Courts vow to work harder to curb monopolistic behavior

Chinese courts have pledged to step up efforts to crack down on monopolistic behavior, with a stronger focus on issues involving internet platforms, technological innovation and information security, officials said on Monday.

The Supreme People's Court, China's top court, released a report on intellectual property protection last year, revealing that courts nationwide identified 31 cases constituting monopolies in 2024 — a 2.1-fold increase from 2023.

Courts across the country concluded about 10,000 unfair competition lawsuits last year, including cases involving trade secret infringements and bid-rigging, marking a year-on-year growth of 0.7 percent, according to the report.

The top court also issued a judicial interpretation on handling civil monopoly disputes, highlighting several influentially concluded cases. The interpretation aims to clarify adjudication rules and tackle complex issues in sectors such as information technology and the digital economy.

"What we have done is to further regulate behavior that undermines fair competition and disrupts market order, guiding industries to develop in the direction of openness, innovation and empowerment," Tao Kaiyuan, vice-president of the top court, told a news conference.

He Zhonglin, deputy chief judge of the court's Intellectual Property Court, underscored the importance of anti-monopoly efforts in key areas. He said courts have intensified crackdowns on monopolistic practices in sectors related to people's livelihoods, including internet platforms, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications.

"In terms of people's livelihoods, the cases mainly covered education, medicine, food, water and gas supply, travel services and building materials," he said.

"The high-quality handling of such cases has provided a strong guarantee for creating a favorable environment that protects fair market competition and encourages innovators."

While continuing to monitor monopolies in online platforms, technological innovation and information security, He said courts will also offer training and guidance to judges to strengthen their ability to adjudicate such cases, with the aim of fostering a fairer and more dynamic market environment.

The report also highlighted efforts to promote cultural development by bolstering copyright protection in the arts and entertainment sectors. The top court said it actively advanced the implementation of judicial recommendations related to the film industry last year, contributing to a 43.32 percent year-on-year drop in new film piracy disputes.

In a high-profile criminal copyright case, a court in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, sentenced the ringleader to five years and six months in prison and fined him 20 million yuan ($2.74 million). The offender was found to have illegally profited nearly 400 million yuan by pirating more than 80,000 films and television shows.

"Improving industry supervision and enhancing cooperation with government agencies and cultural associations are all aimed at supporting the standardized, healthy and high-quality development of the film industry," Tao said.