White & Case (Brussels)

James Killick

White & Case (Brussels)
Partner

James Killick is a partner with White & Case based in the firm’s Brussels office. James is a litigator whose practice covers competition, pharmaceuticals, and international trade. He advises leading industry players in a broad range of business sectors, from information technology and chemicals to airlines and paper. Recognized as one of the leading lawyers in his field by The International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers & Economists 2019, James uses his extensive experience and formidable grasp of EU laws and procedures to help clients navigate complex strategic issues. James has been involved in pleading numerous high-profile cases in the European Courts, including: Servier (patent settlements), ’SAS v Commission’ (Air Cargo), ’Rambus’ (standard setting), Intel, (discounts), ’Microsoft v Commission’ (compulsory licensing; treatment of trade secrets), ’Hanner’ (finding the Swedish retail monopoly on pharmaceuticals illegal), ’Forum 187 v Commission’ (fiscal state aids), ’Pfizer v Council’ (precautionary principle), ’IMS Health’ (compulsory licensing), ’Nintendo v Commission’ (parallel trade), ’Servier v Commission’ (banning of pharmaceuticals), ’Cheil Jedang v Commission’ (fining policy) and ’Du Pont v Commission’ (anti-dumping, GSP). The competition law journal Global Competition Review named the Air Cargo case, in which James represented SAS, as its Matter of the Year for 2016. In the competition field, James regularly advises companies under investigation by the Commission, notably in areas such as pharmaceuticals and standard setting, where IP and competition law overlap. He also advises merging parties under the EU Merger Regulation, and has successfully defended several major cartel cases. He also acts for third-party complainants in mergers and classic antitrust cases and has an extensive advisory practice. James has initiated several major anti-dumping and anti-subsidy actions for European industries, notably in relation to China and India. He also provides advice on export control compliance with the EU dual-use regulation and national military control regulations. As leader of the firm’s EU sanctions team, James advises clients throughout the world on EU sanctions and export control issues and keeps a very close watch on the frequent changes to EU sanctions regimes, especially those on Iran and Ukraine. (e.g., Iran, Syria, Libya, Belarus, Burma/Myanmar and the Ukraine crisis).

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James Killick (White & Case)
James Killick 3 October 2019 London

Articles

22316 Bulletin

James Killick, Axel P. Schulz, Strati Sakellariou-Witt, Irina Trichkovska, Jérémie Marthan, Jean-Luc Champy, Nina Frie, Jia Liu The EU Commission adopts a regulation that introduces rules on the implementation of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation

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The adopted FSR Implementing Regulation contains important changes compared to the draft published in February 2023. The focus of the FSR filings for M&A deals and public tenders in the EU will be on companies’ foreign financial contributions ("FFCs") received from non-EU countries (or (...)

James Killick, Axel Schulz, Strati Sakellariou-Witt, Irina Trichkovska, Marc Israel, Jérémie Marthan, Jean-Luc Champy, Michael Engel, Kate Kelliher, Nina Frie, Jia Liu The EU Commission starts implementing the Foreign Subsidies Regulation which creates a mechanism to screen transactions involving investors who have received financial support from third countries

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The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation took effect on 12 July 2023 to much fanfare. We take a look at the top five things PE funds need to know when considering acquisitions with a European footprint. The Foreign Subsidies Regulation ("FSR") is the European Commission’s attempt to level the (...)

Irina Trichkovska, Christoph Arhold, James Killick, Genevra Forwood, Jia Liu, William De Catelle The EU Commission adopts new State aid rules to encourage energy transition and retain green technologies in Europe

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On 9 March 2023, the EU Commission (Commission) adopted the Temporary Crisis and Transition State aid Framework (TCTF) aimed at boosting and retaining clean tech investments in Europe. The TCTF marks an unprecedented loosening of EU State aid rules in an attempt by the EU to prevent the exodus (...)

James Killick, Marc Israel, Kate Kelliher, Peter Citron The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal puts brakes on the extraterritorial investigation efforts into two automobile manufacturers due to no territorial connection to the UK (Volkswagen / BMW)

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On 8 February 2023, the CAT upheld claims by both BMW and Volkswagen confirming that the CMA cannot compel responses to information requests from companies with no territorial connection to the UK. CMA Investigation In March 2022, the CMA opened an investigation into suspected (...)

Jérémie Jourdan, Katarzyna Czapracka, James Killick, Assimakis Komninos, Peter Citron The EU Court of Justice clarifies the scope of the essential facilities doctrine in a case involving the Lithuanian national railway (Lietuvos geležinkeliai)

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On 12 January 2023, the EU Court of Justice upheld the EU General Court’s judgment imposing a fine on Lithuanian Railways for dismantling a section of railway track. While reaffirming its essential facility case law (Bronner), the Court confirmed that the Bronner case law did not apply to the (...)

