In August 2020, the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of China's State Administration for Market Regulation released four long-awaited sets of anti-monopoly guidelines addressing issues relating to leniency, commitments, the automobile industry, and intellectual property rights. The subjects of this White Paper, the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines on Intellectual Property Rights ("IPR Guidelines"), are intended to provide more clarity and guidance on issues at the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property rights.
The IPR Guidelines cover five topics: (i) general principles for analyzing antitrust issues relating to IPR; (ii) IPR-related agreements that may constitute monopoly agreements prohibited under Articles 13 and 14 of the Anti-Monopoly Law of China; (iii) abuse of dominant market position involving IPR; (iv) concentrations of undertakings (i.e.,transactions potentially requiring premerger notification and antitrust review) involving IPR; and (v) other IPR-related issues, such as patent pools, standard-essential patents, and collective management of copyrights. This commentary highlights the issues in the IPR Guidelines that are most relevant to IP-intensive companies doing business in China.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
