Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2023

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Avoid the antitrust trap in Asia

Are Chinese regulators unfairly targeting overseas companies for antitrust violations, in a bid to defend domestic industries?

nov2014cover-400.jpg

Don't get caught out in Asia

That’s certainly what the American Chamber of Commerce in China suggested, in a report published last month. It said members were concerned about “selective and subjective enforcement” and that companies were being forced to license patents at low royalty rates.

The concerns follow high-profile investigations into Qualcomm and InterDigital, as well as opposition in China and Korea to the Microsoft-Nokia merger.

In the cover story in Managing IP’s November issue, now available online, our Asia editor Peter Leung examines antitrust issues in Australia, India and China, and asks whether there is any truth to these perceptions and whether foreign companies are in fact soft targets.

It’s a complex story, and Peter provides a guide to the overlapping jurisdiction of China’s three government agencies with responsibility for competition law (Mofcom, the SAIC and the NDRC) as well as recent developments in Australia (the Harper Review) and India (where antitrust enforcement has been focused on copyright licensing and the automobile industry).

Peter blogged earlier this year about FRAND issues in China, but his latest analysis confirms that antitrust investigations can affect all IP owners, whatever rights they own and whatever industry they are in. The likelihood is that scrutiny in Asia will only increase as local economies grow and IP becomes more prominent. International rights owners need to be prepared.

Subscribers can read “Asian governments focus on IP and competition issues” now. Non-subscribers can access it with a free trial. Contact Bobby Dohil with any access enquiries.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has hired former Anand & Anand partner Swati Sharma and hopes to compete with specialist IP firms
Rapporteur-Judge András Kupecz ruled that education and training weren’t legitimate reasons for a member of the public to access documents
Searches for comparison prior art will be a little easier, but practitioners will have to put more thought into claim construction and design patent titles
The Helsinki local division rejected AIM Sport’s request for a preliminary injunction in a dispute with rival Supponor
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis coverage from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
The FTC’s plans to scrutinise improperly listed Orange Book patents could make these listings more important in litigation, but firms should be looking at this anyway
Counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton explain how they helped food delivery business Grubhub avoid a preliminary injunction at the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
European lawyers tell Managing IP how the legal market is reacting to the first few months of the UPC and why cases are set to take off
The ban could be extended or cancelled, depending on whether Judge Pauline Newman cooperates with an investigation, the Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit stated
Sources say some China-based lawyers are prepared to take large pay cuts to join stable practices, but most firms are sceptical about new hires