IT & Dominance

Dominance

 The Chinese Competition Authority fines $2.8 billion an online market platform for abusing its dominant position (Alibaba)
University of Macau - Faculty of Law (Macau)
Chine 282 contributions 215789 visites
China’s antitrust penalty for Alibaba: reading between the lines* On 10 April 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), China’s competition authority responsible for the enforcement of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML), announced the imposition of CNY 18 billion fine on Alibaba for (...)

The Indian Competition Authority issues an interim behavioral remedy to relist franchise hotel properties on certain platforms before concluding the abuse of dominant position investigation against them (MMT-Go / Treebo / FabHotels)
CUTS Institute of Regulation & Competition (New Delhi)
India 1 contribution 391 visits
In a first-of-its-kind order, the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) has used its power to grant interim relief to applicants in a two-sided digital market. On 9 th March 2021, CCI ordered MMT-Go to relist properties of Treebo and FabHotels on its platform. CCI received information against (...)

The Paris Commercial Court imposes a €1,2 million fine on a big tech company for abuse of dominant position (Google / Oxone)
Ashurst (Paris)
France 38 contributions 40289 visites
In the context of a stand-alone action – which falls under the new provisions resulting from the transposition of the Damages Directive – the Paris Commercial Court ruling at first instance orders Google to pay EUR 1,2 million in damages to Oxone, a telephone directory services company. Oxone (...)

The Chinese Anti-Monopoly Commission of the State Council publishes anti-monopoly guidelines on platform economy
Queen Mary University (London)
United Kingdom 1 contribution 1144 visits
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University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
1 contribution 1144 visits
On 10 November 2020, the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”), China’s competition authority, released the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines on the Platform Economy (Draft for Public Opinions Solicitation) (the “Draft”). Around three months later, on 7 February 2021, the Anti-Monopoly (...)

The German Parliament passes the 10th amendment of the German Act against restraints of competition
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 17 contributions 1719 visites
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Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 19 contributions 1304 visites
On 19 January 2021, the 10th Amendment of the German Act against Restraints of Competition (“ARC”) entered into force. The 10th Amendment, also referred to as the “Digitalisation Act”, introduces significant changes to German Competition Law. A previous issue of this newsletter (VBB on Competition (...)

The German Parliament passes the 10th amendment to the Act against Restraints of Competition which provides modifications and changes regarding abuse control
Hogan Lovells (Dusseldorf)
Germany 1 contribution 145 visits
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Hogan Lovells (Dusseldorf)
Germany 2 contributions 496 visits
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Hogan Lovells (Dusseldorf)
Allemagne 7 contributions 1634 visites
On 14 January 2021, the German parliament passed the long-awaited 10th amendment to the Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC). This came after the governing parties, CDU/CSU and SPD, had submitted a final amendment "at the eleventh hour" which provided for some additional modifications (...)

The German Parliament publishes its act against restraints of competition’s 10th amendment introducing a new regulatory framework for access to commercial data under antitrust law
Hogan Lovells (Hamburg)
Germany 3 contributions 934 visits
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Hogan Lovells (Dusseldorf)
Allemagne 7 contributions 1634 visites
"The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data" (The Economist, 6.5.2017). This catchy (albeit not quite accurate) comparison is likely to take the leading position among modern digital markets truisms. It is therefore hardly surprising that the German legislator has been (...)

The German Parliament enters into force its 10th amendment of the act against restraints of competition bringing powers for intervention in digital markets and changing the merger control regime
Covington & Burling (Frankfurt)
Allemagne 10 contributions 3939 visites
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Covington & Burling (Frankfurt)
Germany 2 contributions 255 visits
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Covington & Burling (Brussels)
Belgique 22 contributions 8740 visites
On 19 January 2021, the 10th amendment of the German Act against Restraints of Competition (“ARC”), the so-called ARC Digitisation Act (the “ARC-DA”) entered into force. The ARC-DA brings far-reaching amendments to German competition law, containing inter alia the introduction of a new framework to (...)

