Antitrust Alert: New Chinese Court Developments Provide Insights Into Anti-Monopoly Law

On October 23, 2009, two private lawsuits filed under China's Anti-Monopoly Law ("AML") were resolved, allowing more insight into the workings of the new statute. In the "Shanda-Sursen Case," the opinion by the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court provides an indication of how the Chinese courts will weigh evidence to decide whether a defendant has a dominant market position, for purposes of deciding whether it has violated the AML provisions prohibiting abuse of dominance. Procedural decisions in the "China Mobile Case" provide another indication that AML cases will be handled in the first instance by the intermediate level courts in the Chinese judicial system.

Shanda-Sursen Case. This action was filed by Beijing Sursen Electronic Co. ("plaintiff") against Shanghai Shanda Network Development Co. and Shanghai Xuanting Entertainment Information and Technology Co. (together, "defendants"). The plaintiff operates the www.du8.com web portal, and the defendants