James Killick, Jasper Wauters, Nina Frie The EU Court of Justice AG Rantos issues two opinions arguing that two international sports associations may impose pre-authorisation requirements on third party events without violating EU competition law (ESLC / UEFA / FIFA)

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In two separate non-binding opinions in Super League and International Skating Union issued on 15 December 2022, Advocate General Rantos concluded that sports federations can – under certain circumstances – impose pre-authorisation requirements on third party events without violating EU (...)

James Killick, Jérémie Jourdan, Axel P. Schulz, Irina Trichkovska The EU Parliament and Council of the EU adopt their long-awaited Foreign Subsidies Regulation which gives the Commission powers to intervene to tackle foreign subsidies distorting competition in the EU internal market

377

On 28 November 2022, the EU adopted the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, giving the European Commission powers to intervene to tackle foreign subsidies distorting competition in the EU internal market. The FSR, due to apply by mid-2023, will have a major impact on companies that engage in M&A (...)

Assimakis Komninos, James Killick The EU General Court quashes dominant chip manufacturer’s antitrust fine for "exclusivity payments" and censures the EU Commission for multiple due process and substantive errors (Qualcomm)

1554

The General Court of the European Union delivered a blow to the European Commission in fully annulling its Qualcomm (exclusivity payments) decision of 2018 and a EUR 997 million fine. Qualcomm v Commission is the first annulment of an Article 102 TFEU decision adopted by Commissioner Margrethe (...)

Peter Citron, Tilman Kuhn, Assimakis Komninos, James Killick, Jérémie Jourdan The EU Court of Justice dismisses the appeals of several manufacturers of medicines involved in an agreement seeking to delay the marketing of the generic antidepressant citalopram (Lundbeck)

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On 25 March 2021, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") dismissed all the appeals against the European Commission’s decision to fine Lundbeck and several other companies for entering into anti-competitive patent settlement agreements. The judgments largely repeat the position taken by the (...)

James Killick, Assimakis Komninos, Aqeel Kadri The UK Court of Appeal upholds the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s quashing of the Competition Authority’s decision against pharmaceutical undertakings who had allegedly abused their dominant position by pricing their epilepsy drug unfairly (Pfizer / Flynn)

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On 10 March 2020 the Court of Appeal upheld the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (CAT) quashing of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision that Pfizer and Flynn Pharma (Flynn) had abused their dominant positions in the market by pricing their epilepsy drug unfairly. Among other (...)

James Killick, Assimakis Komninos, Strati Sakellariou-Witt The UK Competition Authority closes its investigation into an allegedly abusive discount scheme in the pharmaceutical sector (Remicade)

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This article has been nominated for the 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. The CMA Remicade decision: discount schemes and abuse of dominance – effects matter!* Summary On 14 March 2019, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (...)

Assimakis Komninos, James Killick The EU Court of Justice dismisses the Commission’s appeal against the annulment of its decision to prohibit a merger in the parcel delivery market (UPS / TNT)

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This article has been nominated for the 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. EU Court confirms the need for transparency and full disclosure of economic analyses in EU merger cases (UPS/TNT)* On 16 January 2019, the Court of Justice (...)

Assimakis Komninos, James Killick The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal announces its provisional judgment in an appeal against the Competition Authority’s infringement decision in an excessive price case (Pfizer / Flynn)

631

I. Introduction In the last couple of years, there has been a trend for antitrust watchdogs around the world to investigate excessive pricing, especially in the pharmaceutical sector. Last year, the European Commission opened its first investigation into excessive pricing in the (...)

Assimakis Komninos, James Killick, Jacquelyn MacLennan, Jérémie Jourdan, Strati Sakellariou-Witt, Jan Jeram, Axel P. Schulz The EU Court of Justice endorses an effects-based assessment of rebates (Intel)

894

This article has been nominated for the 2018 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. On 6 September 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU" or "Court") essentially held in Intel that the European Commission ("Commission") (...)

Axel P. Schulz, James Killick, Jérémie Jourdan, Mark Powell The EU Court of Justice annuls a decision of the Commission requesting information on the ground that the decision did not sufficiently explain why the information requested was necessary (Italmobiliare, Schwenk Zement, HeidelbergCement and Buzzi Unicem)

1003

Introduction On 10 March 2016, the European Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling annulling European Commission decisions requesting information from cement manufacturers, on the ground that the decisions did not sufficiently explain why the information requested was necessary . This (...)

Daniel Hoppe-Jänisch, James Killick, Katarzyna Czapracka The EU Court of Justice sets out specific requirements with which an SEP holder needs to comply to be able to seek an injunction without abusing its dominant position (Huawei / ZTE)

509

Standards lie at the heart of the digital economy – without standards, we would not have smartphones, tablets and other key parts of modern life. Europe’s highest court recently delivered a judgment in Huawei v. ZTE explaining when EU competition law will prevent holders of patents that are (...)

Assimakis Komninos, Ian Forrester, James Killick The EU Court of Justice holds that parent companies may be fined for repeated infringements even without being an addressee of the earlier decisions (Versalis)

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On 5 March 2015, the European Court of Justice (CoJ) handed down its judgment in Versalis , concerning the increasing of fines for antitrust infringements where a company is found to be a repeat offender. The judgment raises important questions about the respect for the rights of defence in EU (...)

