Gabriele Accardo

On 21 January 2020, the Council of State (Italy’s Administrative Highest Court) handed down its judgment upholding the annulment of the Italian Competition Authority’s ("ICA") decision of 19 July 2017 which had fined eight Italian steel producers for an alleged price-fixing cartel, based on the (...)

BIG DATA: ITALIAN AUTHORITIES PUBLISHED GUIDELINES AND POLICY RECOMMENDATION ON COMPETITION, CONSUMER PROTECTION AND DATA PRIVACY ISSUES* Introduction On July 10, 2019, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”), the Authority for the Communications Guarantees (“AGcom”), and the Authority for the (...)

This foreword on Internet and Antitrust covers lots of interesting articles of the last 3 years on some of the major developments in the Internet space at EU and national levels. Indeed, it is always fascinating to get insights from the many practitioners and enforcers who have contributed to this wealth of knowledge on complex and evolving issues... not least because, in a fast-approaching future, articles may be written by AI authors who will surely tell us ALL we wanted to know about algorithm collusion, big data, etc.

Big Data: Italian authorities launch inquiries on competition, consumer protection and data privacy issues* On 30 May 2017, the Italian Competition Authority, the Italian Data Protection Authority and the Communications Authority opened a joint inquiry on “Big Data”. Sector Inquiry The joint (...)

U.S. FTC reaches consent agreement over alleged online collusion* On December 16, 2015 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved a final order settling charges that Step N Grip, LLC, a company that sells rug accessories designed to keep rugs from curling at the corners, illegally invited its (...)

U.S. DOJ announces second criminal prosecution into online price fixing* On December 4, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced (see also the FBI statement) the second criminal prosecution against a conspiracy targeting e-commerce. Last April 6, 2015, the U.S. (...)

National Competition Authorities take position on regulatory measures for online transport platforms* In May 2015, the European Commission committed to assess the role of online transportation platforms, such as Uber, as it launched a public consultation to better understand the social and (...)

Paris Court of Appeal overturns Google abuse of dominance ruling* On November 25, 2015, the Paris Court of Appeal (PCA) reversed the December 2012 ruling of the Commercial Tribunal of Paris (CTP) , which found that Google (specifically Google France and Google Inc.) abused its dominant (...)

Germany’s Federal Cartel Office finds ASICS’ restrictions of online sales illegal* On 27 August 2015, the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) concluded its proceedings concerning certain anticompetitive restrictions in the distribution system of ASICS Deutschland (“ASICS“), and found that ASICS breached (...)

EU Court of Justice’s Advocate General issues opinion on circumstances where the use of an online booking system by travel agents may amount to a concerted practice* On 16 July 2015 Advocate General Szupnar handed down his opinion following a request for a preliminary ruling by the Court of (...)

European Commission clears acquisition of Belgian media company by Liberty Global subject to commitments* Last 24 February the European Commission cleared Liberty Global’s acquisition of a controlling stake in the Belgian media company De Vijver Media NV (“De Vijver”), subject to commitments. (...)

Germany’s Federal Cartel Authority imposes further fines in mattress case* Last 6 February Germany’s Federal Cartel Authority (“FCA”) fined mattress producer Metzeler Schaum Gmbh (“Metzeler”) Euro 3.38 million for allegedly imposing resale prices on retailers selling its products, in breach of (...)

Italian court confirms hefty fines on Novartis and Roche* On 2 December 2014, Italy’s Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale del Lazio (“TAR Lazio”) handed down its ruling (only available in Italian) concerning the alleged anticompetitive agreement between Roche and Novartis in the market for (...)

EU Parliament passes resolution calling on the Commission to unbundle [Google’s] search engines from other commercial services* On 27 November 2014 the European Parliament has passed a non-binding resolution, which called on the Commission to “properly enforce the EU competition rules in order (...)

FTC settlement bars patent assertion entity from using deceptive tactics* On 6 November 2014, the Federal Trade Commission communicated that MPHJ Technology Investments (“MPHJ”) and its law firm have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they used deceptive sales claims and (...)

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas dismissed Second Consolidated Amended Complaint against hotel chains and online travel agencies* On 28 October 2014 the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas dismissed with prejudice a class action against hotel chains and (...)

Commission sends formal charges to Honeywell and DuPont regarding cooperation on car air conditioning refrigerant* On 21 October 2014 the European Commission issued formal charges to Honeywell and DuPont, based on allegations that the cooperation agreement they entered into in 2010 on the (...)

UK Court quashes decision accepting the commitments by OTAs and hotel chain in the online booking sector* Last 26 September, following an appeal by meta-search site Skyscanner, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) quashed the decision of the Office of Fair Trading (the “OFT”) to accept (...)

