China denies probe into Microsoft

By Iain Thomson on Jun 23, 2008 7:41 AM
Filed under Security

China has officially denied reports that it is planning an investigation into the market position of Microsoft in the country..

State media companies reported earlier in the week that the government was planning an investigation into the monopoly power of Microsoft within the country once its first anti-monopoly law is enacted in August. However officials are now denying the story.

“We are not conducting an anti-monopoly investigation against Microsoft and have no plans to do so,'' Yin Xintian, a spokesman and legal director at the State Intellectual Property Office in Beijing told Bloomberg.

“We did commission a study into the frequency of China's software piracy and published the results on May 28,” he continued, but said reports of an investigation were “totally untrue.”

It has taken China 13 years to formulate an anti-monopoly law and many had suspected that Microsoft would be an early target, since a copy of its Office and Windows software costs nearly as much as a new computer in local currency. But Microsoft too has said it is not aware of any investigation.

“Microsoft fully supports China's efforts to establishing an environment conducive to promoting fair competition,'' it said.

China's anti-monopoly law “will better safeguard interests and benefits of consumers, encourage innovation and enhance economic development.”