August 2011

Losing one’s dignity* We all lose our temper sometimes. The trick, of course, is to get something out of it rather than drop ourselves in it. But this is sometimes easier said than done. Take the UK supermarket giant Tesco. In August, it lost its rag after it’d been fined almost £10.5m by (...)

Germany: The Bundeskartellamt imposes multi-million Fines for hard-core Cartel in the Concrete Pipe Sector* On 10 August 2011, the Bundeskartellamt (BKartA) imposed fines totalling € 11 860 000 on two manufacturers of concrete pipes and five individuals. The undertakings concerned are (...)

Austria: The BWB files Application for Fines in Textile-Cleaning Sector Investigation* On 9 August 2011, the Federal Competition Authority (BWB) filed an application under Article 101 TFEU and Sec 1 of the Cartel Act 2005 for the imposition of fines against two undertakings which are active (...)

Is Apple forcing customers to pay more for e-books? - Global developments in the alleged e-book price-fixing case* European investigations On December 6, 2011 the European Commission announced that it opened formal proceedings to examine whether five major international publishers (...)

ITALIAN COMPETITION AUTHORITY FINES SUPPLIERS OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE EQUIPMENT €5.5 MILLION * On 5 August 2011, the Italian Competition Authority levied fines totalling €5,538,750 on Alliance Medical S.r.l., Toshiba Medical Systems Italia S.r.l., Philips S.p.A. and Siemens S.p.A. Each firm (...)

In a recently published decision, which was adopted on 4 August 2011, the European Commission has rejected a complaint submitted by BRV Pty Ltd (“BRV”) which alleged that a group of undertakings – in particular, numerous vehicle engine manufacturers – had violated Articles 101 and 102 (...)

DLF fined INR 630 Crores (INR 6.3 billion) by CCI for abusing the dominant position* Introduction Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) vide an order dated August 12, 2011 in Belaire Owner’s Association vs. DLF Limited and HUDA. (Case no. 19/2010) has, inter alia, imposed a penalty at (...)

Bulgaria: The Competition Authority initiates Ex Officio Investigation into Aviation Fuel Market* On 4 August 2011, the Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) opened an ex officio investigation pursuant to Article 21 of the Law on Protection of Competition and Article 102 TFEU against (...)

What Is a Relevant Market Anyhow?* The Eight Circuit, in FTC v. Lundbeck, Inc., No. 10-3458/3459 (Aug. 19, 2011), upheld the district court’s finding that the FTC failed to show a relevant market, and thus was unable to challenge the acquisition of the drug NeoProfen. It already owned a (...)

FTC v. Lundbeck: Why, God, Why?* What really has the world come to when a merger to monopoly followed by a 1300% price increase survives Section 7 challenge? That, sadly, seems to be the final result in Federal Trade Commission v. Lundbeck, which the Eighth Circuit affirmed last Friday. (...)

Submission of Altered Documents in Merger Review Leads to Criminal Charges* Automated teller machine maker Nautilus Hyosung Holdings Inc. has been charged with obstruction of justice for submitting false documents to the government in its attempt to obtain U.S.antitrust approval of its (...)

ITALIAN COMPETITION AUTHORITY BLOCK PROPOSED ACQUISITION* On 8 August 2011, the Italian Competition Authority blocked the proposed acquisition by Compagnia Valdostana delle Acque (CVA) of Deval and Vallenergia, both active in the retail sale of electricity in Valle d’Aosta, a mountain region (...)

Introduction On the 4th of August 2011 the Italian Competition Authority (hereinafter «ICA«) brought a phase II merger to an unusual conclusion. The proceeding was opened in order to assess competition issues arising from a proposed merger involving electricity operators active in the (...)

In this case, the Eighth Circuit affirmed a trial court’s rejection of a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission based on rejection of the FTC’s proposed market definition, even in the face of clear evidence that the challenged conduct had in fact led directly to vastly increased prices, (...)

This article has been nominated for the 2012 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. Recent decisions by the Third Circuit and the Northern District of California make it easier for plaintiffs to bring claims under the Foreign Trade Antitrust (...)

United Kingdom: OFT proposes Competition Commission Investigation of Aggregates, Cement and Ready-Mix Concrete Markets* On 16 August 2011, the OFT published its market study into aggregates, cement and ready-mix concrete. It proposes to refer the sectors to the Competition Commission for (...)

The Netherlands: The Supreme Court decides Antitrust Fines are not tax-deductible* On 12 August 2011, the Hoge Raad, the Dutch Supreme Court in civil and commercial matters, ended a long controversy between the Dutch tax authorities and the Dutch subsidiary of the German firm involved in the (...)

In its decision of 10 August 2011, the German Federal Court of Justice ("FCJ") held that a full legal successor (‘Gesamtrechtsnachfolger’) should only be liable for an infringement of competition law committed by the organ of its legal predecessor if from an economic perspective both entities (...)

On 8 August 2011 the Moldovan Competition Authority (ANPC) released its preliminary impact report on the changes that would be introduced by the adoption of the new Competition Act, which has been drafted by the ANPC and released for public consultation. The main reason behind the adoption of (...)

In August 2011 the Romanian Competition Authority (CC) completed and released for public consultation the results of sector inquiry on the market for production, transportation, distribution and supply of thermal energy in the municipality of Bucharest. The CC‘s report identified technical, (...)