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Study On The Definition Of The Relevant Product Market In The Internet Industry

Posted on:2015-01-28Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:C WangFull Text:PDF
GTID:2266330428964689Subject:Law
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Since the1990s, the good development momentum of the Internet industry is shocking. But the fierce competition has brought some negative impacts. In recent years, antitrust hot events have constantly emerged in the Internet area. And people began to have their eyes on the implementation of antitrust law in the Internet field. As we all know, defining the relevant market and clearing the scope of competitive market is the key step of the antitrust law enforcement. The result will directly determine the effect of the implementation of antitrust law. What’s more, the relevant product market is the primary problem and the starting point of antitrust enforcement. Therefore, the antitrust cases in the Internet area can’t avoid the problem.The main methods to define the relevant product market include demand substitutability method, supply substitutability method and SSNIP method. But these traditional methods have shown some limitations when applied to the Internet area. For example, as network externalities and lock-in effect limit the elasticity of demand in the market, the scope of relevant product market defined by demand substitutability analysis is too small. And the high-speed technology innovation also enhances the alternative possibilities of products. Besides, the free property of Internet products and the characteristic of the two-sided markets bring SSNIP method a challenge and greatly reduce its accuracy. Compared with foreign antitrust practice, the antitrust environment of China’s Internet industry is still in its infancy. Because existing theory and system of the relevant product market definition can’t properly resolve these problems, the research on methods of the relevant product market in the Internet area has dual meaning of legislation and enforcement.In the process of defining the relevant product market, we should follow these basic principles, including the principle of following the economic policy orientation, favorable competition principle, the principle of the protection of consumers’ interests, the efficiency principle and the principle of operation. And it’s necessary to make appropriate adjustments of the idea combining the characteristics of the Internet industry. Internet products can be divided into the exchange of information products and traditional goods sold on the Internet. These two types have some differences, so we need to make alternative analysis about the horizontal similar products and vertical Internet products. In the framework of basic ideas, we also need to improve the definition of relevant product market from three angles. First, from legislative angle, the antitrust committee should improve the rules of defining relevant market and enhance its feasibility as soon as possible because the regulations of the guideline are too general. Second, from the perspective of the judiciary, the Supreme Court can publish judicial interpretation and guiding cases. And it can provide the necessary guidance for below courts. On the other hand, it’s proper to reduce plaintiffs’burden of proof in the judicial process and provide better legal protection for victims. Third, from the perspective of law enforcement, antitrust law enforcement agency or judicial authority should pay more attention to the supply substitution analysis. And we must change the traditional thinking of the single market and use the perspective of two-sided markets. But it’s worth noting that not every case has to determine a precise scope of the market. When there is sufficient evidence to prove direct harm to competition, the accuracy requirements of defining the relevant market should be appropriately reduced. Defining the relevant product markets of the Internet industry is a very complex process. And this work has high demands on antitrust law enforcement officers and judges. However, our antitrust law enforcement agency and judicial authority lack professionals to provide effective technical support. Thus, establishing a high level of antitrust enforcement team is also our goal to strive for.
Keywords/Search Tags:the Internet industry, the relevant product market, antitrust lawenforcement agency, SSNIP method
PDF Full Text Request
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