By Susan Ning, Ding Liang and Angie Ng, King & Wood’s Competition Practice.

In late August 2010, it was reported in the press that at least 10 antitrust private actions have been heard in the courts in China (see Two years on, ten private antitrust action

This article describes one of the cases, Zhou Ze v. China Mobile Beijing (the Zhou Ze case), in detail. This was an alleged abuse of dominance case – which was later settled.

Continue Reading Zhou Ze v. China Mobile Beijing – Alleged Abuse of Dominance Case

By Susan Ning, Shan Lining and Angie Ng, King & Wood’s Competition Practice.

On 26 October, a couple of Chinese airlines, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Capital Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines announced, separately, that they were going to raise passenger fuel surcharges for domestic flights.(1)  

 

Continue Reading Passenger Fuel Surcharge Hikes

By Meg Utterback and Ding Liang of King & Wood’s Cross border dispute resolution Practice

As the United States mid-term elections draw near, we can expect greater protectionist measures from the US government in an effort to appease voters who are demanding an improvement in the US unemployment statistics. One such protectionist measure is the initiation of the recent 301 investigation relating to allegations that the Chinese clean technology and renewable energy sectors are being unfairly advantaged by government subsidies.   Almost all countries are subsidizing the renewable sector in one form or another in hopes of easing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. It seems however that the US has taken umbrage with the extent of Chinese programs supporting the clean technology and renewable energy industries.

Continue Reading China Clean Tech at Risk– Initiation of the Recent Section 301 Investigation

胡梅、叶渌、罗必成  金杜跨境争议解决组

不管是诉诸法院或通过仲裁，大部分案件都能达成和解。从纠纷出现到最终裁决，当事人会权衡各种因素，并在过程中不断进行成本效益分析。一般来说，原则和先例等问题可能会阻碍争议的解决。如果违反内部原则（如“无责任即拒付款，甚至名义付款”），或开创不好的先例（如为被解雇员工支付超出法定要求的赔偿金），当事人不会考虑和解。另一个主要因素通常是市场和业务战略。多年来，许多中国当事人对发展国外业务没有兴趣，所以他们选择不参与海外仲裁。此外，诉讼成本也必须被充分考虑到。在现今的全球化经济环境下，企业可能会面对来自多个司法管辖区（如英属维京群岛、香港及中华人民共和国）、牵涉类似事实和有关当事人的诉讼。由于涉及多个司法管辖区的诉讼费用高昂，这类情况促使当事人更愿意达成和解。本文旨在提供一些实务技巧，供大家在仲裁之前及仲裁期间寻求和解作为参考。

Continue Reading 仲裁谈判实务技巧

 By Meg Utterback, Ariel Ye and James Rowland of King & Wood’s Cross Border Dispute Resolution Practice

The majority of cases, whether in court or arbitration, are settled. Parties weigh a variety of factors from the start of the dispute to award, constantly performing a cost benefit analysis. Generally speaking, issues such as principle and precedent often preclude a settlement. Parties will refuse to consider a good settlement if it violates an internal principle, e.g. no payment, even nominal, in the absence of liability;

Continue Reading Arbitration Negotiation Tips

By Susan Ning, Huang Jing and Angie Ng, King & Wood’s Competition Group

On 14 October 2010, the PRC National Copyright Administration (NCAC) published two pieces of regulations (the regulations) which govern the collection of copyright royalties for movies provided on the Internet, on flights and on public transport.(1)   Recently there have been concerns from internet cafes that these royalties are unreasonably high.(2)   There has also been some discussion in the press that these alleged “high” royalties could constitute an abuse of intellectual property rights, in breach of Article 55 of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML).(3)

Continue Reading Domestic Movie Royalties – Too High?

 By Kenneth Choy, Partner, King & Wood Hong Kong

Rhombus Hotel and Resorts is a Vancouver based group that owns and operates three boutique hotels in Hong Kong. They are planning to open a fourth one next year to be named “Hotel MO by Rhombus” that they described in their website as “a Modern and Outstanding boutique hotel” in the heart of the Western District in Hong Kong.  As part of the preparation for the hotel opening, they formed two Hong Kong companies, HOTEL MO LIMITED and HOTEL MO MANAGEMENT LIMITED. As they gear up for the opening, they encountered opposition from a major hotel group.

Continue Reading Hotel Trademark Dispute in Hong Kong

By Susan Ning and Shan Lining, King & Wood’s Competition Group

On 14 October 2010, Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd (Tencent) launched an action against Beijing Qihoo Technology Co., Ltd (Qihoo) alleging that the latter has breached Article 14 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law(1). Article 14 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law prohibits entities from fabricating or spreading false facts, resulting in damaging the business reputation of a competing entity

Continue Reading QQ vs 360 – An Anti-unfair Competition Case

 By Fu Haiying, Partner, King & Wood’s IP Department

On April 24, 2009, the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court (the "Court") made a judgment in Michelin Group vs. Tan Guoqiang and Ou Can. In this first instance, the Court ruled that the Defendants, tire dealers Tan Guoqiang and Ou Can, infringed upon the Plaintiff’s exclusive right to use the registered trademark, "MICHELIN & Device," by selling imported Japanese-made tires (targeting the Brazilian market) without consent from the trademark owner and without obtaining a Chinese Compulsory Product Certification ("3C Certification").

Continue Reading Trademark Infringement in Parallel Importation

By Susan Ning, Huang Jing and Angie Ng, King & Wood’s Competition Practice

We understand that the SAIC is currently working on draft guidelines (the guidelines) which will shed light on how Article 55 of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) will be enforced. It has been reported in the press that the SAIC has published a 4th draft of these guidelines and are currently consulting with the relevant stakeholders (we understand that these drafts are not publicly available).

Continue Reading IP rights and Antitrust – Awaiting Guidelines (and the Tsum-Sony Case)