Allen & Overy

Allen & Overy is one of the world’s top law firms with expertise in banking & finance, M&A, litigation, funds, IP, and related business solutions. Allen & Overy’s Antitrust and Competition Law team advises on global antitrust policies, litigation, antitrust disputes, and regulatory issues.

Review

Julia Molestina Regional Competition Law Enforcement in Developing Countries, Julia MOLESTINA

May 2019 96

This section selects books on themes related to competition laws and economics. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey of themes important in the area. The survey usually covers publication over the last three months after publication of the latest issue of (...)

Emmanuelle Claudel, Nicolas Ferrier, Patrice Bougette, Frédéric Marty, Florence Ninane, Noemie Bomble, Irène Luc, Andreas Mundt, Olivier Guersent, Marion Carbo, Charlotte Colin-Dubuisson, Sima Ostrovsky, David-Julien dos Santos Goncalves Perspectives on the proposed reform of the Vertical Restraints Regulation and its Guidelines

September 2021 3661

The On-Topic aims to present a range of views on the European Commission’s proposed reform of the Vertical Restraints Regulation and its Guidelines. The contributors are representatives of the European Commission and competition authorities, practitioners, legal researchers and economists. (...)

Dominic Long Brexit: Increased scope for intervention in takeovers of UK businesses?

November 2016 554

This paper discusses the implications of Brexit on the ability of the UK Government to intervene in cross-border mergers to protect domestic ‘strategic interests’ of the kind identified by the Prime Minister in her speech in July (in which she argued that “a proper industrial strategy wouldn’t (...)

Cyriel Ruers, Tjarda van der Vijver Netherlands: The establishment of “super regulator” ACM

February 2014 402

Three former Dutch regulators – the postal and telecoms regulator (OPTA), the consumer protection authority (CA) and the competition authority (NMa) – have merged into 1 “super regulator” named ACM. This article discusses several changes in legislation and policy guidelines (either already (...)

Hugh Hollman, Ronald A. Stern Ron Stern (General Electric): An in-house perspective on global competition law developments

May 2012 778

Interview conducted by Hugh Hollman, Jones Day, Silicon Valley Office. 1. After Harvard law school, you clerked on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for Judge Harold Leventhal, and then for US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, before entering private practice. At the (...)

Florence Ninane, Frederic Jenny The determination of fines

February 2012 1372

This set of two papers is derived from the training session on the “Determination of fines” organized by Concurrences Review that was held on 10th November 2011 in Paris. The first contribution written by Prof. Frédéric Jenny is dedicated to the economic model of the deterrence and its limits. (...)

Florence Ninane, Frederic Jenny, Laurent Flochel The economics of informations exchange

May 2011 2526

This set of three papers is derived from the training session on the information exchanges organised by Concurrences Review that has held on the 31th March 2011 in Paris. The first contribution written by Prof. Frederic Jenny, is dedicated to the definition of the fundamental notions. The (...)

Noah A. Brumfield, Wendi R. Schepler Antitrust counterclaims in US patent infringement litigation

December 2010 1722

In view of the well-known tensions between the antitrust laws and the intellectual property laws, in any patent infringement litigation the accused infringer should always consider possible antitrust counterclaims. Such claims may include variations on monopolization under Section 2 of the (...)

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?

May 2009 6944

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 (...)

Anne Wachsmann, Charles Pommies, Laurent Flochel Predatory pricing: The French Competition Council imposes a heavy fine for predatory prices aimed at impending the growth of generic medicines in hospitals (GlaxoSmithKline)

14 March 2007 6930

Cons. conc. dec. no. 07-D-09 of 14 March 2007 relating to practices implemented by the GlaxoSmithKline France laboratory Two decisions, one French, the other Community, relating to predatory pricing, differ significantly on the criteria applied to classify predation practices (see (...)

Bulletin

Foreword

Jürgen Schindler, Mark Taylor Platforms and competition law: An overview of EU and national case law

15 February 2018 1920

The application of antitrust laws to internet platforms will be one of the key areas of development for antitrust law over the coming years.

Charles Pommies, Jean-François Willems Parallel trade in the pharmaceutical sector: An overview of EU and national case law

3 November 2016 1848

1. Introduction The purpose of this foreword is to provide an overview of national and European case law on parallel trade in the pharmaceutical sector, as reported in the e-Competition Bulletin. Parallel trade relies on price differentials between countries for the same product. It takes (...)

Kristina Nordlander, Patrick Harrison EU / US Patent Settlements: An overview of leading cases

21 January 2016 1253

1. Introduction 1.1 In October 2013, the authors penned a foreword to a special edition of Concurrences on patent settlement agreements. 1.2 A lot has happened since that foreword was published. The European Commission (“Commission”) has issued – and published – infringement decisions in (...)

Dirk Arts, Francesca Miotto Cartel settlements: An overview of EU and national case law

10 June 2014 506

The EU cartel settlement regime will soon celebrate its sixth anniversary since its introduction . After a somewhat hesitant start, cartel settlement would appear to have overcome its teething phase and to be gathering pace

Algeria

Hugh Hollman, Jürgen Schindler, Milosz Cywinski, Samantha Zakka The Middle East and North Africa Competition Authorities launch the Arab Competition Network

16 March 2022 320

This article has been nominated for the 2023 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. Middle East and North Africa Competition Authorities launch the Arab Competition Network Enhanced cooperation among antitrust regulatory authorities in the (...)

Belgium

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten, Hannelore Wiame The Belgian Competition Authority publishes its annual notice on enforcement priorities, including institutional changes, sustainability goals, and labour markets focus

16 May 2022 562

On May 16, 2022, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) published its long-awaited notice on enforcement priorities for 2022 (Notice). The BCA explains that, with a view to making the best use of its resources, it will focus its interventions on matters where the expected positive effect of (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Hannelore Wiame, Karolien Van der Putten The Belgian Parliament transposes the ECN+ Directive into the national legislation and introduces filing fees in concentration notifications

7 March 2022 629

On March 7, 2022, changes to both the Belgian Code of Economic Law (CEL) as well as the Belgian Criminal Code (BCC) were published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Belgisch Staatsblad, Moniteur belge). The main changes include: Introducing a filing fee in notifications of concentrations (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU Court of Justice sets aside a General Court ruling and finds that Belgian "excess profit rulings" may constitute a State aid scheme and remands the case back to the General Court to consider whether there was illegal State aid (Magnetrol International)

16 September 2021 61

On 16 September 2021, the CJEU delivered its judgment on whether the Belgian system of excess profit rulings (EPRs) constituted a scheme or not. The CJEU set aside the GCEU’s judgment that annulled the EC’s decision qualifying the EPRs as an aid scheme. The CJEU referred the case back to the (...)

