Plaintiff Victory in Chinese Unfair Competition Case

On April 26, 2011, Beijing Chaoyang District Court ruled against Qihoo, the provider of 360 (a widely used antivirus software) and two other defendants in a case brought by Tencent, the operator of “QQ,” a popular instant-messaging tool in China. This is one of the few recent cases involving competitive conduct in which a Chinese court has ruled in favor of the plaintiff. The Supreme People’s Court is currently soliciting comments on a draft judicial interpretation on private antitrust litigation, which should when finalized encourage litigants to pursue competition law claims in Chinese courts.