Recently, on the basis of preliminary verification, the State Administration of market supervision filed an investigation into the suspected monopoly of HowNet This is an important measure for China's anti-monopoly law enforcement agencies to actively respond to social concerns and implement normal supervision of the platform economy according to law. It is of great significance to maintain fair competition in the academic literature database service market, promote knowledge production and flow, promote innovation and development, and protect the interests of consumers and social public interests dominated by authors and readers.
Author: Shi Jianzhong, member of the expert advisory group of the anti monopoly Commission of the State Council and professor of China University of political science and law
Maintain fair competition in academic literature database service market
Promote the healthy development of industry standard innovation
1、 If HowNet is suspected of monopolizing, it shall file a case for investigation according to law
Academic literature is a knowledge product with intellectual achievements as the core. In the digital era, the academic literature database gathers academic literature, systematically digitizes the academic literature with the help of digital technology, realizes the accuracy of retrieval and query, the convenience of online reading and downloading, upgrades the literature information service to knowledge service, and becomes an important channel and platform for gathering knowledge, disseminating knowledge, sharing knowledge and serving knowledge innovation. It should be affirmed that HowNet has made continuous innovation and development in the Chinese academic literature information service and knowledge service market, and has become the most influential academic literature digital service platform in China. However, at the same time, HowNet is suspected of carrying out monopoly behavior in the process of operation, which damages the interests of consumers. It is very timely and necessary for the anti-monopoly law enforcement agency to start the investigation procedure according to law.
It is understood that the types and quantity of Chinese academic documents, the number of journals and the number and quality of exclusive journals, the scale and coverage of users, the degree of user dependence and market sales included in HowNet have been in a leading position for a long time. Unfair format terms are set in the academic document collection and service agreement. The price of whether purchasing academic documents or selling knowledge digital products is almost free from competition constraints. According to the analysis, we can basically determine that HowNet has a dominant market position. Integrating all aspects of information, HowNet has signed exclusive agreements with a large number of journals and universities to restrict their cooperation with other third-party academic literature database service platforms, lock in high-quality academic resources in the upstream and artificially create barriers to knowledge flow, making it difficult for other competitors to compete fairly with them and affecting the sharing and dissemination of knowledge. At the same time, HowNet obtains ultra-high profits by collecting at low prices and selling at high prices. In the absence of legitimate reasons, it has significantly increased the database price for many years, increased the burden of users and damaged the interests of consumers. The above behavior of HowNet has destroyed the fair competition order of relevant markets, hindered the dissemination of academic documents and knowledge sharing, damaged the ecological environment of knowledge innovation, deviated from the original intention of building "China's knowledge infrastructure project", and aroused great concern in the academic, educational, publishing and Book circles all over the country.
The purpose of the administration is to protect the interests of readers, promote the development of the market, protect the interests of readers, and promote the development of academic and knowledge-based institutions, so as to protect the market, protect the interests of readers, and even the development of the market, Promote the development and prosperity of socialist culture and science.
2、 The investigation of HowNet released an important signal of normalized supervision of the platform economy in accordance with the law
Platform economy is a new organization of productive forces and a new driving force of economic development. It plays an important role in optimizing resource allocation, promoting industrial upgrading, expanding consumer market and stabilizing employment. In recent years, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to the standardized governance of the platform economy. The anti-monopoly law enforcement agencies have investigated and dealt with a series of major typical cases in accordance with the law, focused on solving some prominent competition problems in the field of the platform economy, and promoted sustainable and healthy development with regulatory norms. On April 29, the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee once again stressed the "need to promote the healthy development of the platform economy, complete the special rectification of the platform economy and implement normalized supervision". HowNet is a typical platform enterprise. Its case filing and investigation is a specific measure to deeply implement the CPC Central Committee's implementation of normalized supervision, which is conducive to releasing a clear signal to the market, enabling the market to establish a more reliable, stable and sustainable expectation of the rule of law, enhancing the self-compliance awareness of platform enterprises, guiding and encouraging platform enterprises to carry out high-level competition through technological innovation and model innovation, and continuously improving their core competitiveness. Through the implementation of normalized antitrust supervision, we will continue to purify the competitive environment in the field of platform economy, optimize the innovation mechanism, ensure the healthy and high-quality development of platform economy, and give better play to the positive role of platform economy in promoting scientific and technological innovation and prospering the economy, facilitating people's lives and participating in international competition.
3、 We should pay equal attention to standardization and development and take multiple measures to promote the sustainable and healthy development of academic literature database industry
The fundamental purpose of the State Administration of intellectual property rights is to carry out investigation and regulation on the interests of the public and related industries, fully protect the interests of the public and promote the healthy development of the intellectual property rights market, fully protect the interests of the public and promote the healthy operation of the intellectual property rights market as soon as possible. It is worth noting that standardizing the healthy development of the academic literature database service market requires simultaneous improvement and improvement of relevant mechanisms and measures from various aspects and angles: in terms of management system, we should adhere to systematic thinking, pay equal attention to both standardization and development, pay attention to strengthening the overall coordination between industry supervision and antitrust law enforcement, and further strengthen the coordination between competition policy and science and technology policy, scientific research policy and copyright policy, Form a joint force of regulatory norms and support for development. In terms of development mode, actively introduce competition, cultivate competition and support competition in the academic literature database market, break the traditional monopoly of academic data resources, promote the formation of a diversified, full and effective competition pattern, and provide consumers with more and better database services. In terms of regulatory measures, pay attention to the comprehensive use of hierarchical regulatory measures combining hard and flexible, further strengthen the administrative guidance for large databases such as HowNet, urge and guide them to actively fulfill their social responsibilities and actively promote the opening and sharing of data. In terms of industry development, actively study and explore the construction scheme of public welfare academic platform, realize the organic combination of public welfare and marketization, more effectively solve the problems of high cost of knowledge acquisition and poor information exchange and sharing, further improve the supply capacity of innovation resources, create a good academic ecology, promote knowledge sharing, academic innovation and technological progress, serve the national innovation driven development strategy, and promote the continuous improvement of the overall welfare of society.