On June 27, 2025, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) passed the newly amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law (中华人民共和国反不正当竞争法). The amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL) will be effective October 15, 2025.  While China is not a common law country, Article 7 of the AUCL nonetheless provides common law-like protection for unregistered marks that have a “certain influence.” Article 7 is updated to prohibit the use of others’ trademarks as business names or search keywords. However, this revision does not address much needed guidance on unfair competition in the field of artificial intelligence such as distillation, training data sourcing, etc.  Article 40 adds an extraterritoriality provision that might inadvertently implicate foreign entities.

A translation follows:

Chapter I General Provisions　　　
　　Article 1　 This Law is formulated in order to promote the healthy development of the socialist market economy, encourage and protect fair competition, prevent and stop unfair competition, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of operators and consumers.
　　Article 2　 In their production and operation activities, operators shall follow the principles of voluntariness, equality, fairness and integrity, abide by laws and business ethics, and participate in market competition fairly.
　　Unfair competition as stated in this Law refers to any act by an operator in its production and business activities that violates the provisions of this Law, disrupts the market competition order, and damages the legitimate rights and interests of other operators or consumers.
　　The term “operator” as used in this Law refers to a natural person, legal person or unincorporated organization that engages in the production, operation of commodities or provision of services (hereinafter referred to as commodities including services).
　　Article 3　 Anti-unfair competition work shall adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China.
　　The state will improve and perfect the anti-unfair competition rules and systems, strengthen anti-unfair competition law enforcement and judicial work, maintain market competition order, and improve a unified, open, competitive and orderly market system.
　　The state shall establish and improve a fair competition review system, strengthen fair competition review work in accordance with the law, and ensure that all types of operators have equal access to production factors and fair participation in market competition in accordance with the law.
　　Article 4　 People’s governments at all levels shall take measures to prevent and stop unfair competition and create a good environment and conditions for fair competition.
　　The State Council will establish and improve a coordination mechanism for anti-unfair competition work to coordinate the handling of major issues concerning the maintenance of market competition order.
　　Article 5　 The departments that perform market supervision and management duties of the people’s governments at or above the county level shall supervise and inspect unfair competition activities; if laws and administrative regulations provide that other departments shall supervise and inspect, such provisions shall apply.
　　Article 6　 The state encourages, supports and protects all organizations and individuals to conduct social supervision over unfair competition.
　　State organs and their staff shall not support or shield acts of unfair competition.
　　Industry organizations should strengthen industry self-discipline, guide and regulate operators in the industry to compete in accordance with the law, and maintain market competition order.
　　Chapter II Unfair Competition　
　　Article 7:　 Business operators shall not engage in the following confusing conduct that misleads people into believing that their products are those of others or that they have a specific connection with others:
　　(1) Unauthorized use of the same or similar marks as the product names, packaging, decorations, etc. of others that have a certain influence;
　　(2) Unauthorized use of other people’s influential names (including abbreviations, business names, etc.) or names (including pen names, stage names, online names, translated names, etc.);
　　(3) Unauthorized use of the main part of another person’s influential domain name, website name, web page, new media account name, application name or icon, etc.;
　　(iv) Other confusing conduct that is sufficient to mislead people into believing that the goods are those of another party or that they have a specific connection with another party.
　　Unauthorized use of another’s registered trademark or unregistered well-known trademark as the business name of a company, or setting another’s product name, company name (including abbreviations, business name, etc.), registered trademark, unregistered well-known trademark, etc. as search keywords, thereby misleading others into believing that they are other’s products or that they have a specific connection with others, shall be deemed as confusing behavior as provided for in the preceding paragraph.
　　Operators shall not help others to engage in confusing behavior.
　　Article 8　 Business operators shall not bribe the following entities or individuals by giving money or other means to obtain trading opportunities or competitive advantages:
　　(1) Staff of the transaction counterparty;
　　(2) An entity or individual entrusted by the counterparty to a transaction to handle relevant matters;
　　(3) Any entity or individual that uses its authority or influence to influence transactions.
　　The units and individuals specified in the preceding paragraph shall not accept bribes.
　　In trading activities, business operators may pay discounts to trading counterparties or commissions to middlemen in an explicit manner. Business operators who pay discounts to trading counterparties or commissions to middlemen shall record such amounts truthfully in their accounts. Business operators who receive discounts or commissions shall also record such amounts truthfully in their accounts.
　　If a staff member of an operator engages in bribery, it shall be deemed as the conduct of the operator; however, this shall not apply if the operator has evidence to prove that the conduct of the staff member is unrelated to obtaining transaction opportunities or competitive advantages for the operator.
