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