IP Business Advisor's input on the the newly amended AUCL

On 27 June 2025, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) passed the third Amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law (the AUCL). The AUCL will be effective from 15 October 2025. The newly amended AUCL:

• Refines provisions on unfair competition acts such as commercial bribery, false advertising, improper prize-linked sales, and commercial defamation.
• Improves regulations concerning online unfair competition. Article 7 (replacing Article 6) includes the reference to search keywords; according to Article 29, the maximum fine for online unfair competition practices has been increased from 3 million yuan to 5 million yuan.
• Adds provisions to address unreasonable payment terms and overdue payments to SMEs (Article 15).
• Introduces provisions on extraterritorial application (Article 40). Unfair competition acts committed outside the territory of the PRC that disrupt domestic market competition order or harm the lawful rights and interests of domestic business operators or consumers shall be handled in accordance with this Law and relevant legal provisions.
• Does not address unfair competition issues specific to artificial intelligence.

The amended AUCL provided stronger IP safeguards to protect EU SMEs. However, compliance costs and enforcement uncertainties persist, particularly with regard to trade secrets and digital trade.