　　Article 9　 Operators shall not make false or misleading commercial advertisements regarding the performance, functions, quality, sales status, user evaluations, honors, etc. of their products, or deceive or mislead consumers and other operators.
　　Operators shall not help other operators to carry out false or misleading commercial advertising by organizing false transactions, false evaluations, etc.
　　Article 10　 Business operators shall not engage in the following acts that infringe upon trade secrets:
　　(1) Obtaining the trade secrets of the right holder by theft, bribery, fraud, coercion, electronic intrusion or other improper means;
　　(2) disclosing, using or allowing others to use the business secrets of the right holder obtained by the means mentioned in the preceding paragraph;
　　(3) Violating the confidentiality obligation or the right holder’s request to keep the commercial secrets confidential by disclosing, using or allowing others to use the commercial secrets in their possession;
　　(iv) Instigating, inducing or assisting others to violate confidentiality obligations or the rights holder’s requirements for maintaining confidentiality of trade secrets, and obtaining, disclosing, using or allowing others to use the rights holder’s trade secrets.
　　Any natural person, legal person or unincorporated organization other than an operator that carries out the illegal acts listed in the preceding paragraph shall be deemed to have infringed upon trade secrets.
　　If a third party knowingly or should have known that an employee, former employee or other entity or individual of the trade secret right holder has committed an illegal act listed in the first paragraph of this Article, and still obtains, discloses, uses or allows others to use the trade secret, it shall be deemed as an infringement of the trade secret.
　　The term “trade secrets” as used in this Law refers to commercial information such as technical information, business information, etc. that is not known to the public, has commercial value, and for which the right holder has taken corresponding confidentiality measures.
　　Article 11　 Operators shall not engage in the following circumstances when conducting sales with prizes:
　　(1) The types of prizes, prize redemption conditions, prize amounts or prizes and other prize sales information are unclear, affecting prize redemption;
　　(2) After a prize-based sales activity has begun, changing the prize type, prize redemption conditions, prize amount, or prizes and other prize-based sales information without justifiable reasons;
　　(3) Conducting sales with prizes by falsely claiming there are prizes or intentionally allowing an undecided person to win a prize;
　　(iv) Sales with prizes offered by lottery, with the highest prize exceeding RMB 50,000.
　　Article 12　 Operators shall not fabricate, disseminate, or instruct others to fabricate or disseminate false or misleading information that damages the business reputation or product reputation of other operators.
　　Article 13　 Operators who use the Internet to engage in production and business activities must comply with the provisions of this Law.
　　Operators shall not use data, algorithms, technology, platform rules, etc. to influence user choices or other means to carry out the following acts that hinder or disrupt the normal operation of network products or services lawfully provided by other operators:
　　(1) Inserting links or forcibly redirecting to another operator’s website in any network product or service that the operator lawfully provides without the operator’s consent;
　　(2) Misleading, deceiving, or forcing users to modify, close, or uninstall network products or services lawfully provided by other operators;
　　(3) maliciously implementing incompatibility with network products or services lawfully provided by other operators;
　　(4) Other acts that hinder or disrupt the normal operation of network products or services lawfully provided by other operators.
　　Operators shall not obtain or use data lawfully held by other operators by improper means such as fraud, coercion, circumvention or destruction of technical management measures, thereby damaging the legitimate rights and interests of other operators and disrupting the market competition order.
　　Operators shall not abuse platform rules, directly or instruct others to conduct false transactions, false evaluations or malicious returns against other operators, damage the legitimate rights and interests of other operators, and disrupt market competition order.
　　Article 14　 Platform operators shall not force or covertly force operators on the platform to sell goods at prices below cost in accordance with their pricing rules, thereby disrupting the market competition order.
　　Article 15　 Large enterprises and other operators shall not abuse their dominant position in terms of capital, technology, transaction channels, industry influence, etc., to require small and medium-sized enterprises to accept transaction terms such as obviously unreasonable payment terms, methods, conditions and liability for breach of contract, and to delay the payment of goods, projects, services, etc. to small and medium-sized enterprises.
　　Chapter III Investigation of Suspected Unfair Competition
　　Article 16　 When investigating suspected unfair competition, the supervisory and inspection authorities may take the following measures:
　　(1) Entering and inspecting business premises suspected of unfair competition;
　　(2) Questioning the business operator, interested parties and other relevant entities or individuals under investigation, requiring them to explain relevant circumstances or provide other information related to the conduct under investigation;
　　(3) Inquiry into and copy of agreements, account books, receipts, documents, records, business correspondence and other materials related to suspected unfair competition;
　　(iv) Seizing or detaining property related to suspected unfair competition;
　　(V) Checking the bank accounts of operators suspected of engaging in unfair competition.
