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Developers File Antitrust Complaint Against Apple in China (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the holding-accountable dept.

A Chinese law firm has filed a complaint against Apple on behalf of 28 local developers alleging the firm breached antitrust regulations. From a report: The complaint, lodged by Beijing-based Dare & Sure Law Firm, accuses Apple of charging excessive fees and removing apps from its local store without proper explanation, Lin Wei, an attorney at the firm told Reuters on Thursday. "During its localization process Apple has run into several antitrust issues ... after an initial investigation we consulted a number of enterprises and got a very strong response," said Lin. The law firm invited developers to join the complaint in April and on Tuesday filed it to China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission, which oversees antitrust matters in the country.

27 comments

  1. There goes the wallet garden by mmiscool · · Score: 1

    Wallet gardens are great if the money stays in china.

  2. Anti by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 0

    Apple should file an anti-trust lawsuit against the Chinese government itself.

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    1. Re:Anti by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      apple should just buy China.

    2. Re:Anti by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and make there hardware in NK $0 /hr labor will push there profit high!

    3. Re:Anti by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and make there hardware in NK $0 /hr labor will push there profit high!

      Confused with Samsung. http://www.samsung.com/us/news/newsRead.do?news_seq=520

  3. are those semi-covert listening devices? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you seem to have them everywhere? gotten any good ADs lately? cease fire stand down.. sing along.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lin-a2lTelg

  4. Sour Grapes by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

    Wasn't the time to try and negotiate fees and terms BEFORE you Clicked "Accept"?

    This won't survive Summary Judgment (if such a doctrine, or similar, exists in the Chinese Tort-Claims system).

    1. Re:Sour Grapes by geek · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Wasn't the time to try and negotiate fees and terms BEFORE you Clicked "Accept"?

      This won't survive Summary Judgment (if such a doctrine, or similar, exists in the Chinese Tort-Claims system).

      No. I work with China all the time. They way it works in China is first you sign the contract. Then you negotiate. I am not joking either.

    2. Re:Sour Grapes by John.Banister · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You'd also think that they'd have to admit that Apple has enough market share for anti-trust matters to be relevant, but I think what it'll actually come own to is how well connected the law firm is to the Chinese government, and whether any equally well-connected law firm is willing to represent Apple.

    3. Re:Sour Grapes by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      They way it works in China is first you sign the contract. Then you negotiate. I am not joking either.

      I also work in China, and I concur with this. It is difficult to enforce contracts, so a written agreement doesn't mean much in practice. Personal relationships and Guanxi are much more important. Start with small deals and work up as you build the relationship. If you aren't sure, then use an escrow service so neither party can screw the other.

    4. Re:Sour Grapes by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      They way it works in China is first you sign the contract. Then you negotiate. I am not joking either.

      I also work in China, and I concur with this. It is difficult to enforce contracts, so a written agreement doesn't mean much in practice. Personal relationships and Guanxi are much more important. Start with small deals and work up as you build the relationship. If you aren't sure, then use an escrow service so neither party can screw the other.

      Wow! How utterly.... FOREIGN!!! ;-)

    5. Re:Sour Grapes by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      difficult to enforce contracts...Personal relationships and [connections] are much more important.

      This is why I believe tariffs are needed to balance trade because there too many intricate relationships to micromanage by inspectors and lawyers if the US wants to stop discrimination of foreign products and services.

      Set a simple tariff to be a percentage of the trade imbalance. Say the tariff is set at 1/5 the imbalance percent. Then if China exports 50% more goods/services to the US than it imports, the tariff would be 10%.

      Activate it gradually to avoid shocking the markets. The tariff is not meant to punish them and dampen overall trade, but rather encourage them to balance things out and be more import-driven. Their ingrained habit is to discriminate against foreign products & services.

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      Table-ized A.I.
    6. Re:Sour Grapes by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      difficult to enforce contracts...Personal relationships and [connections] are much more important.

      This is why I believe tariffs are needed to balance trade because there too many intricate relationships to micromanage by inspectors and lawyers if the US wants to stop discrimination of foreign products and services.