Hein Hobbelen, Pauline Van Sande The Belgian Competition Authority adopts guidelines regarding the calculation of fines, leniency applications and on the informal opinions of the Competition Authority’s President

22 May 2020 112

On 22 May 2020 the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) published three new guidelines: (i) new guidelines regarding the informal opinions of the BCA’s President; (ii) new guidelines regarding the calculation of fines; and (iii) new leniency guidelines. Below we set out the most important (...)

Pauline Van Sande, Hein Hobbelen The Belgian Competition Authority publishes its annual enforcement priorities for 2020

26 February 2020 135

On 26 February 2020, the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) published its annual enforcement priorities, which are largely similar to those of 2019: Telecommunications - the BCA notes that the increased reliance on bundled offers in the telecom retail markets has the effect of increasing (...)

Pauline Van Sande The Belgian Competition Authority approves a request from a major cinema complex operator to lift one of the merger commitments previously imposed (Kinepolis)

11 February 2020 152

On 11 February 2020, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) approved a request from the Kinepolis group, a major cinema complex operator, to lift one of the merger commitments which had been imposed on the group in the 90s. Since the creation of the Kinepolis group in 1997 following the (...)

Pauline Van Sande, Hein Hobbelen The Belgian Competition Authority starts a phase II investigation into the acquisition of two companies active in the sector of the production and sales of soft wheat flour (Ceres / Dossche Mills)

15 January 2020 142

At the beginning of the year, the Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") started a second phase investigation into the acquisition of Ceres NV by Dossche Mills, two companies active in the sector of production and sales of soft wheat flour for human consumption. The main issue concerned the (...)

Pauline Van Sande, José Rivas The Belgian Competition Authority imposes an interim measure to temporarily suspend the joint venture between two of the three main telecom companies in the national market (Orange Belgium / Proximus)

10 January 2020 149

On 8 January, the Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") imposed an interim measure to temporarily suspend the joint venture ("JV") between Orange and Proximus, two of the three main telecom players in the Belgian market. The cooperation between Orange and Proximus relates to the sharing of (...)

Pauline Van Sande, José Rivas The Belgian Court of Appeal upholds the Competition Authority’s decision for imposing a fine over the exclusion of a company from the pharmaceutical sector (Order of Pharmacists)

8 January 2020 147

In a judgment dated 8 January 2020, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") in which it imposed a fine on the Order of Pharmacists for excluding Medi-Market from the market for pharmacy services (see July edition of Competitive Edge). The Court, (...)

Pauline Van Sande, José Rivas The Belgian Competition Authority fines €225,000 the national association of pharmacists for limiting the ability of pharmacists to advertise para pharmaceutical products online (Order of Pharmacists)

15 October 2019 105

On 15 October 2019, the Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") imposed a fine of EUR 225,000 on the national Order of Pharmacists for adopting, maintaining and implementing provisions of its Deontological Code that limit the ability of pharmacists to advertise para-pharmaceutical products, in (...)

Pauline Van Sande, José Rivas The Belgian Competition Authority publishes a guide which sets out the principles of exchanging information between competitors and how it applies to associations of undertakings

1 October 2019 97

On 1 October 2019, the Belgian Competition Authority published a Guide on the "Exchange of Information in the framework of Associations of Undertakings". The Guide sets out the main principles of exchanging information between competitors and how they apply to associations of undertakings, and (...)

José Rivas, Pauline Van Sande, Hein Hobbelen The Belgian Competition Authority fines a pharmaceutical company for implementing anticompetitive practices aimed at excluding another association of pharmacies from the market (Order of Pharmacists)

28 May 2019 86

The Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") fined the national Order of Pharmacists EUR 1 million on 28 May 2019, for the use of anticompetitive practices aimed at excluding the Medi-Market Group, an association of (para)pharmacies, from the market for pharmacy services. Previously, the market (...)

José Rivas, Pauline Van Sande, Hein Hobbelen The Belgian Competition Authority conditionally approves a sole control acquisition in the media industry (De Vijver Media / Telenet)

13 May 2019 120

On 13 May 2019 the Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") conditionally approved Telenet’s acquisition of sole control over De Vijver Media, after a referral by the European Commission ("EC"). The deal was originally notified to the EC on 4 October 2018. The EC already investigated Telenet’s (...)

José Rivas, Pauline Van Sande, Hein Hobbelen The Belgian Federal Parliament adopts an Act reforming the competition law introducing technical legislative improvements such as streamlining procedures, formalising existing administrative practices and updating terminology

25 April 2019 117

On 25 April 2019, the Belgian Federal Parliament adopted an Act reforming Belgian competition law (please note that the version of the Act adopted by the Parliament is not public yet and our analysis below is based on the fact that no amendments have been adopted to the version which was (...)

José Rivas, Pauline Van Sande, Hein Hobbelen The Belgian Parliament adopts a proposal amending the national competition law in order to include the concept of abuse of economic dependence

21 March 2019 85

On 21 March 2019, the Belgian Parliament adopted a proposal amending Belgian competition law to include the concept of abuse of economic dependence in the toolbox of the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) following the example of a number of other EU Member States. Under the new rules, it (...)

José Rivas, Pauline Van Sande, Hein Hobbelen The Belgian Competition Authority publishes its enforcement priorities for 2019

19 February 2019 83

On 1 March 2019, the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) published its annual enforcement priorities, which are largely similar to those of 2018: Telecommunications – the BCA notes that the increased reliance on bundled offers in the telecom retail markets has the effect of increasing (...)

José Rivas, Pauline Van Sande, Hein Hobbelen The Belgian Competition Authority imposes interim measures in a public procurement procedure in the broadcasting transmission market (Norkring / Broadcast Partners)

22 January 2019 122

This decision of 22 January 2019 is the next step in an eventful public procurement procedure and it confirms the preference of the Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") to tackle cases via interim measures. Norkring has a service agreement to transmit the FM broadcasts of VRT that runs (...)

Hannelore Wiame, Norman Neyrinck The President of the Belgian Competition Authority declares a request for preliminary measures against abusive storage conditions to be admissible and founded (Armajaro / Port Real)

22 May 2012 225

I. The Parties Armajaro Trading Limited (hereinafter “Armajaro”) is active in agricultural products trading (such as coffee, cacao and sugar). Amajaro’s activities include the trading of Liffe Certified Robusta Coffee on the NYSE Liffe Exchange in London (hereinafter “NYSE Liffe Exchange”). (...)

Canada

Jana Steenholdt, Francesca Miotto, John Roberti The Canadian Supreme Court clarifies several procedural questions relating to class actions, with potential significance to class actions in the UK and EU (Pioneer / Godfrey)

20 September 2019 57

This article has been nominated for the 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. On September 20, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) issued a landmark antitrust class action decision in Pioneer Corp. v Godfrey which clarified several (...)

