Dong Zhengwei, a partner with Beijing-based Zhongyin law firm, has attracted the attention of multinational corporate executives and the legal community alike, after he filed a complaint against Microsoft with China’s anti-monopoly regulators and proposed that a US$1bn fine be imposed on the global software giant.
 
Dong sent a letter to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC), and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) the day before China’s new Anti-Monopoly became effective, alleging that Microsoft had used its dominant market share to manipulate software prices in China.
 
Dong has subsequently received a formal notice from the MOFCOM stating that antitrust investigations would be conducted by its Department of Treaty and Law. The NDRC has also formally noticed him that his petition against Microsoft had been accepted and would be handled by the NDRC's price monitoring department.
 
“Microsoft is conducting harmful trading in China, such as combining products with its Windows operating system. This violates every consumer's rights to choose different products," said Dong, who is the first lawyer to put China’s newly enacted anti-trust law to the test.
 
“Implementing antitrust law marks China’s rule of law has entered a new phase,” Dong said.
 
However, Zhang Yaqin, a global vice-president of Microsoft responded to the allegation by stating that genuine Microsoft products have a very low market share in China and that therefore Microsoft did not even have the preconditions of conducting monopoly activities in China.