Nespresso offers improved commitments to open up the market for coffee capsules* Last 4 September the French Competition Authority (“AdlC”) made legally binding the improved commitments Nespresso offered to open up the market for coffee capsules to competitors in France and beyond. As it (...)

European Commission fines pharmaceutical companies in pay-to-delay case* Last 9 July the European Commission (“Commission”) fined (see press releases here and here) French pharmaceutical company Servier and five generics manufacturers ( Niche/Unichem, Matrix (now part of Mylan), Teva, Krka and (...)

U.S. FTC makes Actavis’ acquisition of Forest subject to conditions* On 30 June 2014, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) stated that, in order to address the competition concerns raised by Actavis’s proposed acquisition of Forest Laboratories, it has tentatively accepted the proposed (...)

Italian competition authority investigates online hotel bookings* On 7 May 2014, the Italian Competition Authority (“Agcm”) initiated proceedings (decision only available in Italian) against Booking.com and Expedia in the online hotel reservations space. This is yet another case in the wake of (...)

European Commission finds that Motorola Mobility misused standard essential patents* On 29 April 2014, the European Commission European held that it has adopted a decision which found that Motorola Mobility’s (“Motorola”) seeking and enforcement of an injunction against Apple before a German (...)

European Commission makes commitments offered by Samsung Electronics legally binding* On 29 April 2014, the European Commission European issued a decision (see also the related press release) which made legally binding the commitments offered by Samsung Electronics (“Samsung”) in relation to (...)

Bundeskartellamt raises objections against ASICS’s restrictions of online sale* On 24 April 2014 the Bundeskartellamt issued a press release stating that, based on preliminary investigation, it has found that ASICS Deutscheland’s selective distribution system restricts competition among its (...)

Nespresso offers commitments to lift barriers to entry for other coffee capsule makers in France* On 17 April 2014 the French Competition Authority (“AdlC”) published a press release and a market test notice illustrating the measures that Nespresso proposed to lift barriers to entry for other (...)

U.S. FTC modifies 1998 order against Toys “R” Us based on market changes brought about by e-commerce* On 15 April 2014 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved a petition submitted by Toys “R” Us (“TRU”) to reopen and modify an order issued in 1998, which required TRU to refrain from certain (...)

Italian Competition Authority imposes hefty fines on Roche and Novartis* On 27 February 2014, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) issued a decision (in Italian only) finding that Roche and Novartis entered into an anticompetitive agreement in the market for ophthalmic drugs used to treat (...)

French Competition Authority orders PMU to separate its online horserace betting activity from its physical point of sale network* On 25 February 2014, the French Competition Authority (“AdlC”) issued a decision (available only in French) making legally binding the commitment of Pari Mutuel (...)

U.S. District Judge in Texas dismisses class action lawsuit against conspiracy by online travel agencies and hotels to fix the price of hotel rooms* On 18 February 2014, U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle of the Northern District of Texas Dallas Division dismissed a class action lawsuit that (...)

Italy’s Council of State reinstates the fine imposed on Pfizer for delaying a generic’s market entry* On 12 February 2014, Italy’s Council of State (the “CdS”) dismissed the ruling of the lower administrative court (the “TAR Lazio”) which quashed the decision of Italian Competition Authority (the (...)

Improved Google commitments (closer to) getting the thumbs up from the European Commission* On 5 February 2014, the European Commission issued a press release and a memo concerning the improved commitments proposed by Google (the commitments were made public by Google itself). At a press (...)

UK Office of Fair Trading closes investigation into hotel online booking practices On 31 January 2014, the UK Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) accepted the commitments from online travel agents, Booking.com B.V. (“Booking.com”, and its ultimate parent company priceline.com Incorporated) and Expedia (...)

German Federal Cartel Office bans use of MFN clauses by HRS and opens new proceedings against Booking.com and Expedia* On 20 December 2013, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) issued a press release concerning its decision to prohibit the hotel booking portal HRS from continuing to apply its (...)

UK OFT weighs revised commitments in the online hotel accommodation bookings* On 20 December 2013, the United Kingdom’s Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) opened a consultation on the revised commitments proposed by Booking.com B.V. (“Booking.com”), Expedia Inc (“Expedia”) and InterContinental Hotels (...)

EU Court upholds the Commission’s decision on the Microsoft/Skype deal* On 11 December 2013 the EU’s General Court (the “Court”) handed down its ruling concerning Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype. The Court held that the Commission rightly considered that the transaction does not restrict (...)