China

George Paul, Noah A. Brumfield, Rebecca Farrington (Hilberman) The Chinese MOFCOM reviews a merger in the communication sector, before it is called off because of the length of the merger control review process (Publicis / Omnicom)

9 May 2014 300

This article has been nominated for the 2015 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. Advertising giants Omnicom Group and Publicis Groupe called off their US$35 billion merger on May 8, 2014, terminating a transaction that would have created (...)

François Renard, Ji Zou, Mitchell Silk, Richard Kim, Thomas E. Jones, Victor Ho The Chinese MOFCOM finalizes new interim provisions on the assessment of anticompetitive effects of mergers

5 September 2011 346

This article has been nominated for the 2012 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. On 2 September 2011, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) published Provisional Rules on the Assessment of the Competitive Effects of a Concentration of (...)

Czech Republic

Ivana Halamová Dobíšková The Czech telecom regulator is moving towards withdrawing restrictions imposed on the incumbent in one of the retail markets (Telefónica O2)

5 March 2008 3498

In compliance with the European Commission Recommendation 2007/879/EC on relevant product markets (Recommendation 2007) that are susceptible to be regulated ex ante in accordance with Directive 2002/21/EC, the Czech Telecommunication Office (CTO) defined new relevant telecommunication markets. (...)

European Union

Stéphane Dionnet, Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU Commission publishes the Foreign Subsidies Regulation in the Official Journal

23 December 2022 521

Time to Prepare for A New Regulatory Hurdle for M&A Transactions and Public Procurements Within the European Union On December 23, 2022, Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of December 14, 2022 on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market (FSR) was published in the Official Journal of the (...)

Julia Molestina The EU Commission sends a Statement of Objections to the developer of a multiple sclerosis medication over misuse of the patent system and disparagement of a rival (Teva)

10 October 2022 62

On 10 October 2022, the European Commission (EC) sent a Statement of Objections to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited and Teva Pharmaceuticals Europe BV (Teva). The EC has provisionally found that Teva abused its dominant position in the market for the treatment of multiple sclerosis by (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten, Hannelore Wiame The EU General Court rules that the Commission has the power to review a merger even though the turnover thresholds have not been triggered (Illumina / Grail)

13 July 2022 167

In Illumina v Commission, the General Court has confirmed the authority of the European Commission (EC) under Article 22 EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) to examine a transaction that does not have a European dimension, but which is the subject of a referral request made by a Member State – even if (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten, Hannelore Wiame The EU Parliament and Council reach a political agreement on the proposed new foreign subsidies regulation

30 June 2022 190

On June 30, 2022, the Council of the European Union (Council) and the European Parliament (Parliament) reached a political agreement on the Regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market (FSR or Regulation). The FSR aims to redress the perceived regulatory gaps left by (...)

Jacques Buhart, Stéphane Dionnet, Frédéric Pradelles, Hendrik Viaene, Hannelore Wiame The EU General Court decides to reduce the fines for certain undertakings in an airfreight cartel (Airfreight Cartel)

30 March 2022 50

Procedural and Factual Background On November 9, 2010, the EU Commission (EC) imposed fines (totaling nearly EUR 800 million) on multiple air freight carriers for their participation in the “air freight cartel” (the 2010 Decision). The case was opened following an immunity application made (...)

Hendrik Viaene, David Henry, Karolien Van der Putten, Hannelore Wiame The EU Council and Parliament reach a political agreement on the regulation of contestable and fair markets in the digital sector

25 March 2022 370

On March 24, 2022 the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached political agreement on the “Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector” (Digital Markets Act or DMA). The political agreement comes just 15 months (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten, Hannelore Wiame The EU Commission adopts Temporary Crisis Framework for State aid measures to support the EU economy following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

23 March 2022 534

To mitigate the negative economic and social consequences of Russian military aggression against Ukraine and to lessen the effect of the restrictive economic measures taken in response to the crisis, as well as retaliatory counter measures, the European Commission adopted the Temporary Crisis (...)

Karolien Van der Putten, Hendrik Viaene The European Competition Network issues a joint statement on the application of competition law in the context of the war in Ukraine

21 March 2022 252

On March 21 2022, the European Competition Network (ECN), the network of authorities comprising the European Commission, the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the national competition authorities of all EU Member States (NCAs), issued a joint statement on the application of competition law in (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten, Hannelore Wiame The EU Commission sends a draft proposal to the Member States with the aim of establishing a State aid temporary crisis framework to support the EU economy in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

10 March 2022 493

The European Commission consults Member States on its draft proposal On March 10, 2022 the European Commission (Commission) sent a draft proposal to EU Member States with the aim of establishing a State aid Temporary Crisis Framework to support the EU economy in the wake of Russia’s invasion (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU Court of Justice broadens the scope of follow-on damage claims by permitting actions against the subsidiaries of companies which have been found to have infringed competition law (Sumal / Mercedes Benz Trucks España)

6 October 2021 290

On 6 October 2021, the CJEU issued its judgment in Case C-882/19, Sumal, S.L. v Mercedes Benz Trucks España, S.L. (EU:C:1987:418), and confirmed that follow-on damages actions can be brought against subsidiaries of companies found to have infringed EU competition law. The victim of an (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU General Court upholds a decision from the Commission sanctioning a telecommunications operator for gun jumping and clarifies in its decision the applicable rules (Altice / PT Portugal)

22 September 2021 348

On September 22, 2021, the EU General Court (GC) upheld a decision from the European Commission (Commission) by which it fined telecommunications operator Altice for gun jumping (T-425/18, Altice Europe v Commission). In particular, the GC affirmed that the Commission could impose two separate (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU General Court confirms that the Commission was able to fine a telecommunications firm twice for gun jumping, once for breaching the standstill obligation and once for breaching the failure to notify obligation (Altice)

22 September 2021 56

On 22 September 2021, the GCEU upheld a decision from the EC by which it fined telecommunications operator Altice for gun-jumping. In particular, the GCEU affirmed that the EC could impose two separate fines: a fine for implementing a concentration prior to its clearance, and a fine for (...)

Philip Bentley, Jacques Buhart, Frédéric Pradelles, Hendrik Viaene, David Henry, Mary Hecht, Max Küttner, Karolien Van der Putten The EU Commission fines investment banks €371M for participating in a European bonds trading cartel (Bank of America / Natixis / RBS / UBS / UniCredit / WestLB)

20 May 2021 118

By decision of 20 May 2021, the EC found that Bank of America, Natixis, Nomura, RBS (now NatWest), UBS, UniCredit and WestLB (now Portigon) breached EU antitrust rules through the participation of a group of traders in a cartel on the primary and secondary markets for European Government Bonds (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU General Court upholds the Commission’s decision which declared that numerous beneficial tax rulings constituted illegal State aid in favour of an energy company (Engie)

16 May 2021 83

On 12 May 2021 the GCEU confirmed the EC’s decision of 20 June 2018 that the tax rulings which allowed the Engie group to partially escape tax in Luxembourg constituted illegal State aid within the meaning of Article 107 (1) TFEU. Background As from September 2008, the Luxembourg tax (...)

