQ," they "QQ-ed" each other. The name entered everyday Chinese vocabulary.
The Brand That Conquered the World
Today, QQ is one of the world's most recognizable brands. The simple, memorable name helped Tencent expand internationally in ways that "OICQ" never could have.
"If we were still called OICQ today, I don't think we'd be where we are," Ma Huateng admitted. "Sometimes the universe forces changes that we're too scared to make ourselves."
Lessons from a Forced Evolution
Crisis as Catalyst
The OICQ-to-QQ transformation teaches us that crises often hide opportunities. What seemed like a devastating setback became the foundation for even greater success.
The key is perspective: instead of seeing forced change as failure, view it as a chance to evolve beyond your current limitations.
The Power of Simplicity
"QQ" succeeded because it was simple. In a world of complex brand names and technical jargon, sometimes the most powerful choice is the simplest one.
Great brands don't need to explain themselves—they just need to be memorable and meaningful to their users.
User-Centric Adaptation
Tencent's smooth transition succeeded because they put users first. They didn't just announce a name change—they brought users along on the journey, explaining the why and emphasizing continuity of service.
When facing major changes, communication is everything. Users can accept change if they understand it and trust that their interests are protected.
Legal Preparedness
Perhaps most importantly, this crisis taught Tencent the value of proactive legal strategy. They invested heavily in intellectual property protection afterward, ensuring they'd never be caught off-guard again.
"We learned that in business, you can't just build great products," Chen Yidan noted. "You also have to protect them legally."
From Threat to Triumph
What began as AOL's attempt to eliminate a competitor accidentally created one of the world's strongest brands. The lawsuit that was supposed to kill OICQ instead gave birth to QQ—a name that would become synonymous with Chinese internet culture.
For entrepreneurs, this story offers a powerful reminder: sometimes your greatest setbacks create your greatest breakthroughs. The question isn't whether you'll face crises—it's how you'll respond when they come.
Will you see them as threats to survive, or opportunities to evolve?
Ma Huateng chose evolution, and that choice transformed not just his company, but the entire landscape of digital communication in China and beyond. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to your business is being forced to become something even better than you originally imagined.