James Killick, Katarzyna Czapracka The Advocate General Wathelet states that before seeking an injunction, a standard-essential patent holder must inform an infringer that the latter needs a license (Huawei / ZTE)

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Summary The Advocate General’s advisory Opinion in the Huawei v. ZTE FRAND Case (C-170/13) would, if followed by the full European Court of Justice (ECJ), usher in a significant shift in the playing field in German litigation on Standard essential patents (SEPs). Germany has been known as a (...)

James Killick, Jérémie Jourdan The EU Court of Justice quashes a General Court judgment for failing to correctly apply the notion of restriction by object (Groupement des Cartes Bancaires)

1592

Introduction On 11 September 2014, the Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered its judgment in the Cartes Bancaires case . The ECJ quashed the General Court (GC) judgment for failing to correctly apply the notion of restriction by object. The Cartes Bancaires contains two key messages: first, the (...)

James Killick, Katarzyna Czapracka Intellectual Property & Antitrust: a synthesis of EU and national case law

758

The interaction between competition rules and intellectual property ("IP") rights has long been among the most interesting, controversial and widely discussed issues in competition law. At a first glance, the objectives of IP law and competition rules might seem to be at odds with each other. On the one hand, competition rules prohibit conduct that restricts competition and thereby leads to lower output and higher prices. On the other, IP law creates exclusive rights that limit access to information, technologies and other intangible assets.

James Killick, Mark Powell The EU General Court holds for the first time that the Commission erred in relying on the presumption that a parent company is liable for the anticompetitive conduct of its wholly-owned subsidiary (Hydrogen Peroxide)

513

By its decision of 3 May 2006, the Commission imposed fines totalling over EUR 388 million on a number of companies for their participation in a cartel on the market for hydrogen peroxide and sodium perborate (bleaching agents) between 31 January 1994 and 31 December 2000. Among the companies (...)

James Killick, Mark Powell The EU General Court partially annuls the Commission’s decision and reduces fines in a cartel case concerning the international removal services market in Belgium (Gosselin / Verhuizingen Coppens)

485

By its decision of 11 March 2008, the Commission imposed fines totalling over EUR 32 million on ten companies for their participation in a cartel on the international removal services market in Belgium between October 1984 and September 2003. In particular, the Commission imposed fines of EUR (...)

James Killick The EU Commission condemns leading US software company for abuse of a dominant position in the market for client PC operating systems, ordering to grant compulsory license to competitor (Microsoft / Sun Microsystems)

665

This article analyses the three major recent cases dealing with the boundary between EC competition law and intellectual property rights: the Commission’s interim measures decision in the IMS case, the European Court of Justice’s later judgment in IMS and, finally, the Commission’s decision in (...)

James Killick, Mark Powell The EU CFI overturns the EU Commission’s decision to block a merger in the packaging equipment sector addressing the issues of conglomerate effects and leveraging (Tetra Laval / Sidel)

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For the third time this year, and the second time this week, the European Court of First Instance ("CFI") has overturned a decision of the EC Commission to block a merger. Once again, the CFI criticized the Commission’s factual findings and its analysis. Within hours of the judgment, (...)

James Killick The EU Court of Justice overturns the EU Commission decision’s to block a merger between two UK tour operators addressing the issue of collective dominance (Airtours / First Choice)

763

In a critical decision, the European Court of First Instance (“CFI”) reversed the decision of the EC Commission, which had blocked AirTours’ acquisition of First Choice, a rival UK tour operator, under Article 2(3) of the EC Merger Control Regulation on the basis that it would have created a (...)

James Killick The EU Commission imposes interim measures on the world leader in data collection on pharmaceutical sales and prescriptions considering that its refusal to grant license constitutes an abuse of dominance (IMS Health)

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This article analyses the three major recent cases dealing with the boundary between EC competition law and intellectual property rights: the Commission’s interim measures decision in the IMS case, the European Court of Justice’s later judgment in IMS and, finally, the Commission’s decision in (...)

19037 Review

James Killick, Jorge Padilla, Josef Drexl Standard setting organizations and processes: Challenges and opportunities for competition and innovation (New Frontiers of Antitrust, 15 June 2015, Paris)

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In this roundtable, speakers discuss the challenges and opportunities that the standard setting organizations and processes represent for competition and innovation. First, Josef Drexl’s introductory remarks focus on defining the scope of the roundtable. In the second contribution, Jorge (...)

Assimakis Komninos, Florence Ninane, Francesco Rosati, Geoffrey D. Oliver, Hendrick Bourgeois, Ioannis Lianos, James Killick, Johanne Peyre, Niamh McCarthy, Philippe Choné The EU guidance on exclusionary abuses: A step forward or a missed opportunity?

6927

What are the consequences for business of the Commission’s Communication on Article 82 of the Treaty? Does it make the Commission’s action more predictable? Does the use of a wide range of economic criteria reduce the risk that pro-competitive practices by dominant companies will be considered (...)

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