Paul Johnson, Gavin Bushell, Nina F. Niejahr, Samantha Zakka The EU Commission proposes a regulation of foreign subsidies

5 May 2021 387

In brief On 5 May 2021, the European Commission ("Commission") published a proposed Regulation, along with an impact assessment report, aiming to address potential distortions caused by foreign subsidies in the Single Market ("Proposed Regulation"). This Proposed Regulation will create (...)

Miranda Cole, Aidan Forde The EU Commission provides guidance regarding its policy change to Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation

26 March 2021 723

On 26 March 2021, the European Commission (“Commission”) published a Staff Working Paper summarising the findings of its evaluation of procedural and jurisdictional aspects of EU merger control (the “Evaluation”), along with a communication providing guidance regarding its change in approach (...)

Philip Bentley, Jacques Buhart, Frédéric Pradelles, Hendrik Viaene, David Henry, Mary Hecht, Max Küttner, Karolien Van der Putten The EU Court of Justice dismisses all appeals brought by a Danish pharmaceutical company and five generic manufacturers against the judgments of the General Court and upholds a decision of the Commission on patent settlement agreements between the companies (Lundbeck)

25 March 2021 185

On 25 March 2021, the CJEU dismissed all the appeals brought by Danish pharmaceutical company H. Lundbeck A/S and five generic manufacturers against the judgments of the GCEU, thus upholding a decision of the EC on patent settlement agreements between Lundbeck and five generic manufacturers (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU Court of Justice dismisses two telecommunication companies’ appeals on abuse of dominance charges on the grounds that it was not essential for the Commission to show indispensability because the case was not a refusal to supply case, it concerned the imposition of unfair conditions (Slovak Telekom) (Deutsche Telekom)

25 March 2021 118

As the incumbent telecommunications operator in Slovakia, Slovak Telekom a.s. (ST) offers broadband services on its fixed copper and fibre optic networks. ST’s networks also include the local loop, i.e., the physical lines which connect the subscriber’s telephone termination point with the (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU Court of Justice determines that Hungarian and Polish progressive taxes on companies do not breach EU State aid rules

16 March 2021 61

On 16 March 2021, the CJEU delivered its judgments in Cases C-562/19 P, Commission v Republic of Poland (EU:C:2021:201) and C-596/19 P, Commission v Hungary (EU:C:2021:202), ruling that the Polish tax on the retail sector and the Hungarian advertisement tax do not breach EU State aid rules. (...)

Johan Ysewyn, Sophie Bertin, Aidan Forde The EU General Court dismisses the first two challenges to State aid awarded to national airlines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (Ryanair)

17 February 2021 340

On 17 February 2021, the General Court of the European Union (“General Court”) in Cases T-259/20 and T-238/20 dismissed Ryanair’s challenges to pandemic aid packages introduced in France and Sweden in order to support the domestic airline sector. The judgments are the first ones where the (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU Commission accepts commitments by a drug manufacturer to reduce prices by 73% in an excessive pricing case (Aspen)

10 February 2021 91

On 10 February 2021, the EC concluded its first excessive pricing investigation in the healthcare sector by accepting commitments from Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd and Aspen Pharma Ireland Limited (collectively, Aspen) (Decision C (2021) 72 final in Case AT.40394, Aspen). The decision (...)

Johan Ysewyn, Kevin Coates, Aidan Forde The EU Court of Justice confirms that financial investors can be liable where they hold 100% voting rights over an indirect entity that participated in a cartel (Goldman Sachs)

27 January 2021 125

On 27 January 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) confirmed in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. v European Commission that financial investors can be liable where they hold 100% voting rights over an indirect entity that participated in a cartel, even though the investor does not (...)

Pauline Van Sande The EU Commission imposes fines for companies active in the video games sector for geo-blocking practices (Valve / Bandai Namco / Capcom / Focus Home / Koch Media / ZeniMax)

20 January 2021 136

One of the final cases resulting from the European Commission’s e-commerce sector enquiry has come to a conclusion. On 20 January 2021, the Directorate-General for Competition fined Valve Corporation, owner of the Steam game distribution platform, and five personal computer (PC) video game (...)

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The Court of Justice preliminarily rules that the end date of a bid-rigging offence is when the "essential characteristics" of the contract have been "definitively determined"(Kilpailu-Ja Kuluttajavirasto)

14 January 2021 63

On 14 January 2021, the CJEU delivered a preliminary ruling in which it clarified when a bid-rigging cartel offence comes to an end. This issue is particularly relevant with regard to the imposition of fines within the limitation period. Background In April 2007, Fingrid Oyj, the company (...)

José Rivas, Pauline Van Sande The EU Commission publishes a report on the implementation of the Damages Directive finding insufficient application in practice

14 December 2020 147

On 14 December 2020, the European Commission published a report on the implementation of Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (“the Damages Directive”). Overall, the Commission is positive about the implementation of the Directive in the Member States, but the (...)

Bram Hoorelbeke, Hannelore Wiame, Nina F. Niejahr The EU Commission publishes the fourth amendment to the State aid temporary framework to support the economy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

13 October 2020 326

On 13 October 2020, the Commission decided to extend the coverage of the Temporary Framework and prolong it for six months until 30 June 2021, except for the section on recapitalisation support, which was extended for three months until 30 September 2021 (4th Amendment). In March 2020, the (...)

Francine Cunningham, Pauline Van Sande The EU Commission calls for contributions regarding the relationship between competition policy and sustainability

13 October 2020 81

With climate change near the top of the international political agenda, the European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen has made the Green Deal plan, together with the transition to a truly Digital Europe, into a key policy goal for her administration. The Green Deal is the action plan (...)

Pauline Van Sande, Anne Federle The EU Commission opens in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition of a producer of wearable tech devices by a Big Tech company on the basis that it would entrench the latter’s market position in the online advertising market (Fitbit / Google)

4 August 2020 106

At the beginning of August, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the acquisition of Fitbit by Google. The transaction was notified to the Commission on 15 June 2020 and Google proposed commitments to address the Commission’s preliminary concerns on 13 July 2020. (...)

Anne Federle, Pauline Van Sande The EU Commissions launches a sector inquiry into the Internet of Things (IoT) for consumer-related products and services

16 July 2020 92

The inquiry will focus on "consumer-related products and services that are connected to a network and can be controlled at a distance, for example via a voice assistant or mobile device, including smart home appliances and wearable devices". Consumer-related IoT products and services in the (...)

Pauline Van Sande, José Rivas The EU Commission decides that Italy granted unlawful State aid in favour of the hotel industry that should be recovered (Italy / Commission)

12 March 2020 121

In 2008, the European Commission decided that Italy had granted unlawful State aid in favour of the hotel industry in Sardinia. Consequently, Italy was required to recover that unlawful aid, totalling at about EUR 13.7 million. On 29 March 2012, the Court of justice upheld the arguments of (...)