Amazon Marketplace ends price parity* On 26 November 2013, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) issued a press release stating that it has closed the investigation into Amazon’s “price parity” clauses applied in agreements with traders that operated on its Marketplace platform. In fact, on 27 and (...)

Germany’s Federal Cartel Office closes two investigations into dual pricing practices* On 28 October 2013, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) stated that it has closed its investigation into Gardena’s dual pricing practices, which, according to the FCO, sought to limit online distribution of (...)

German Federal Cartel Office spares Sennheiser’s online policy from scrutiny* On 24 October 2013 the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) stated (available only in German) that it will not open formal proceedings against Sennheiser, a manufacturer of consumer electronic products, following recent (...)

European Commission not convinced by improved commitments offered by Google* On 21 October 2013 Google offered improved commitments to the European Commission in order to close the three-year long investigation into four practices that the Commission considered had amounted to a possible abuse (...)

European Commission tests Samsung’s proposed commitments to close UMTS standards essential patents investigation* Last 17 October 2013, the European Commission advised (see also here) that it is testing the commitments Samsung offered in connection with investigations into the alleged abuse of (...)

NY Attorney General reaches settlement with two leading online food ordering services in Manhattan* On 5 August 2013 NY Attorney General stated that he reached a settlement with Seamless North America, LLC and GrubHub, two leading online food ordering services in Manhattan, in order to address (...)

European Commission fines Lundbeck and other pharmaceutical companies for delaying market entry of generic medicines* On 19 June 2013 the European Commission issued a press release stating that it had imposed fines in the amount of € 93,8 million on Lundbeck (a Danish pharmaceutical company) (...)

U.S. Supreme Court reverses Eleventh Circuit opinion in FTC v. Actavis, Inc* On 17 June 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court (“the Court”) reversed a decision by the Court of Appeals (Eleventh Circuit). The Court of Appeals had upheld a dismissal of a complaint made by the Federal Trade Commission (...)

Milan Court finds that Ryanair abused its dominant position in the market for online travel agencies* On June 4, 2013, the Milan Court’s company law section handed down a ruling (only available in Italian) holding that Ryanair abused its dominant position in the downstream market for online (...)

This article has been nominated for the 2014 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. European Commission market tests Google commitments in relation to online search and search advertising* On 25 April 2013 the European Commission published a (...)

Italian Competition Authority finds that Sky Italia did not abuse of its dominant position* On 23 April 2013 the Italian Competition Authority (“AGCM”) decided (the decision is only available in Italian) to close the proceedings against Sky Italia S.r.l. (“Sky Italia”) of The News Corporation Ltd. (...)

UK OFT investigates GSK and generics manufacturers over pay for delay deals* On 19 April 2013 the UK Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) issued a Statement of Objections to GlaxoSmithKline (“GSK”) and three generics manufacturers (Alpharma Limited, Generics UK Limited and Norton Healthcare Limited) (...)

German Court makes reference for a preliminary ruling to the CJEU on standard-essential patents* On 21 March 2013, the Landgericht Düsseldorf (“Düsseldorf Regional Court”) made a reference (the order is only available in German) for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European (...)

European Commission fines Microsoft for non-compliance with its commitment decision* On 6 March 2013 the European Commission imposed a Euro 561 million fine on Microsoft for not complying with its previous commitments to address competition concerns related to the tying of Microsoft’s web (...)

French Competition Authority dismisses E-Kanopi’s complaint against Google* On 4 March 2013 the French competition authority dismissed (only available in French) a complaint by E-Kanopi alleging that Google abused of its dominant position by seeking to force it out of the market in breach of (...)

Roche and Novartis investigated for an alleged cartel in Italy* On 6 February 2013 the Italian Competition Authority opened proceedings against the Roche Group and the Novartis Group in relation to an alleged anticompetitive agreement for excluding the ophthalmic use of Roche’s Avastin in order (...)

Italian Council of State reinstates abuse fine on Bayer Cropscience Srl and Bayer Cropscience AG* Last 29 January 2013, the Italian Council of State published its ruling that quashed the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio’s judgment of 16 May 2012 in the Bayer Cropscience case. The TAR (...)

European Commission sends Samsung Statements of Objections regarding its alleged abuse of mobile phone standard-essential patents* On 21 December 2012, the European Commission sent a Statement of Objections to Samsung, based on concerns that Samsung’s conduct in seeking injunctions against (...)

European Commission renders legally binding commitments on Rio Tinto Alcan* On 20 December 2012, the Commission issued a press release stating that it has made legally binding the commitments offered by Rio Tinto Alcan (“Alcan”) to address the Commission’s concerns that Alcan might have infringed (...)