The German Parliament adopts competition rules for tech platforms
Jones Day (Brussels)
Belgium 10 contributions 2670 visits
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Jones Day (Frankfurt)
Allemagne 11 contributions 3672 visites
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Jones Day (Frankfurt)
Germany 7 contributions 1949 visits
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In Short The Development: The Bundestag, the German legislature, amended Germany’s antitrust laws to include special competition rules for digital platform "companies with overwhelming importance for competition across multiple markets." The amendments, known as the GWB Digitization Act or ARC (...)

The German Parliament passes its 10th amendment of the Act against Restraints of Competition which creates an enforcement tool for the Competition Authority to control the abusive behavior of companies with a paramount cross-market significance for competition
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Dusseldorf)
Germany 4 contributions 624 visits
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Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Dusseldorf)
Germany 3 contributions 277 visits
New enforcement tool for the German Federal Cartel Office in the control of abusive behavior of companies with a paramount cross-market significance for competition In a nutshell: What’s new? Introduction of the Concept of Intermediation Power: A dominant position can as of now also result from (...)

The Spanish Competition Authority puts an end to the infringement proceedings brought against a Big tech company for alleged dominance conduct related to a search engine and online restaurant reservation system prohibited by national antitrust law (Google / El Tenedor)
Bird & Bird (Madrid)
Spain 25 contributions 2069 visits
The Spanish Competition authority (“CNMC”) has agreed to put an end to the infringement proceedings brought against Google and El Tenedor in November 2018 for an alleged conduct related to Google’s search engine and Google Maps’ online restaurant reservation system prohibited by Articles 1 and 2 of (...)

The UK Competition Authority opens an investigation into big tech company’s ‘Privacy Sandbox’ browser changes (Google)
United Kingdom’s Competition Authority - CMA (London)
Royaume-Uni 216 contributions 43574 visites
CMA to investigate Google’s ‘Privacy Sandbox’ browser changes* The CMA has opened an investigation into Google’s proposals to remove third party cookies and other functionalities from its Chrome browser. The investigation will assess whether the proposals could cause advertising spend to become (...)

The US State of New York Attorney General (AG) leads a bipartisan lawsuit by 46 State AGs, District of Columbia AG, and Territory of Guam AG seeking to end the dominant social network company’s allegedly illegal monopoly, including predatory acquisitions and reduction of privacy protections for consumers (Facebook)
Office of the New York State Attorney General (Albany)
1 contribution 672 visits
Attorney General James Leads Multistate Lawsuit Seeking to End Facebook’s Illegal Monopoly* AG James Leads Bipartisan Coalition of 48 Attorneys General Charging Anticompetitive Conduct Facebook Thwarted Competition, Reduced Consumer Privacy for Profits New York Attorney General Letitia James (...)

The US FTC sues the world’s dominant social network company for illegal monopolization, requires divesting its acquisitions of up-and-coming rivals and prohibiting the imposition of anticompetitive conditions on software developers (Facebook)
US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (Washington)
United States 61 contributions 8936 visits
FTC Sues Facebook for Illegal Monopolization* The Federal Trade Commission today sued Facebook, alleging that the company is illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct. Following a lengthy investigation in cooperation (...)

The UK Competition Authority gradually moves towards a mandatory notification regime
Bird & Bird (London)
United Kingdom 4 contributions 208 visits
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Bird & Bird (London)
Royaume-Uni 26 contributions 1710 visites
In recent years, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has become noticeably more pro-active and interventionist in reviewing transactions. In 2019 more than 50% of mergers referred to Phase 2 were prohibited or abandoned. At Phase 2 in 2020, the CMA has already issued three prohibitions (...)

The Regional Court of Düsseldorf refers questions regarding the licensing of standard essential patents in multi-layered supply chains to the EU Court of Justice (Nokia / Daimler)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 17 contributions 1719 visites
On 26 November 2020, the Regional Court of Düsseldorf (“Düsseldorf Court”) decided to request a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (“ECJ”) in patent infringement proceedings involving Nokia and Daimler. The questions give the ECJ the opportunity to offer guidance on (...)