Francine Cunningham, Pauline Van Sande The EU Commission Vice-President is being intensely pressured from four large countries which wrote a joint letter to insist on a rapid competition law reform

4 February 2020 112

President Ursula Von der Leyen’s pledge to preside over a "geo-political" Commission is being put to the test by intense pressure from four large countries which are insisting on rapid competition law reform. In a strongly worded letter sent to Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager on 4 (...)

Pauline Van Sande, José Rivas The EU Commission imposes a €14.3 million fine on a film and TV production company for restricting sales of licensed film merchandise (NBCUniversal)

30 January 2020 164

On 30 January 2020, the Commission imposed a fine on NBCUniversal for the restriction of sales of film merchandise relating to Minions and Shrek, among others. In June 2017, the Commission opened investigations into the licensing deals entered into by Nike, Sanrio (Hello Kitty), and (...)

Anne Federle, Pauline Van Sande The EU Court of Justice clarifies that when patent settlement agreements restrict a generic pharmaceutical company’s ability to enter the market they infringe EU antitrust rules (Generics - UK / GlaxoSmithKline / Actavis / Xellia Pharmaceuticals / Merck / Alpharma)

30 January 2020 200

Article summary: Settlement Agreements Can Be Anti-Competitive Only If The Involved Companies Are (At Least) Potential Competitors. A Careful Examination Must Determine Whether A Generic Manufacturer Would Have Entered Into The Market Without A "Pay Per Delay" Agreement. The Classification (...)

Pauline Van Sande, José Rivas The EU Commission approves a project to support research and innovation in the battery value chain (IPCEI)

9 December 2019 137

In the beginning of December, the European Commission approved an Important Project of Common European Interest ("IPCEI") to support research and innovation in the battery value chain. The project, which has a funding capacity of up to €3.2 billion, was jointly notified by Belgium, Finland, (...)

Pauline Van Sande, José Rivas The EU Commission launches a public consultation on the block exemption regulations

6 November 2019 142

On 6 November 2019, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations ("HBERs") – the Research & Development Block Exemption Regulation ("R&D BER") and the Specialisation Block Exemption Regulation ("Specialisation BER"), and the (...)

José Rivas, Pauline Van Sande The EU Commission imposes interim measures on a tech company in the design, development and supply of semiconductors (Broadcom)

16 October 2019 126

On 16 October 2019, the European Commission (EC) imposed interim measures on Broadcom. Broadcom is a technology leader in the design, development and supply of a range of semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions, including chipsets for TV set-top boxes and modems. The EC started its (...)

Pauline Van Sande, José Rivas The EU General Court orders Luxembourg and Netherlands to recover millions of euros from two companies on the basis of State aid rules (Fiat / Starbucks)

24 September 2019 91

On 24 September 2019, the General Court delivered its first two judgements in the series of appeals against European Commission (EC) decisions on tax rulings ordering Member States to recover millions of euros on the basis of state aid rules. In October 2015, the EC ruled that selective tax (...)

José Rivas, Pauline Van Sande The EU Council’s working group proposes a Directive on representative actions for the protection of collective interests of consumers

11 April 2018 87

On 4 and 5 November 2019, the European Council’s Working Group on Consumer Protection and Information discussed the latest compromise proposal, as circulated by the Finnish Presidency of the Council, on representative actions for the protection of collective interests of consumers. The Finnish (...)

Bill Batchelor, Hannelore Wiame The EU Court of Justice dismisses an appeal against a General Court judgment upholding the EU Commission’s prohibition of a non-compete covenant in a share purchase agreement (Telefonica)

13 December 2017 765

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently dismissed an appeal against a General Court judgment which largely upheld the European Commission’s prohibition decision taken against Telefónica and Portugal Telecom for a non-compete covenant in a share purchase agreement. The share purchase (...)

Kristina Nordlander, Patrick Harrison EU / US Patent Settlements: An overview of leading cases

21 January 2016 1253

Börries Ahrens, Ian Forrester, James Killick The EU Commissioner in charge of competition policy announces a potential inquiry in the e-commerce sector

26 March 2015 247

On 26 March 2015, the European Commissioner in charge of competition policy, Margrethe Vestager, announced a potential competition inquiry in the e-commerce sector. According to the Commission, the proposed inquiry is aimed at identifying and resolving cross-border barriers to e-commerce in (...)

Brechje Van der Velden, Werner Eyskens The European Commission launches a new consultation on proposals for collective redress

4 February 2011 111

This article has been nominated for the 2012 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. The European Commission has launched another consultation on proposals for collective redress. It is open until 30 April 2011. The consultation takes the form (...)

France

Héléna Moulin-Smith, Alix Villechalane, Kelly Garet, Marie Chareyre de Beaumont The Paris Court of Appeal finds a significant imbalance in the long-term contractual relationship between the French incumbent parcel delivery operator and one of its clients (La Poste / Central Optics)

7 January 2021 500

Introduction In its ruling of the 7th January 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal applied the concept of "significant imbalance" in its anterior version now contained in Article L442-1 of the french commercial code. The notion of significant imbalance originates in consumer law and was extended (...)

Germany

Börries Ahrens, Charles Balmain The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf upholds a judgment of the Regional Court of Düsseldorf in a cartel in the cement sector (German cement cartel)

18 February 2015 370

This article has been nominated for the 2016 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. Cartel Damage Claims, a Belgian SPV for the collection of follow-on damages in antitrust litigation, has lost an appeal against six members of the so-called (...)

Börries Ahrens The German Supreme Court rules on damage claims by indirect purchasers and the passing-on defence in a cartel case (Carbonless Paper Cartel)

28 June 2011 1085

On November 24, 2011 the German Federal High Court (Bundesgerichtshof) published its decision in the ORWI case. The claimant, a German savings bank, brought a claim for damages against a carbonless paper manufacturer, that were ceded to him by ORWI, a manufacturer of pre-printed forms. (...)

Börries Ahrens The German Federal Court of Justice finds a merger lawful reversing the Court of Appeal’s prohibition ruling (Phonak / GN Store)

20 April 2010 1978

The German Federal Court of Justice (the Bundesgerichtshof or “BGH”) in its decision dated April 20, 2010 held that the intended acquisition by Swiss Phonak Holding (today Sonova Holding AG, hereinafter referred to as “Phonak”) of GN ReSound-Group (“GN ReSound”) from the Danish firm GN Store (...)

Börries Ahrens The German Bundeskartellamt fines the leading drugstore chain for selling below purchase price (Rossmann)

6 February 2007 7135

Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), Press release of 08 February 2007 () On 6 February 2007 the German Federal Cartel Office announced that it had imposed an administrative fine in the amount of EUR 300,000 on Rossmann, the leading German drugstore chain, for alleged sales below the (...)