European Commission accepts commitments from Thomson Reuters* On 20 December 2012, the Commission issued a press release stating that it has made legally binding the commitments offered by Thomson Reuters to address the Commission’s concerns that Thomson Reuters might have abused its dominant (...)

European Commission accepts commitments for sale of e-books by international publishers and Apple* On 13 December 2012, the Commission issued a press release stating that it has made legally binding the commitments offered by Apple and four international publishers for the sale of e-books in (...)

ECJ rejects appeal relating to abuse of the patent system and the procedures for marketing of drugs* On 6 December 2012, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) handed down its ruling rejecting AstraZeneca’s (“AZ”) appeal in relation to the Losec case. In the first instance, the General Court largely (...)

European Commission approves joint-venture in the market of Trusted Execution Environments* On 7 November 2012, the European Commission has approved, subject to conditions, the creation of the joint-venture (“the JV”) between ARM, Giesecke & Devrient and Gemalto, under the European (...)

European Commission issues Statements of Objections against several pharmaceutical companies* On 25 and 30 July 2012, in relation to the Citalopram case and the Perindopril case respectively, the European Commission sent statements of objections (“SOs”) to more than a dozen companies in (...)

European Commission issues Statements of Objections against several pharmaceutical companies* On 25 and 30 July 2012, in relation to the Citalopram case and the Perindopril case respectively, the European Commission sent statements of objections (“SOs”) to more than a dozen companies in (...)

Almunia offers Google settlement talks* Last 21 may 2012, Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia made a statement on the progress of the on-going investigation into Google’s alleged abuse of dominance in the search engine market, which the Commission was investigating since November 2010 (see (...)

Italian Competition Authority fines Pfizer for abuse of dominance relating to visual glaucoma drugs* On 11 January 2012 the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) issued a decision fining Pfizer Euro 10.6 million for abusing its dominant position in the market for products for that treat visual (...)

Italian Court rejects Samsung’s request for injunction against Apple in Italy* On 5 January 2012 an Italian Court rejected Samsung’s request for an injunction against Apple in relation to the sale of the iPhone 4S in Italy. Samsung alleges that Apple is violating a number of its patents, which (...)

European Commission investigates DuPont and Honeywell practices in relation to new refrigerant* On 16 December 2011 the European Commission opened proceedings to investigate alleged anti-competitive practices relating to the development of a new generation refrigerant for air conditioning (...)

Thomson Reuters offers commitments to close investigation by European Commission* On 14 December 2011 the European Commission published a notice inviting comments on commitments offered by Thomson Reuters that address concerns about whether its licensing practices, in relation to the Reuters (...)

European Commission makes IBM’s commitments in the mainframe maintenance market legally binding* On 14 December 2011 the European Commission stated that it has made commitments offered by IBM Corporation in the mainframe maintenance market legally binding (see Newsletter 6/2011 p. 6, Newsletter (...)

European Commission investigates companies active in the e-book publishing sector* On 6 December 2011 the European Commission opened an investigation into alleged anticompetitive practices by five EU and US publishers, possibly with the help of Apple, in relation to the sale of e-books in the (...)

European Commission makes Standard & Poor’s commitments legally binding* On 15 November 2011 the European Commission announced it has decided to make the commitments offered last May 2011 by Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”), to abolish the licensing fees that banks pay for the use of U.S. (...)

European Commission grants conditional approval of McAfee acquisition by Intel* On 26 January 2011, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of McAfee, Inc. (“McAfee”) by Intel Corporation (“Intel”) subject to interoperability remedies. As a result, Intel, the leading manufacturer (...)

French Competition Authority makes Google’s commitments in Navx case binding* On 28 October 2010, the French Autorité de la Concurrence (“FAC”) formally accepted and thereby made binding on Google a set of improved commitments (available only in French) which the FAC considered to properly address (...)

Italian Competition Authority investigates Pfizer’s effort to obstruct market access for a new generic drug for treating visual glaucoma* On 13 October 2010, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) opened an investigation to ascertain whether Pfizer’s attempt to prolong the patent protection for (...)

European Commission closes preliminary investigations into Apple’s iPhone policies* On 25 September 2010, the European Commission declared that it would not open formal proceedings against Apple, following Apple’s iPhone change of policies on restrictions on the development of applications (or (...)

Swiss Competition Commission investigates online sales restrictions by Electrolux and V-Zug* On 16 September 2010, the Swiss Competition Commission (“COMCO”) announced (French, German, not available in English) that it is investigating Electrolux’s and V-Zug’s restrictions of online home appliance (...)

English Court of Appeal allows M-Tech’s appeal against Oracle* On 28 August 2010, the English Court of Appeal issued a judgment setting aside an order for summary judgment by the High Court of Justice, thus granting M-Tech permission to appeal and proceed to a full trial to defend itself (...)

