China Government Office Denies Microsoft Investigation

China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) Thursday denied press reports that it was investigating or planned to investigate Microsoft for anti-competitive behavior, saying the office doesn't even handle such cases.

"The [State Intellectual Property] Office believes these reports are not real. The Office is authorized by the relevant government agencies to investigate and research domestic piracy issues... The Office has never undertaken any market monopoly investigation, and has no plan to do so," SIPO said in a statement on its Web site.

On Wednesday, the Shanghai Securities News reported that SIPO would begin investigating Microsoft for monopolistic practices after the August 1 promulgation of a new intellectual property legal code, citing unnamed sources.

Agence France-Presse reported that a SIPO representative, who gave only her surname, Sun, confirmed an investigation was underway.

Microsoft on Wednesday said it was unaware of an investigation by Chinese authorities, and added a new statement on Thursday.

"We fully support China's efforts to establish an environment conducive to promoting fair competition and we believe we are in compliance with Chinese law," Microsoft said by e-mail.

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