On 3 January 2019, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released a draft of the Regulation on the Prohibition of Monopoly Agreement Conduct (Draft) on its website, inviting comments from interested...more
In March 2018, China’s State Council announced the establishment of a unified market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), which now is responsible for all antitrust enforcement in China....more
At first blush, Article 14 of the 2007 Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China (“AML”) appears straightforward — resale price maintenance (“RPM”) is strictly prohibited in China. Not so fast....more
Ten years after the introduction of China's Anti-Monopoly Law, the functions and duties of the three agencies originally charged with enforcing the law's provisions are now unified under the direction of the newly formed...more
China recently established the State Administration for Market Regulation ("SAMR"), which combines the antitrust enforcement responsibilities of the previous Price Supervision and Antimonopoly Bureau of the National...more
On December 9, 2016, the PRC National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) handed down its decision against medical device company Medtronic for having concluded and implemented a vertical monopoly agreement by...more
Over the past weekend, the Chinese legislature decided on a major restructuring of governmental agencies. The restructuring plan was announced by the State Council on 13 March 2018, and approved by the National People's...more
When China enacted its Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) in 2007, some called it “China's Economic Constitution,” anticipating that it would serve as the statutory basis for fundamental market-based reform of China's economy. While...more
In Short - The Situation: In early September, three local Chinese chemical manufacturers received penalty notices from China's National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC") for attending an association conference,...more
On 14 August 2017, the National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC") released a draft of the Guidelines on Pricing Conduct by Business Operators for Drugs in Shortage and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients ("Draft...more
Speed read - On 23 March 2017, the Antimonopoly Commission of China’s State Council (“AMC”) published the long-expected draft Guidelines on Prohibition of Abuses of Intellectual Property Rights (“draft IPR Guidelines”)...more
The three Chinese antitrust authorities – Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) – overall remained very active in...more
On May 22, 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission (the NDRC) of China promulgated a notice (the Pricing Investigation Notice) announcing that it would carry out a nationwide drug pricing investigation on...more
One important question for standard essential patent (“SEP”) holders is whether they can still seek and enforce injunctions. Some take the view that the act of seeking injunctive relief is inherently inconsistent with an SEP...more
Over the last two years, China has ramped up its efforts with antitrust enforcement. This also includes IP related abuse. But what does IP abuse mean? IP law confers the right to exclude – which means that an IP owner can...more
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently outlined its latest efforts in the enforcement of the Anti-Monopoly Law and price supervision. This newsletter summarizes the noteworthy information NDRC...more
On August 7, 2013, the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) fined six powdered milk companies – five foreign and one Hong Kong-based – RMB668 million (approximately US$109 million) for engaging in...more