China's first mediation commission handling civil disputes between Internet companies was established in Beijing on Tuesday.
Fifteen mediators including retired judges and legal practitioners have been appointed to step in whenever a civil dispute concerns Beijing's Internet companies, before the case comes to court.
The decision was made after a number of lawsuits that ended with losses to both companies and their clientele, the most notable being a three-year legal battle between Qihoo 360 and Tencent.
Representatives from over 30 companies, including search engine Baidu, news portals Sina, Sohu and Netease and video website Youku, helped draft the constitution of the commission.
Yu Xiaogang of the municipal cyberspace administration said a proper mediation mechanism will improve the competitiveness of the capital's Internet businesses.