European Commission investigates IBM’s conduct on the mainframe market* On 26 July 2010, the European Commission issued a press release stating that IBM is subject to a formal investigation for two alleged abuses of its dominant position on the market for mainframe computers in breach of (...)

European Commission report shows decrease of potentially problematic patent settlements* On 5 July 2010, the Commission published its second report on the monitoring of patent settlements in the pharmaceutical sector. The report shows that the number of patent settlements that may fall afoul (...)

ECJ upholds European Commission decision against AstraZeneca* On 1 July 2010, the European Union’s General Court (or “GC”, formerly the Court of First Instance) handed down its judgment against the AstraZeneca Group (“AZ”) for having abused its dominant position by preventing the market entry or (...)

Google under investigation in France for alleged abuse in the online advertising market* On 30 June 2010, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) issued an interim decision opening an investigation to ascertain whether Google abused its dominant position, as well as Navx’s state of economic (...)

Standard Setting in the EU’s Digital Agenda* On 19 May 2010, the European Commission made public its long awaited policy document on the Digital Agenda for Europe. The overall aim of the Digital Agenda is to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits from a digital single market based on (...)

French Competition Authority probes Sanofi-Aventis alleged abuse against generic manufacturers* On 17 May 2010, the French Autorité de la concurrence (French Competition Authority, “FCA”) determined to open a fully fledged investigation (under Article 102 TFEU) into Sanofi-Aventis allegedly (...)

Google offers commitments to close investigation in Italy* On 14 May 2010, the Italian Competition Authority (“AGCM”) published the commitments (available on the AGCM website) offered by Google to put an end to an antitrust investigation of its Google News service under Article 102 TFEU (see (...)

Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger gets final clearance in the UK* On 7 May 2010, the UK Competition Commission (“CC”) reaffirmed its initial decision of December 2009 (see Newsletter 1/2010 p. 9 for details) concluding that the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster would not result in a (...)

Internet distribution – The European Commission publishes new rules on vertical agreements* On 20 April 2010, the European Commission published the revised Block Exemption Regulation and the Guidelines on Vertical Restraints. The long awaited Block Exemption Regulation (the “BER”) and the (...)

European Commission clears Cisco’s acquisition of Tandberg, subject to conditions* On 29 March 2010, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of Norway’s Tandberg, a vendor of video communications systems, by Cisco Systems subject to conditions. On the same day, just one hour (...)

Italian Competition Authority widens investigation into Google* On 3 March 2010, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) decided to include Google Ireland in its ongoing investigation of last August 2009 (see Newsletter 5/2009 p. 10) to ascertain whether the contract conditions imposed by (...)

IPCom publicly accepts to take over Bosch’s FRAND terms commitments* On 10 December 2009, the European Commission issued a press release regarding the public declaration by IPCom, a German IP licensing company, in relation to the disputes on a portfolio of patents key to mobile standards (...)

Commission sends statement of Objections to Standard & Poor’s* On 16 November 2009 the Commission sent a Statement of Objections (“SO”) to Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”), a division of McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The SO follows a complaint lodged by several associations representing (...)

European Commission holds public hearing on the “Google Books” US settlement* On 7 September 2009, the European Commission held an “information hearing” to establish the effect on the EU market of Google’s settlement with a US class of authors and publishers, which disputed steps taken by the (...)

Commission’s in-depth investigation into Sun Microsystems takeover by Oracle* On 3 September 2009, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the planned acquisition of U.S. hardware and software vendor Sun Microsystems by Oracle Corporation, a U.S. database and application (...)

Italian Competition Authority investigates Google’s alleged abuse in the market for online advertising* On 26 August 2009, the Italian Competition Authority opened an investigation (see also press release of 27 August 2009) to determine whether Google is abusing its dominant position in online (...)

Commission publishes non-confidential version of its decision on Intel’s abuse of dominance in the x86 CPU market* On 21 September 2009, the Commission published a non-confidential version of its Intel decision, adopted on 13 May 2009, together with a summary of the key elements of the (...)

German Federal Court of Justice rules on antitrust defense to infringement of standards-related patents* On 6 May 2009 the German Federal Court of Justice handed down a landmark judgment (KZR 39/06 – Orange-Book-Standard) concerning the use of the competition law defense regarding compulsory (...)

EC’s public consultation on the new Block Exemption Regulation and Guidelines on Vertical Restraints* On 28 July 2008, the European Commission launched a public consultation to review the Block Exemption Regulation (“BER”) and the Guidelines on vertical restraints, which are set to expire in May (...)