LES China Hosts IP Operations & Anti-Monopoly Seminar in Beijing
On 14 April 2017, the IP Operations and Anti-Monopoly Seminar hosted by Licensing Executives Society China (LES China) took place in Beijing. The seminar was attended by 60 plus industry practitioners from research institutes, patent agencies, law firms, and enterprises.
During the seminar, Ms. Wu Dongmei, director of Anti-Monopoly Investigation Division II under Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly Bureau (“PSAMB”) of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), delivered a speech, speaking about the definition of monopoly, the significance of fighting against monopoly, and anti-monopoly systems of various countries. She also introduced the Anti-Monopoly Law of China and the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines on Abuse of Intellectual Property (Draft for Comment), described the functions and roles of the anti-monopoly enforcement agencies, related the coordination between IP system and anti-monopoly system, and delineated the elements constituting an abuse of market dominance position with the aid of the Qualcomm case.
Mr. Zhao Guobin, director of Competition Enforcement Bureau (CEB) under State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China (SAIC), then expounded the anti-monopoly enforcement practice of the authorities with particular reference to the volume and characteristics of the anti-monopoly cases they handled, and explained how to define "relevant market" and assess the status of a party in the relevant market using recent cases as examples.
In addition, presentations were made by representatives from law firms on topics including "fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory" (FRAND) terms in standard-essential patents (SEPs) licensing negotiations. The attendees had a chance to further discuss anti-monopoly related issues and topics during the exchanges session.
