China's Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law Comes into Force on 1 January 2018
The Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL) of the People's Republic of China has been revised and was adopted at the 30th session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress of China on 4 November 2017. The revised AUCL, comprising 32 articles in five chapters, will come into force on 1 January 2018.
This revision of the AUCL aims at strengthening protection for the rights and interest of business operators and consumers, by addressing in particular emerging unfair competition practice arisen amid the robust development of market economy in China over the years. According to Mr. Zhang Mao, minister of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China (SAIC), the SAIC and its authorised agencies will implement the revised AUCL based on a good grasp of the essence of the revised anti-unfair competition law, dealing with market confusion, commercial bribery, misleading advertising, and commercial defamation behaviours, in order to maintain a business environment well-regulated by law and a marketplace atmosphere of trust.
The AUCL has been in force since 1993. According to sources from SAIC, over the past 24 years, the Chinese industry and commerce authorities have handled 700,000 plus anti-unfair competition cases relating to, among others, passing-off, trade secrets infringement, commercial bribery, restricted competition, and false advertising involving a total value of RMB43.7 billion.
