Yan Jiaming has filed lawsuits over counterfeit goods, mislabeled jeans, and old cheese, but the question remains: Is he a hero for consumers, or just a profiteer?

Yan will be in court twice this week for lawsuits over several pairs of jeans he bought at the Shanghai Pacific Department Store Co Ltd, and a bag of old cheese he picked up at Carrefour.

While one court in the city has supported his suits, another has consistently ruled against Yan, saying he isn't a real consumer and is just using legal loopholes to make money.

In one ongoing suit, Yan says that he spent 4,360 yuan (US$538) for four pairs of Killah jeans at the Pacific store in Xuhui District last July 12. One tag on the trousers said the jeans were made in Italy while a tag on the waist of the jeans said they were made in Tunis.

Yan said Pacific defrauded consumers and is demanding a full refund for the jeans as well as an equal amount in compensation.

Pacific argued that the wrong tag was placed on the jeans by mistake and it never attempted to cheat consumers.

Pacific refused to pay Yan, saying he isn't a common consumer, instead he simply wants to make money off the store's mistake.

Yan won the original case heard by the Xuhui District People's Court, which has often supported him. Pacific has appealed, however.

The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court heard the appeal yesterday.

Before this, Yan has filed a series of lawsuits against local retailers including Foxtown, Lotus and Auchan for selling fakes or commodities that have passed their shelf life.

A lawsuit he filed against the Jinqiao branch of Carrefour is scheduled to be heard by the Pudong New Area People's Court today.

Yan said he spent 1,225 yuan buying 49 bags of cheese at the supermarket but all the cheese had passed its shelf life. As usual, he wants a full refund, plus an equal amount in compensation.

Yan, 41, hails from Liaoning Province and earned a good living in Japan for 10 years.

He says he became a professional fake fighter in the late 1990s after unwittingly buying several counterfeit products.

"I don't aim to make profits by fighting counterfeiting, as I earned a lot in Japan. I do this in order to protect the rights of consumers," Yan said.

Yan isn't the first professional fake fighter in China - that title belongs to Wang Hai.

Wang became a hero fighting fake and shoddy products in the late 1990s, but also received criticism for making money off his efforts.

Yan is also facing a similar situation.

He was supported by the Xuhui court but lost his lawsuits in Yangpu District People's Court.

"We found Yan isn't a common consumer who turns to the court for help when he is cheated by stores. So he won't be protected by the consumer protection law," said Hu Hairong, a judge with the Yangpu court.

Liu Chunquan, a lawyer with Shanghai Guangsheng and Partners Law Firm, said judges have varying thoughts on Yan's work and suits.

"Most of the courts won't support people like Yan. Otherwise, many others will follow his example and choose to make a living suing counterfeiters," Liu said.

"However, some judges think Yan is also a consumer when he buys commodities."