The Regional Court of Düsseldorf questions the EU Court of Justice on standard essential patents licensing in supply chains (Nokia / Daimler)
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Dusseldorf)
Germany 4 contributions 624 visits
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Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Washington)
United States 10 contributions 14465 visits
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Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Dusseldorf)
Germany 3 contributions 277 visits
In a decision of November 26, 2020 in a patent infringement case of Nokia Technologies Oy against Daimler AG, the Düsseldorf Regional Court (file number 4c O 17/19) referred several questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the licensing of standard essential patents (SEPs) (...)

The UK Competition Authority fines a price comparison website for applying most-favoured nation clause (ComparetheMarket)
United Kingdom’s Competition Authority - CMA (London)
Royaume-Uni 216 contributions 43574 visites
CMA fines ComparetheMarket £17.9m for competition law breach* The CMA has fined ComparetheMarket £17.9 million after it found that clauses used in the company’s contracts with home insurers breached competition law. An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded (...)

The UK Competition Authority fines a comparison website for use of wide MFN clauses (ComparetheMarket)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 149 contributions 45010 visites
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Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 17 contributions 1122 visites
On 19 November 2020, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) fined the price comparison website ComparetheMarket, and its parent companies, £ 17.9 million for breaching the UK and EU competition rules. The CMA found that ComparetheMarket breached the prohibition of anti-competitive (...)

The UK Competition Authority fines a price comparison website for using most favored nation clause (ComparetheMarket)
Ashurst (London)
United Kingdom 28 contributions 12743 visits
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Ashurst (London)
Royaume-Uni 18 contributions 2379 visites
On 19 November 2020, the UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") announced that it had issued an infringement decision finding that the price comparison website ComparetheMarket infringed Chapter I prohibition of the Competition Act 1998 and Article 101 TFEU as a result of the use of wide (...)

The EU Court of Auditors encourages the Commission to tighten the screws on ‘big tech’
Loyens & Loeff (Amsterdam)
Netherlands 3 contributions 144 visits
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Loyens & Loeff (Amsterdam)
Netherlands 3 contributions 144 visits
European Court of Auditors encourages European Commission to tighten the screws on ‘Big Tech’* The Court of Auditors believes that the introduction of new instruments should go hand in hand with stricter enforcement of existing instruments In a Special Report published on 19 November 2020, the (...)

The Chinese SAMR issues antitrust guidelines for the platform economic industry
King & Wood Mallesons (Beijing)
China 13 contributions 1077 visits
10 Highlights of the Antitrust Guidelines for Platform Economy* On 10 November, the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) issued the Antitrust Guidelines for the Platform Economic Industry (draft for comments) (“Platform Guidelines”). [1] The release of (...)

The French Competition Authority considers gaming console’s commitments inadequate to address competition concerns and returns case for investigation (Sony)
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 622 contributions 251715 visits
Playstation: the Autorité considers that the commitments proposed by Sony do not adequately address the identified competition concerns. The case is returned for investigation* As part of a litigation procedure before the Autorité de la concurrence, Sony had proposed commitments to address the (...)

The French Competition Authority rejects gaming console’s commitments in an abuse of dominance case (Sony)
Bird & Bird (Paris)
France 10 contributions 1473 visits
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Bird & Bird (Paris)
France 22 contributions 2140 visites
2020 proves to be a busy year for the French Competition Authority (FCA) as far as tech giants are concerned. After Google and Apple, it’s now Sony’s turn to be under the FCA’s spotlight. While the Japanese company is currently launching pre-orders for its new PlayStation 5, the FCA has just (...)

