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China: Johnson & Johnson monopoly ruling hits several milestones for antitrust law

By  |  August 1, 2013

Johnson & Johnson became the first Fortune 500 company to be ruled a monopoly by a Chinese court, say reports. The decision reflects the nation’s strengthening position against price-fixing, say analysts. The verdict, delivered Thursday, ordered the US-based pharmaceutical giant to pay about $86,500 to an ex-dealer on which J&J imposed a price floor, said the Shanghai High People’s Court. The company forced minimum retail prices on its former China-based dealer Rainbow Medical. Chief judge Ding Wenlian said the medical instrument market in the nation has “faced a lack of competition. The ruling marks the first antitrust ruling in favor of the plaintiff, and the first vertical monopoly lawsuit in China since the establishment of the nation’s Anti-monopoly Law, which went into effect five years ago.

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    Full Content: China Daily

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