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By Susan Ning, Yin Ranran

On 25 April 2011, the Supreme People’s Court issued for public comments draft rules which govern civil action in relation to Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) disputes.  These rules are entitled "Provisions on Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Monopoly Civil Dispute Cases"("Draft Rules").  Prior to the release of these Draft Rules, there haven’t been any detailed rules in relation to AML civil action.  The court will consult on this Draft Rules till 1 June 2011.

The Draft Rules contain 20 articles covering jurisdiction, standing of plaintiffs, burden of proof, evidentiary rules, relationship of antitrust administrative investigations and the judicial process, form of civil liabilities and the statute of limitations.  The objective of these Draft Rules is to ensure proper adjudication of civil monopoly disputes cases, prevent monopolistic conduct, protect fair competition in the market and safeguard the interests of consumers and public interest. Continue Reading Supreme People’s Court Issues Draft Rules Governing Private Actions under the Anti-Monopoly Law

By Richard W. Wigley of King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group

Today in China, in conjunction with World IP Day 2011, numerous governmental agencies will actively begin a week-long promotion of the role of intellectual property in the nation’s economy, according to Han Xiucheng of the State Intellectual Property Office (“SIPO”)1. Such efforts are to be lauded, but it is well known that copyright piracy rates in China are still significantly higher (80-90+%, depending on the type of work) than those seen in developed countries, such as the United States. Copyright piracy results from a combination of factors, including not only the effectiveness of the enforcement regime, but also from consumers’ attitudes toward pirated works. There has been a shift in recent years in China away from pirated works and toward legitimate works, but this shift has been slow due to a variety of reasons. Into this dynamic, it is valuable to look at some of the most recent efforts of the P.R.C. government to reduce copyright piracy across China.Continue Reading World IP Day 2011 in China Shows Progress in Copyright Protection, though Challenges Remain

By Jeff Lane of King & Wood’s Dispute Resolution Group

"Combating bribery is about common sense …….." – UK Lord Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke

On 1st July, 2011, the long awaited Bribery Act will come into force. The Act, together with its Guidance Notes represents a major overhaul of the UK’s anti bribery legislation and creates one of the most comprehensive anti-corruption regimes anywhere in the world.Continue Reading The UK Bribery Act of 2010 Will Have Widespread Implications for Global Companies

By Susan Ning and Yin Ranran

On 2 April 2011, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) hosted a conference with 17 industry associations (relating to businesses selling major consumer products such as household electrical appliances, food, beverages and dairy products) in Beijing.  Specifically, the NDRC’s Price Department and Economic and Trade Department convened the conference as an effort to address the recent price hikes in commodities (see our articles entitledPrice Hikes for Washing Powders, Soaps and Shampoos Expected in April and Businesses Should Be Cautious in Making Advance Price Increase Announcement ). 

The NDRC hosted conference was also regarded as an effort of NDRC to address China’s increasing consumer price index (CPI) – which is a major indication of the rate of increase of inflation in China.  According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on April 15, China’s CPI rose 5.4% in March 2011 (from a year ago), hitting a 32-month high.
 Continue Reading NDRC Held Talks with 17 Industry Associations

By Susan Ning, Liu Jia and Angie Ng

It’s been slightly over a month since the enactment of a national security review (NSR) process for foreign acquisitions of domestic businesses.  Thus far, it is not clear how many (if any at all) foreign-local deals have undergone the NSR process,  Pursuant to the rules and regulations1  which govern the NSR process, there is no obligation on the part of the Chinese government to publish any determinations (whether deals are approved or not) in relation to deals which undergo the NSR process.Continue Reading Local commerce administrative agencies and the national security review process

By Richard W. Wigley and Xu Jing of King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group

Among the most frequent questions posed by overseas corporate counsel overseeing litigation involving their companies in P.R.C. courts are those questions relating to evidence collection. For the attorneys from the United States, those questions will often focus upon the "discovery" practices of P.R.C. courts. As they come from a litigation environment which often has liberal discovery options, it often comes as a surprise to foreign attorneys – especially U.S. attorneys – that the P.R.C. legal system has no direct equivalent to U.S.-style discovery practices. Collecting the required evidence in support of litigation in the P.R.C. is subject to very different guidelines from those guidelines of many foreign jurisdictions. This article will take a very brief look at evidence collection practices in the P.R.C. and offer some potential alternatives in the P.R.C. to "discovery" practices.Continue Reading Evidence Collection and Alternatives to “Discovery” in P.R.C. Litigation

By Susan Ning, Huang Jing and Angie Ng

 

We understand from press reports that the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) has complained that a large automobile manufacturer has allegedly been imposing unreasonable restraints on its distributors, including determining a minimum resale price and allocating territory.  There has been some suggestion in the press that the conduct allegedly undertaken by the automobile manufacturer is in breach of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML).

 

This article identifies the AML provision governing such vertical restraints; and also outlines how certain vertical restraints in relation to the motor industry are being dealt with in Europe.Continue Reading Complaint re resale price maintenance in the automobile industry

By Susan Ning, Yin Ranran and Angie Ng

An instant noodle manufacturer recently announced that it decided to increase prices for its "container instant noodle" (referring to both instant noodles packaged into a variety of "cup-like" or rectangular containers) from 1 April 2011. In China, this instant noodle manufacturer is considered one of the leading brands in relation to the instant noodle industry.  According to press reports, the instant noodle manufacturer has announced that due to increased transportation and raw materials (e.g. flour and palm oil) costs, it intends to raise the prices for most of its container instant noodles to RMB 0.5 per unit – this amounts to an increase of between 10% to 15% from current prices. [Note:  In the past month, several manufacturers of household and daily care products also made announcements that they were intending to increase prices of specified products due to an increase in price in raw materials.  See our article entitled Price Hikes for Washing Powders, Soaps and Shampoos expected in AprilContinue Reading Businesses Should Be Cautious in Making Advance Price Increase Announcement

By Susan Ning, Yin Ranran, and Angie Ng

Recently, there has been a flurry of press reports on the proposed price increases by several major manufacturers of household and personal care products, including multinationals such as Procter & Gamble and Unilever, as well as domestic manufacturers such as "Liby" and "Nice".  Pursuant to the press reports, all four manufacturers mentioned above have separately announced that the retail prices for their respective brands of washing agents (including washing powders, soaps and shampoos) will increase by as much as 10% commencing from early April 2011.  Commentators have said that this is the largest price hike that they have seen in relation to the household and personal care products industry, in the past 3 years. Continue Reading Price Hikes for Washing Powders, Soaps and Shampoos Expected in April

By Susan Ning, Shan Lining and Angie Ng

The radiation leaks in Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant (caused by the earthquake-tsunami in Japan on 11 March) has made consumers in China paranoid about the salt they will consume in the near future.  Once news of the leak in the nuclear plant broke, there was a mad "scramble" to purchase table salt – as Chinese consumers were concerned that in the near future, the sea water around China would be contaminated as a result of the radiation leakage.  According to press reports, around the same time, some table salt retailers proceeded to raise the retail prices of iodized table salt.

The Chinese Government controls prices in relation to table salt.  Specifically, the ex-works and wholesale prices of table salt are set by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC, the central price authority); in addition provincial price authorities also control to some extent, the retail prices of salt.  In some provinces, provincial price authorities set maximum retail prices – this means that table salt retailers are not to charge above a price set by these authorities.Continue Reading Salt Price Hikes Curbed by the Price Law