The Paris Court of Appeal confirms Competition Authority’s decision ordering a search engine to negotiate with news agencies and press publishers (Google)
Ashurst (Paris)
France 38 contributions 40289 visites
On 8 October 2020, the Paris Court of Appeal rejected Google’s challenge to the French Competition Authority’s ("FCA") decision compelling Google to negotiate "neighbouring rights" with news agencies and press publishers. "Neighbouring rights" include the right to receive payment when a (...)

The EU Commission accepts semiconductor company’s commitments to ensure competition in chipset markets for modems and set-top boxes (Broadcom)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 794 contributions 1703097 visits
Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by Broadcom to ensure competition in chipset markets for modems and set-top boxes* The European Commission has made commitments offered by Broadcom legally binding under EU antitrust rules. Broadcom will suspend all existing agreements containing (...)

The EU Commission accepts a semiconductor company’s offer to stop exclusivity on chipset market (Broadcom)
Ashurst (Brussels)
Belgique 29 contributions 4384 visites
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Ashurst (Brussels)
Belgium 15 contributions 25722 visits
On 7 October 2020, the European Commission (the "Commission") made legally binding commitments offered by Broadcom to ensure competition in chipset markets for modems and TV set-top boxes. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - KEY TAKEAWAYS Commitments decisions are adopted in lieu of finding an (...)

The EU Commission accepts commitments to ensure competition in systems-on-a-chip markets for modems and set-top boxes (Broadcom)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 18 contributions 20811 visits
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Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 13 contributions 3468 visits
On 7 October 2020, the European Commission accepted Broadcom’s commitments to suspend its existing agreements, and to refrain from entering into any new agreements, containing exclusivity or quasi-exclusivity arrangements and/or leveraging provisions concerning Systems-on-a-Chip (“SoCs”) for TV (...)

The US House Judiciary Committee Antitrust Subcommittee issues its majority report of its investigation of competition in digital markets
Bona Law (Detroit)
United States 15 contributions 2958 visits
Classic Antitrust Cases: Trinko, linkLine and the House Report on Big Tech* On October 6, 2020, the Antitrust Subcommittee of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee issued its long-anticipated Majority Report of its Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets. As expected, the Report detailed (...)

The US FTC requests rehearing en banc by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the case of global semiconductor company’s standard-essential patent licensing practices (Qualcomm)
US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (Washington)
United States 61 contributions 8936 visits
FTC Requests Rehearing En Banc of Qualcomm Appeals Panel Decision* The Federal Trade Commission today filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit requesting rehearing en banc of the August 11, 2020, decision of a panel of that court in the matter of FTC v. Qualcomm (...)

The Russian Competition Authority issues a warning to a manufacturer of cash register equipment to eliminate an abuse of dominance violation (Evotor)
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Moscow)
France 292 contributions 36390 visits
FAS ISSUED WARNING TO THE MANUFACTURER OF CASH REGISTER EQUIPMENT EVOTOR * FAS received complaints on violations of the antimonopoly legislation from organizations and entrepreneurs using Evotor cash register equipment The FAS found that Evotor LLC directed a software update to the cash (...)

The EU Court of Justice addresses how incompatibility with net neutrality shall be assessed under the relevant legislation regarding open internet access (Telenor Magyarország / Nemzeti Média- és Hírközlési Hatóság Elnöke)
ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law (Istanbul)
Turquie 112 contributions 38567 visites
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ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law (Istanbul)
Turkey 13 contributions 2857 visits
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ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law (Istanbul)
Turkey 5 contributions 916 visits
The Court of Justice of the European Union (“ CJEU ”), in its recent decision with regard to the two joint cases (C‐807/18 and C‐39/19) brought before it for preliminary ruling, addressed how incompatibility with net neutrality shall be assessed under the relevant legislation regarding open (...)

The Japanese FTC approves a commitment plan brought by an e-commerce company (Amazon)
Japan Fair Trade Commission (Tokyo)
Japon 115 contributions 18524 visites
Approval of the Commitment Plan submitted by Amazon Japan G.K.* In response to the notice which the Japan Fair Trade Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “JFTC”) issued to Amazon Japan G.K. (hereinafter referred to as “Amazon Japan”) in accordance with the Commitment Procedures on July 10, (...)

