Inspiring the Law

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clpstaff &clp articles

Less than a month after the first People's Higher Court began hearing a landmark anti-monopoly case, the Supreme Court has released the first interpretation for hearing civil anti-monopoly disputes, which lowers the burden of proof and sets out a procedural framework

The case from anti-virus software company Qihoo 360 against the country's largest online messaging service provider Tencent represents the first anti-monopoly case to be heard by a higher people's court. On April 18, Guangdong Higher People's Court heard Qihoo accuse Tencent of abusing its dominant market position by introducing bundle sales to prevent its users from installing Qihoo's software. The three judges who presided over the case announced an adjournment on the same day the case was heard with no details for a continuation. It is against this background the Supreme People's Court (SPC) published the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Law in Trials of Civil Dispute Cases Arising from Monopolistic Acts (关于审理因垄断行为引发的民事纠纷案件应用法律若干问题的规定) on May 4 and come into effect on June 1.

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