　　When taking measures prescribed in the preceding paragraph, a written report shall be submitted to the principal person in charge of the supervision and inspection department and approved. When taking measures prescribed in the fourth and fifth items of the preceding paragraph, a written report shall be submitted to the principal person in charge of the supervision and inspection department of the people’s government at or above the level of a city divided into districts and approved.
　　When investigating suspected unfair competition activities, supervisory and inspection departments shall comply with the provisions of the Administrative Enforcement Law of the People’s Republic of China and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, and shall disclose the results of the investigation to the public in a timely manner in accordance with the law.
　　Article 17　 When the supervisory and inspection department investigates suspected unfair competition activities, the investigated business operators, interested parties and other relevant entities and individuals shall truthfully provide relevant information or circumstances.
　　Article 18　 Where an operator is suspected of violating the provisions of this Law, the supervisory and inspection department may interview the relevant person in charge and require him to explain the circumstances and propose improvement measures.
　　Article 19:　 Supervisory and inspection departments and their staff have a legal obligation to keep confidential the commercial secrets, personal privacy, and personal information they learn of during the investigation.
　　Article 20　 Any unit or individual has the right to report suspected unfair competition to the supervisory and inspection department, which shall handle the report promptly in accordance with the law upon receipt.
　　The supervision and inspection department shall make public the telephone number, mailbox or email address for accepting reports and keep the confidentiality of the reporter. For reports made under real names and providing relevant facts and evidence, the supervision and inspection department shall promptly inform the reporter of the handling results.
　　Article 21　 Platform operators shall specify fair competition rules within the platform in platform service agreements and transaction rules, establish mechanisms for reporting and complaining about unfair competition and resolving disputes, and guide and regulate fair competition among operators on the platform in accordance with the law; if it is discovered that an operator on the platform has engaged in unfair competition, necessary disposal measures shall be taken in a timely manner in accordance with the law, relevant records shall be preserved, and reports shall be made to the supervisory and inspection department of the people’s government at or above the county level where the platform operator resides in accordance with regulations.
　　Chapter IV Legal Liability
　　Article 22　 If an operator violates the provisions of this Law and causes damage to others, he shall bear civil liability in accordance with the law.
　　If the legitimate rights and interests of an operator are damaged by unfair competition, he or she may bring a lawsuit to the people’s court.
　　The amount of compensation for an operator who has been harmed by unfair competition shall be determined according to the actual losses suffered by the operator due to the infringement or the profits obtained by the infringer due to the infringement. If an operator intentionally infringes on trade secrets and the circumstances are serious, the amount of compensation may be determined at a level not less than one times but not more than five times the amount determined in the above manner. The amount of compensation shall also include the reasonable expenses paid by the operator to stop the infringement.
　　If an operator violates the provisions of Article 7 or Article 10 of this Law and it is difficult to determine the actual losses suffered by the right holder due to the infringement or the profits obtained by the infringer due to the infringement, the People’s Court shall award compensation of no more than RMB 5 million to the right holder based on the circumstances of the infringement.
　　Article 23　 If an operator violates Article 7 of this Law and conducts confusing behavior or helps others conduct confusing behavior, the supervisory and inspection department shall order the operator to stop the illegal behavior and confiscate the illegal products. If the illegal turnover is more than RMB 50,000, a fine of up to five times the illegal turnover may be imposed; if there is no illegal turnover or the illegal turnover is less than RMB 50,000, a fine of up to RMB 250,000 may be imposed; if the circumstances are serious, the business license may be revoked.
　　Anyone who sells illegal goods as provided for in Article 7 of this Law shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph; if the seller is unaware that the goods he sells are illegal goods but can prove that he obtained the goods legally and identify the provider, the supervisory and inspection department shall order him to stop sales and shall not impose administrative penalties.
　　If the name registered by an operator violates the provisions of Article 7 of this Law, the operator shall promptly apply for name change registration; before the name is changed, the registration authority shall replace its name with a unified social credit code.
　　Article 24　 If any relevant unit bribes another person or accepts bribes in violation of Article 8 of this Law, the supervisory and inspection department shall confiscate the illegal gains and impose a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 1 million yuan; if the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million yuan but not more than RMB 5 million yuan shall be imposed, and the business license may also be revoked.
　　The legal representative, principal person in charge and directly responsible personnel of an operator shall bear personal responsibility for the implementation of bribery, and if the relevant individuals accept bribes, the supervisory and inspection departments shall confiscate the illegal gains and impose a fine of no more than one million yuan.
　　Article 25　 Where an operator violates the provisions of Article 9 of this Law by making false or misleading commercial advertisements for its products, or assists other operators in making false or misleading commercial advertisements by organizing false transactions, false evaluations, etc., the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal behavior and impose a fine of not more than RMB 1 million; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million but not more than RMB 2 million shall be imposed, and the business license may be revoked.