The Regional Court of Munich rules in favor of an electronic manufacturer in standard essential patent proceeding (Sharp / Daimler)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 17 contributions 1717 visites
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Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 100 contributions 23682 visits
On 10 September 2020, the Regional Court of Munich (“Munich Court”) ruled in favour of Sharp that Daimler had infringed a standard essential patent (“SEP”) of Sharp. Sharp is the patent holder of EP 2667676B1 which is standard essential for the Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) telecommunications (...)

The German Government submits a draft of the digitalisation act amending national competition law
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 17 contributions 1717 visites
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Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 19 contributions 1304 visites
On 9 September 2020, the German Government tabled the draft 10th amendment of the German Act against Restraints of Competition (“ARC”), also referred to as the ARC Digitalisation Act. The draft amendment entails significant changes in the areas of abuse of dominance, merger control, cartel fines (...)

The UK Supreme Court rules in a licence dispute between a software and a telecommunication company and clarifies the English Courts’ approach to FRAND royalty cases (Unwired Planet / Huawei)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 6 contributions 807 visites
On 26 August 2020, the UK Supreme Court issued a judgment in a licence dispute involving Standard Essential Patents (“SEPs”) pitting Unwired Planet, a US based patent assertion entity, against Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company that produces smartphones. Unwired Planet brought an (...)

The Mexican Competition Authority investigates possible relative monopolistic practices in the market for digital advertisement services and related services
Mexican Competition Authority (Mexico City)
Mexico 83 contributions 15056 visits
COFECE investigates possible relative monopolistic practices in the market for digital advertisement services and related services* Mexico City, August 24, 2020.- The Investigative Authority of the Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE or Commission) published today in the (...)

The Indian Competition Authority clears mobile application from tying allegations (Harshita Chawla / Whatsapp)
Gujarat National Law University (Gandhinagar)
India 1 contribution 115 visits
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), the country’s judicial authority for competition matters rendered decision in the case of Harshita Chawla v. WhatsApp Inc. and ors in August, 2020 wherein it inter-alia cleared the mobile messaging service, WhatsApp Inc. from allegations of abuse of (...)

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rules that there is no antitrust violation in a multinational semiconductor company’s licensing of its standard-essential patents (Qualcomm)
Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC (Boston)
United States 1 contribution 219 visits
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Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC (Washington)
United States 1 contribution 219 visits
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Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC (New York)
1 contribution 219 visits
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Ninth Circuit Reverses FTC Win in FTC v. Qualcomm, Finding No Antitrust Violations from Qualcomm’s Licensing of its Standard-Essential Patents* In a reversal that came as no surprise to many observers, on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth (...)

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit strikes down sweeping injunction against semiconductor company and reins in expansive interpretation of Sherman Act (Qualcomm)
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (New York)
United States 2 contributions 545 visits
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Washington DC)
United States 8 contributions 1938 visits
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Washington DC)
United States 29 contributions 7748 visits
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On August 11, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decisively reversed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC or Commission) controversial district court win challenging Qualcomm’s licensing practices. In rejecting every aspect of the lower court’s decision, the Ninth Circuit panel (...)

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturns a ruling finding that a semiconductor company’s licensing practice abused dominant position (Qualcomm)
Hogan Lovells (Washington)
États-Unis 8 contributions 3427 visites
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Hogan Lovells (Washington)
États-Unis 5 contributions 1184 visites
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Hogan Lovells (Washington)
United States 1 contribution 211 visits
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On 11 August 2020, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”), in a unanimous opinion by Judge Callahan, reversed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC’s”) win in the district court against Qualcomm Inc. (“Qualcomm”) and upheld Qualcomm’s licensing practices, (...)