      Set a simple tariff to be a percentage of the trade imbalance. Say the tariff is set at 1/5 the imbalance percent. Then if China exports 50% more goods/services to the US than it imports, the tariff would be 10%.

      Activate it gradually to avoid shocking the markets. The tariff is not meant to punish them and dampen overall trade, but rather encourage them to balance things out and be more import-driven. Their ingrained habit is to discriminate against foreign products & services.

      Sorry, I am a financial dullard; and nevermind international trade agreements... You might as well be explaining this to your cat/dog/hamster/snake/etc... ;-)

    7. Re:Sour Grapes by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Let me use an example. Company A and company B want to sell a device in China. Chinese Gov't official X approves A's request, but not B's on obscure technicalities, like misspellings or coffee stains on a form. B is a USA firm. B is being discriminated against because X doesn't scrutinize A as heavily.

      Now if a US trade inspector Y comes to check this out, it would take a long time to study and process. It's hard to objectively verify X is being more lenient on A than B without digging through a lot of documents, many of which may require permission to get copies of. And it may require reverse engineering products.

      Rather than have a jillion Y's trying to verify all the details of a jillion products to undo discrimination, a general tariff is easier to issue and verify. The more lopsided the aggregate trade value between countries, the bigger the tariff. We essentially "tax" their staff coming in until they balance their trade.

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  5. irony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anti-trust. In China.

  6. Rocky Road Indeed by AlanObject · · Score: 1, Insightful

    For centuries Western nations have exploited China to extract its wealth. Kudos to the Communist Party for managing to reverse the process. Whatever else they have done on human rights or international relations they have started to build a substantial middle class which will be an essential ingredient for any long term stability.

    In other news: China has anti-trust laws? Who knew. Any major corporation I have ever dealt with there seem to be mostly owned by the state. So I am now wondering what an anti-trust statute is supposed to accomplish.

    1. Re:Rocky Road Indeed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The company being sued isn't state owned. So it need punishing.

    2. Re:Rocky Road Indeed by LostInTaiwan · · Score: 1

      China was exploited for centuries not because of Western nations, but because of its inept authoritarian government. Let's not forget the last Dynasty in China, Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), was basically a foreign power (The Manchurians) ruling China for 200+ years. The equivalence of Mexico ruling over the US.

      Kudos to the Chinese Communist Party for what? Creating a repressive fascist state where the Communist elites wreck the environment and absconded with their riches to live in Western nations, the very countries they teach their countrymen to despise.

      Nation with wounded pride,
      A growing economic and military power,
      Zero interest in dissenting views.
      Ideologically driven single party rule.

      I think we've all seen that script before and it was a disaster for everyone, especially the middle class.

    3. Re:Rocky Road Indeed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck you, asshole.

    4. Re:Rocky Road Indeed by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      You are arguing that two wrongs make a right.

      (I resisted the temptation to remove the 3rd "r". See, Mom, I'm improving!)

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    5. Re:Rocky Road Indeed by AlanObject · · Score: 1

      You are arguing that two wrongs make a right.

      I don't see how.

      Case #1: Having your own national resources and wealth plundered by foreigners by force and corruption. Most people would agree that is wrong.

      Case #2: Putting a stop to Case #1 and developing a public policy that stops Case #1 and results in an economy where the former plunders are forced to trade for what they used to just take and the terms are not close to what they would choose. I don't see that as a second "wrong." You might, however, make a case for the wrongness of the draconian and at times brutal command economy practices the Communist party put in place but at the end of the day they are producing a middle class that China has never had before.

    6. Re:Rocky Road Indeed by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Are you implying the US *recently* exploited China?

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  7. The Great Wall vs The Walled Garden by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Which one is "inside"? Let the battle begin.

    1. Re:The Great Wall vs The Walled Garden by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh I'm sure apple has met its match in corruption with the Chinese government

    2. Re:The Great Wall vs The Walled Garden by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh I'm sure apple has met its match in corruption with the Chinese government

      Amazing that both combined can touch neither Trump let alone Samsung.

  8. Good move by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Considerating that China law now requires online games to secure an approval number from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television, which is almost impossible to get for an indie thus blocking all devs from US to enter the China market, I think it's a good move to Apple... Those China dev have the whole market for themselves already!