Revision of Anti-Unfair Competition Law of China (Draft for Review) Invites Public Comments
The Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council of China has published the Revision of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of China (Draft for Review) for public comments, the due date of which falls on 25 March 2016.
The Anti-Unfair Competition Law of China has been in force since 1993. This revision of the law aims at accommodating the law with the drastically changed economic and technology landscapes from more than two decades ago. It also addresses, among others, the issue of repetitious provisions following the promulgation of the Anti-Monopoly Law and the amendments to the Trademark Law and the Advertising Law.
Specifically, this draft for review modifies the definitions for "business operator" and "unfair competition", specifies the administrative departments for industry and commerce at or above county level to be the authorities with general jurisdiction of supervising and inspecting unfair competition acts, introduces the concept of "relatively dominant position" in identifying unfair trading acts, and adds an embracive provision to increase flexibility in the application of the law. It also imposes stricter penalties, stipulates enforcement procedures, refines provisions for some typical behaviours that constitute unfair competition, and newly covers certain unfair competition acts using network technology or application services.
To voice opinions on the draft for review, members of the public may post their views on the dedicated web page of the Legislative Affairs Office (http://www.chinalaw.gov.cn), by post to PO box 2067, Beijing Municipality, or through email to fbzdjz@chinalaw.gov.cn.