Börries Ahrens The German Competition Authority holds that franchisees must benefit from central sourcing (Praktiker)

8 May 2006 6311

The German Bundeskartellamt rendered a significant decision on the obligation of franchisors to share purchasing advantages with franchisees the 8th May 2006. Praktiker is a leading German DIY-store chain. While the majority of Praktiker chain stores are owned by Praktiker, a small number of (...)

Hong Kong

Mark J. Gidley, Noah A. Brumfield, Yi Ying The Hong Kong Parliament adopts a Competition Ordinance which creates its National Competition Authority

14 June 2012 178

On December 14, 2015, Hong Kong became the latest jurisdiction to prohibit anticompetitive agreements and unilateral conduct. The Competition Ordinance (Ordinance) is Hong Kong’s first cross-sector competition law for this international financial hub. For the first time, the Hong Kong (...)

Hungary

Attila Komives, Daniel Szentkuti The Hungarian Competition Authority holds that a selective resale price fixing is not a hardcore restriction in relation to the distribution of energy drinks (Büki Ásványvíz- és Üditõital Kereskedelmi)

14 May 2008 3139

Background In its decision of 14 May 2008 (GVH Decision), the Competition Council of the Hungarian Competition Office (GVH) terminated the proceedings against Büki Ásványvíz- és Üditõital Kereskedelmi Kft. (Büki Ásványvíz), with respect to certain restraints in vertical agreements concluded (...)

Anita Hegyi, Attila Komives, Daniel Szentkuti The Hungarian Competition Authority refuses to use public resources for investigating an allegation of excessive pricing in the electricity sector (Budapesti Elektromos Mûvek Nyrt)

10 March 2008 4393

Background In its decision of 10 March 2008 (HCO Decision), the Competition Council of the Hungarian Competition Office (HCO) terminated the proceedings against Budapesti Elektromos Mûvek Nyrt (Elmû). Elmû is the electricity distribution system operator company in the metropolitan area of (...)

Attila Komives, Tünde Gönczöl The Hungarian Competition Authority accepts objective justification defence in an abuse of dominance case in the electricity sector (DÉMÁSZ / DHE)

14 February 2008 3121

Hungarian national competition authority Gazdasági Versenyhivatal (GVH) initiated proceedings against Dél-magyarországi Áramszolgltató Zrt. (DÉMÁSZ) and its fully-owned subsidiary, Démász Hálózati Elosztó Kft. (DHE). The investigation concerned a suspected abuse of a dominant position whereby (...)

Attila Komives The Hungarian Competition Office interprets the Competition Act’s provisions on merger joint control (Budapest Fováros Önkormányzata / Degrémont - OTV France - Hídépíto - Alterra)

26 June 2007 3217

Background With its decision of 26 June 2007 (Decision), the Hungarian Competition Office (HCO) has approved a concentration whereby the city of Budapest (“Budapest City”) outsourced the operation of a sewage farm to a consortium consisting of Degrémont SA (Degrémont), OTV France (OTV), (...)

Attila Komives The Hungarian Competition Office unconditionally approves a merger between two fixed line telecommunications incumbents (HTTC / Matel)

20 April 2007 3964

Background With its decision of 20 April 2007 (Decision), the Hungarian Competition Office (HCO) has approved the acquisition of Matel Holding N.V. (Matel) by Hungarian Telephone and Cable Corporation (HTTC). HTTC controls Hungarotel Távközlési Zrt (Hungarotel). Hungarotel is the (...)

Attila Komives, Tünde Gönczöl The Hungarian Competition Authority fines telecom incumbent for margin squeeze in fixed telephone market (Magyar Telekom)

22 January 2004 6543

On January 22, 2004, the Hungarian Competition Office (the “HCO”) issued a ruling which determined that Magyar Távközlési Rt. (“MATAV”) infringed the provisions of Hungarian competition law regarding the abuse of its dominant position by applying wholesale and retail tariffs that led to a (...)

Luxembourg

Gabriel Bleser, Thierry Schiltz The Luxembourg Administrative Tribunal annuls decisions imposing interim measures and fines in the telecommunications sector (Entreprise des Postes et Télécommunications)

20 May 2009 829

Introduction In a judgment dated 20 May 2009 (the Judgment), the Luxembourg administrative tribunal (the Tribunal) annulled two decisions of the Competition Council (the Council) and the President of the Council (the President) concerning interim measures and fines imposed on the (...)

Netherlands

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU General Court dismisses the application of two clothing manufacturers seeking to block the Commission from investigating tax rulings on transfer pricing (Nike / Converse)

14 July 2021 56

On 14 July 2021, the GCEU dismissed the action brought by Nike and Converse against the EC decision to initiate a formal State aid investigation concerning certain advance tax rulings issued by the Dutch tax authorities for the benefit of Nike and Converse. Background In 2019, the EC (...)

Cyriel Ruers, Tjarda van der Vijver The District Court of Utrecht rules on its jurisdiction with regard to a private damages claim against participants in the lift cartel residing outside the Netherlands (Kone & ThyssenKrupp)

27 November 2013 121

Parties East West Debt (EWD) v. the following lift manufacturers: United Technologies Corporation (UTC), Otis B.V. (Otis NL), Schindler Holding ltd. (Schindler Holding), Schindler Liften B.V (Schindler NL). ThyssenKrupp A.G. (ThyssenKrupp), ThyssenKrupp Liften B.V. (ThyssenKrupp NL), Kone (...)

Cyriel Ruers, Tjarda van der Vijver The Dutch Supreme Court confirms judgment on exclusive purchasing clause between competitors (Rab / Mantje)

25 October 2013 169

I. The Parties Rab onroerend goed BV and Mantje Bio-fuels BV II. The Facts In 2008, Mantje bought two plots of land (‘the land’) on Texel, an island off the Dutch coast. Mantje purchased the land from Bruining, while Bruining had bought it from Rab in 1995. At that time, Rab operated two (...)

Cyriel Ruers, Tjarda van der Vijver The Dutch District Court finds abuse of dominance by credit card network operator (EMS / Equens)

8 August 2013 196

I. The Parties European Merchant Services BV and Equens SE II. The Facts European Merchant Services BV (‘EMS’) is a so-called “acquirer”. That means that EMS processes credit card payment data and enters into contracts with merchants. Merchants are companies – such as retailers – that accept (...)

Cyriel Ruers, Tjarda van der Vijver The District Court of Rotterdam rules on its jurisdiction regarding private damages claim against cartel participants residing outside the Netherlands (Stichting Elevator Cartel Claim)

17 July 2013 326

The parties Stichting Elevator Cartel Claim (SECC) v. Kone B.V., Kone GMBH, Kone Oyj, Kone Luxembourg Sàrl, Kone Belgium S.A. (jointly Kone c.s.), Thyssenkrupp Liften Ascenseurs N.V.-S.A., Thyssenkrupp Liften B.V., Thyssenkrupp Aufzuge GmbH, Thyssenkrupp Fahrtreppen GmbH, Thyssenkrupp (...)