　　If an operator violates the provisions of Article 9 of this Law and publishes false advertisements, he shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China.
　　Article 26　 Where an operator or other natural person, legal person or unincorporated organization violates the provisions of Article 10 of this Law and infringes upon commercial secrets, the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal behavior, confiscate the illegal gains, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 1 million yuan; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million yuan but not more than RMB 5 million yuan shall be imposed.
　　Article 27　 Where an operator conducts sales with prizes in violation of Article 11 of this Law, the supervisory and inspection department shall order the operator to cease the illegal conduct and impose a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 yuan but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan.
　　Article 28 Where　 an operator violates the provisions of Article 12 of this Law and damages the commercial reputation or product reputation of other operators, the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal behavior and eliminate the impact, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 1 million yuan; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million yuan but not more than RMB 5 million yuan shall be imposed.
　　Article 29 Where　 an operator violates the provisions of the second, third, or fourth paragraphs of Article 13 of this Law by using the Internet to engage in unfair competition, the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to cease the illegal conduct and impose a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 1 million yuan; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million yuan but not more than RMB 5 million yuan shall be imposed.
　　Article 30 Where a platform operator violates the provisions of Article 14 of this Law by forcing or covertly forcing operators on the platform to sell goods at prices below cost, the supervisory and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal behavior and impose a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 yuan but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 500,000 yuan but not more than RMB 2 million shall be imposed.
　　Article 31　 Where an operator abuses its dominant position in violation of Article 15 of this Law, the supervisory and inspection department of the people’s government at or above the provincial level shall order it to make corrections within a time limit; where corrections are not made within the time limit, a fine of up to RMB 1 million shall be imposed; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 1 million but not more than RMB 5 million shall be imposed.
　　Article 32　 Where an operator engages in unfair competition in violation of the provisions of this Law and takes the initiative to eliminate or mitigate the harmful consequences of the illegal behavior and other statutory circumstances, the administrative penalty shall be mitigated or reduced in accordance with the law; where the illegal behavior is minor and corrected in a timely manner and does not cause harmful consequences, no administrative penalty shall be imposed.
　　Article 33　 Where an operator violates the provisions of this Law and engages in unfair competition and is subject to administrative punishment, the supervisory and inspection department shall record it in the credit record and make it public in accordance with the relevant laws and administrative regulations.
　　Article 34　 If an operator violates the provisions of this Law, he shall bear civil, administrative and criminal liability. If his property is insufficient to pay, it shall be used first to bear the civil liability.
　　Article 35　 Anyone who obstructs a supervisory and inspection department from performing its duties in accordance with this Law or refuses or obstructs an investigation shall be ordered by the supervisory and inspection department to make corrections and may be fined up to RMB 10,000 yuan for an individual or up to RMB 100,000 yuan for an organization.
　　Article 36　 If a party is dissatisfied with the decision made by the supervisory and inspection department, he or she may apply for administrative reconsideration or initiate administrative litigation in accordance with the law.
　　Article 37　 Where staff members of supervisory and inspection departments abuse their power, neglect their duties, engage in malpractice for personal gain, or disclose commercial secrets, personal privacy, or personal information learned during the investigation process, they shall be punished in accordance with the law.
　　Article 38 Anyone who violates the provisions of this Law and constitutes an act of violation of public security management shall be given a public security management penalty in accordance with the law; if it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.
　　Article 39:　 In civil trial proceedings for infringement of trade secrets, where the trade secret rights holder provides preliminary evidence to prove that he or she has taken confidentiality measures for the claimed trade secret and reasonably demonstrates that the trade secret has been infringed, the suspected infringer shall prove that the trade secret claimed by the rights holder does not fall within the scope of trade secrets prescribed in this Law.
　　If the trade secret right holder provides preliminary evidence to reasonably show that the trade secret has been infringed, and provides one of the following evidence, the suspected infringer shall prove that it has not infringed the trade secret:
　　(1) There is evidence that the suspected infringer has channels or opportunities to obtain the trade secret, and the information used by the infringer is substantially the same as the trade secret;
　　(2) There is evidence that the trade secret has been disclosed or used by the suspected infringer or is at risk of being disclosed or used;
　　(3) There is other evidence showing that the trade secret has been infringed by the suspected infringer.
　　Chapter V Supplementary Provisions 　　
　　Article 40　 Where unfair competition as provided for in this Law is carried out outside the territory of the People’s Republic of China, disrupts the domestic market competition order, or damages the legitimate rights and interests of domestic operators or consumers, it shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of this Law and relevant laws.
　　Article 41　 This Law shall come into force on October 15, 2025.