China's Supreme Court Says Patent Settlement Agreements May Violate Anti-Monopoly Law

China's Supreme People's Court recently ruled on a patent infringement lawsuit between AstraZenecaAB and Jiangsu Aosaikang Pharmaceutical Company. In this case, the Supreme Court discussed how patent settlement agreements may violate anti-monopoly law. China is not a common law system, so the court's rulings are not legally binding. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court's rulings have some level of influence over the lower courts, meaning we may see more courts examining patent settlement contracts through an anti-monopoly lens in the future.