Cyriel Ruers, Tjarda van der Vijver The Dutch Competition Authority imposes fines in three cases of bid rigging in the dutch demolition sector (Kanaalweg / Geuneburg / Bergambacht)

24 May 2013 215

I. INTRODUCTION On 23 March 2010 the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (Autoriteit Consument en Markt, ACM, formerly known as the Dutch Competition Authority, Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, NMa) initiated an investigation into possible infringements by five demolition firms of (...)

Cyriel Ruers, Tjarda van der Vijver The Hague District Court considers that the duty of sincere cooperation requires a National Court to defer its judgment until the EU Courts have rendered their final judgment unless a preliminary ruling on the validity of the decision is warranted (Paraffin wax cartel)

1 May 2013 158

I. The Parties The case involves the first instance of a dispute brought before the District Court of The Hague, The Netherlands, by CDC Project 14 SA (Cartel Damage Claims, CDC), a claim vehicle established in Brussels, which has bought the claims of seven customers of paraffin wax in Italy, (...)

Cyriel Ruers, Tjarda van der Vijver The Dutch Court of Appeal rules on the appreciability of a restriction by object (Batavus / Vriend’s Tweewielercentrum)

22 March 2013 161

I. The Parties Batavus B.V. (‘Batavus’) is a Dutch bicycle manufacturer, with a 20% market share. Batavus is part of the Accell Group, a holding company that owns several European bicycle manufacturers. Vriend’s Tweewielercentrum (‘Vriend’) is an (online) retailer of bicycles. II. The (...)

Hannelore Wiame, Marco Slotboom The Midden-Nederland Court rejects claims that a car manufacturer infringed competition law by entering into agreements or concerted practices with members of its network in order to refuse access to its network and by abusing its dominant position on various markets by refusing to accept the claimants as approved repairers (KIA Motors Nederland)

6 February 2013 422

NL30 KIA Motors Nederland LJN: BZ1050 06.02.13 Lower Court, access to selective distribution system The Dutch Court of ‘Midden-Nederland’ rejects claims that KIA Motors Nederland B.V. infringed competition law by entering into agreements or concerted practices with members of its network in (...)

Hannelore Wiame, Marco Slotboom The Dutch State Council finds that by offering a distance learning Bachelor of Laws programme, a Dutch University is not performing an economic activity and therefore confirms that it is not to be seen as an undertaking (Open Universiteit Nederland)

30 January 2013 128

NL29 Open Universiteit Nederland 30.01.13 Administrative Jurisdiction Department of the Council of State, State Aid On the 30th of January 2013, the Council of State found that by offering a distance learning Bachelor of Laws programme, the ‘Open Universiteit Nederland’ (open university of (...)

Marinus Winters The Dutch Competition Authority issues guidelines for the setting of fines

1 July 2007 4112

As of the 1st of July 2007, a new Fining Code 2007 of the Dutch Competition Authority (Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, “NMa”) entered into force. The Fining Code provides guidelines for the setting of fines imposed by the NMa. The new Fining Code introduced guidelines for fines for (...)

Marinus Winters The Dutch Competition Authority publishes the preliminary results of its investigation into the profits of the electricity and gas network companies in the Netherlands (Delta, Eneco, Essent, Nuon)

13 February 2007 3631

Dutch Energy Regulator (Directie Toezicht energie, 13 February 2007, Press Release, Preliminary findings of investigation into profits of energy companies The Dutch Energy Regulator (Directie Toezicht energie: DTe), a department of the Dutch Competition Authority (Nederlandse (...)

Marinus Winters The Dutch Competition Authority sets out its view on concentrations in the energy markets

November 2006 2776

Competition Authority (Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, Visiedocument, Concentraties Energiemarkten, Den Haag, November 2006 Purpose of the report The energy markets in Europe are moving rapidly towards a Europe-wide market. The development of which has led to a concentration of the (...)

Poland

Aldona Kwapisz The Polish Competition Authority fines the largest telecom operator a record fine of € 20 M for abusing its dominant position on the Internet access market (Telekomunikacja Polska)

20 December 2007 5341

On 20 December 2007 the President of the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (OCCP) issued a decision imposing a fine of PLN 75 million (approximately EUR 20 million) on Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TPSA), the incumbent telecom operator in Poland, for abusing its dominant (...)

Aldona Kwapisz The Polish Court of Appeals quashes the Competition Authority’s decision and considers that an agreement limiting distribution of a drug to selected distributors does not restrict competition (Johnson & Johnson’s)

25 July 2006 9150

On July 25, 2006, the Polish Court of Appeals issued a decision on the appeal lodged by the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (“OCCP”) against the decision of the Polish Court for Competition and Consumer Protection (“First Instance Court”) of September 5, 2005 (...)

Spain

Hendrik Viaene, Karolien Van der Putten The EU Court of Justice declares that the General Court erred in law by annulling a Commission decision which considered tax exemptions to sports clubs illegal State aid because the Commission does not have to consider the counterfactual tax environment when determining the legality of State aid (Fútbol Club Barcelona)

4 March 2021 101

On 4 March 2021, the CJEU rendered its judgment in Case C-362/19, European Commission v Fútbol Club Barcelona, concerning State aid arising out of the taxation of professional sports clubs in Spain. In July 2016, the EC found that Spain had unlawfully implemented aid in the form of a (...)

Miguel Orellana, Carlos Vérgez Muñoz The Spanish Competition Authority ends an infringement proceeding by adopting a commitment decision following a sports brand’s alleged anti-competitive conduct (Adidas / LDC)

6 February 2020 324

Background On 6 February 2020, the Spanish Competition Authority (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia, hereinafter the “CNMC”) adopted a commitment decision to end the infringement proceedings (S/DC/0631/18) initiated in November 2018 against Adidas, S.A.U. (“Adidas”) for (...)

United Kingdom

Elvira Aliende Rodriguez, James Webber, Ozlem Fidanboylu, Susanna Charlwood, Jonathan Swil The UK Supreme Court hands down a judgment in a competition damages lawsuit and makes key observations on when a judicial decision of the EU courts is binding in other proceedings (Secretary of State for Health / Servier Laboratories)

6 November 2020 393

Holds Findings Made by European Courts Cannot Be Relied on in Different Context in Other Proceedings On November 6, 2020 the U.K. Supreme Court handed down a judgment relating to the Servier U.K. competition damages litigation, in which it made key observations on when a judicial decision of (...)

Jo Rickard, Simon Cohen, Susanna Charlwood The English High Court rules that notes of witness interviews prepared by in-house and external counsel in the course of an internal investigation were not covered by legal advice privilege or lawyers’ working papers privilege (RBS Rights Issue Litigation)

8 December 2016 307

In December 2016, the English High Court ruled that transcripts, notes and other records of witness interviews prepared by in-house and external counsel in the course of an internal investigation were not covered by either legal advice privilege (“LAP”) or lawyers’ working papers privilege. (...)

Louise Tolley, Mark Friend The UK Competition Authority gives guidance for businesses and directors on competition law compliance

27 June 2011 211

This article has been nominated for the 2012 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. The OFT has published a package of materials aimed at helping companies establish a culture of compliance with UK competition law, and considering the specific (...)

Louise Tolley The UK Office of Communications publishes an annual report considering the impact of the Telecoms Review on the telecoms market (BT Undertakings)

10 December 2007 3912

Introduction In 2004, the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom) conducted a strategic review of the UK telecommunications sector (the Review). The Review led to the imposition of a set of undertakings on British Telecom (BT), the UK incumbent telecoms provider (the BT Undertakings), which were (...)

Louise Tolley The UK OFT announces its intention to review contract rights renewal undertakings (ITV)

6 September 2007 4171

Four years after the merger of the UK’s two main ITV companies, Carlton and Granada, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has announced its intention to review the contract rights renewal (CRR) undertakings which were accepted as part of the conditional clearance of the deal by the Competition (...)

United States of America

Noah A. Brumfield, Kevin Adam, Jaclyn Phillips, Chenyuan Fu The US President Joe Biden signs an executive order containing 72 initiatives seeking to coordinate the federal government’s response to what it sees as pressing competition issues and the threat in the rise of large corporations

9 July 2021 205

Calls for changes to antitrust law, and how antitrust laws should be applied to the conduct of large technology companies, have been heating up in recent years. Now, the push for wide-scale changes to antitrust law has reached a boiling point. Indeed, President Biden’s sweeping July 9, 2021 (...)

Daniel J. Rosenthal, Rebecca Farrington (Hilberman), Mark J. Gidley, George Paul, Regina Loureiro The US DoJ and US FTC temporarily suspend grants of early termination of waiting period in merger reviews under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act

4 February 2021 54

The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") and Department of Justice ("DOJ") announced today that they are temporarily suspending any grants of early termination under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ("HSR Act"). The HSR Act is the federal premerger notification program, which requires parties to notify (...)

Mark J. Gidley, George Paul, Rebecca Farrington (Hilberman), Martin M. Toto, Noah A. Brumfield, Daniel J. Rosenthal, Nicholas Putz The US FTC announces annual changes to HSR thresholds for merger notification

2 February 2021 349

On February 1, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The FTC is required by law to revise the jurisdictional thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product. Accordingly, the 2021 (...)

Michael Gallagher, Regina Loureiro, Allain Andry, Mark J. Gidley, Kathryn Jordan Mims, Noah A. Brumfield The US DoJ and 32 State Attorneys General propose federal additions to the Price Gouging Framework following the COVID-19 pandemic

25 March 2020 223

Price gouging enforcement has largely been left to the States with their patchwork of varying laws—laws that have been invoked sporadically in crises. While the COVID-19 crisis has reportedly led to increased state enforcement, the federal government has taken a larger role, including Justice (...)

Mark J. Gidley, Noah A. Brumfield, Jack Pace, Kristen O’Shaughnessy, Dan Grossbaum, Bryan D. Gant The US State of California becomes the first State to enact legislation rendering certain pharmaceutical patent litigation settlement agreements presumptively anticompetitive

7 October 2019 201

This article has been nominated for the 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. On October 7, 2019, California became the first state to enact legislation— Assembly Bill 824 (“AB 824”)—rendering certain pharmaceutical patent litigation (...)

George Paul, Mark J. Gidley, Martin M. Toto, Noah A. Brumfield, Rebecca Farrington (Hilberman) The US Federal Trade Commission announces the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act notification thresholds

26 January 2018 234

On January 26, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The FTC is required by law to revise the jurisdictional thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product. Accordingly, the 2018 (...)

Lynn Diamond, Noah A. Brumfield The US FTC announces substantial increases to civil penalties

29 June 2016 202

On Wednesday, June 29, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced substantial increases to the maximum civil penalties for 16 distinct violations of certain laws enforced by the FTC. Notable increases were announced for violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Improvements (HSR) Act and the (...)

Noah A. Brumfield, Rebecca Farrington (Hilberman) The US FTC announces annual changes to HSR thresholds

10 January 2013 130

On January 10, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The FTC is required to revise the jurisdictional thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product. The thresholds will increase (...)

Noah A. Brumfield, Peter J. Carney, Shamita Etienne-Cummings, Trevor Nagel The Washington State passes revised unfair competition law increasing exposure for misappropriated IP

22 July 2011 201

This article has been nominated for the 2013 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. US State Unfair Competition Laws Create Increased Exposure for Misappropriated IP* For many years, information technology companies in the United States have (...)

Charles Moore, George Paul, Lynn Diamond, Mark J. Gidley, Martin M. Toto, Noah A. Brumfield, Rebecca Farrington (Hilberman) The US FTC and DoJ issue new premerger reporting rules introducing new obligations for private equity funds and hedge funds

7 July 2011 351

This article has been nominated for the 2012 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. New rules issued by the Federal Trade Commission on July 7, 2011 will streamline some information required for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR Act”) (...)

Helen Wong, Noah A. Brumfield A US trial Court holds a more rigorous approach to class certification (Plastic Additives Antitrust Litigation)

31 August 2010 861

An August 31, 2010 trial court decision in Plastic Additives Antitrust Litigation is likely to be widely cited by defense counsel in class action cases provides an important example of the scrutiny needed in evaluating dueling testimony by experts. The decision is an early case to apply the (...)

David Ernst, Noah A. Brumfield, Rebecca Farrington (Hilberman) The US FTC announces the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act notification thresholds

21 January 2010 344

On Friday, 21 January 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The FTC is required to revise the jurisdictional thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product. The thresholds will (...)

Chintan Panchal, Todd S. Fishman The U.S. Federal Trade Commission again moves forward against "reverse payment settlements" in pharmaceutical patent settlements (Cephalon)

13 February 2008 5875

On February 13th, 2008 the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charging Cephalon, Inc. with illegally preventing competition to its branded drug Provigil. In its complaint the FTC alleges that Cephalon, through patent (...)

Noah A. Brumfield The US DOJ challenges the acquisition of a partial interest of a competing company in the dairy sector (Dairy Farmers)

6 November 2006 363

The Department of Justice’s challenge to unwind the Dairy Farmers of America (“DFA”) acquisition of a partial interest in Southern Bell Dairy is interesting on a number of levels. This article addresses two issues raised by Dairy Farmers that antitrust attorneys should consider when counseling (...)