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reverses a ruling finding that a semiconductor company abuses its dominant position regarding its standard-essential patents (Qualcomm)
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (London)
Royaume-Uni 28 contributions 25665 visites
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Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Washington)
United States 5 contributions 1901 visits
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Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (New York)
United States 2 contributions 317 visits
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On August 11, 2020, a Ninth Circuit panel reversed the District Court for the Northern District of California’s judgment in FTC v. Qualcomm, Inc. The panel held that Qualcomm’s conduct—(a) refusing to license its standards essential patents (SEPs) to rival chipset manufacturers; (b) refusing to (...)

The EU Commission opens in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition of wearable tech devices by a Big Tech company (Fitbit / Google)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 794 contributions 1703097 visits
Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition of Fitbit by Google* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Fitbit by Google under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the proposed (...)

The German Federal Court of Justice overturns the Düsseldorf Court of Appeals’ interim decision and finds an online social media platform to have abused its power in collecting data from different sources (Facebook)
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Cologne)
Germany 1 contribution 515 visits
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Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Cologne)
Germany 1 contribution 515 visits
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Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Cologne)
Germany 4 contributions 1273 visits
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On June 23, 2020, the Federal Court of Justice (“FCJ”) overturned the Düsseldorf Court of Appeals’ (“DCA”) interim decision and rejected Facebook Inc.’s (“Facebook”) request to suspend the enforceability of the Federal Cartel Office’s (“FCO”) prohibition decision. The FCJ disagreed with the FCO’s (...)

The German Federal Court of Justice preliminarily confirms that an online platform abused its dominant position on the German market of social networks (Facebook)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 17 contributions 1717 visites
On 23 June 2020, the German Federal Court of Justice (“FCJ”), in summary proceedings, preliminarily confirmed the finding of the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) that Facebook had abused its dominant position. It overturned the decision of the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf that had suspended the (...)

The German Federal Court of Justice confirms an abuse of dominance over data collection by an online platform without the user’s explicit consent (Facebook)
Bird & Bird (Dusseldorf)
Germany 19 contributions 1206 visits
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Bird & Bird (Dusseldorf)
Germany 11 contributions 1024 visits
The Federal Court of Justice (FCJ) rejected Facebook’s application for suspensive effect in connection to its appeal to the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf against the decision of the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) prohibiting Facebook from collecting and processing Facebook users’ data generated (...)

The Australian Competition Authority releases statement of issues and opens investigation into Big Tech company’s acquisition of wearable tech manufacturer (Google / Fitbit)
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (Canberra)
Australia 225 contributions 33568 visits
Google’s purchase of Fitbit raises preliminary competition concerns* The ACCC has today outlined preliminary concerns with Google’s proposed acquisition of Fitbit, stating that Google’s access to consumer health data may raise entry barriers, further entrench its dominant position and adversely (...)

The Finnish Competition Authority proposes a €9 million fine against import & hardware company for resale price maintenance (Isojoen Konehalli Oy)
Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (Helsinki)
Finlande 60 contributions 8649 visites
FCCA proposes a penalty of EUR 9 million to IKH for resale price maintenance* The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) proposes that the Market Court impose a penalty of EUR 9 million on Isojoen Konehalli Oy (IKH) for engaging in illegal resale price maintenance (RPM). In (...)

The EU Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by semiconductor manufacturer concerning TV set-top box and modem chipset markets (Broadcom)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 794 contributions 1703097 visits
Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Broadcom concerning TV set-top box and modem chipset markets* The European Commission invites comments from interested parties on commitments offered by Broadcom to address competition concerns in relation to Broadcom’s conduct in (...)

The EU Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by a TV box company in an abuse of dominance investigation involving exclusivity agreements (Broadcom)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 3 contributions 372 visites
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Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 27 April 2020, the European Commission (the “Commission”) invited interested parties to submit comments on the commitments offered by Broadcom under Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003 to address competition concerns in relation to certain exclusivity and quasi-exclusivity agreements allegedly (...)

The French Competition Authority imposes interim measures on a dominant big tech company requiring it to enter into good faith negotiations with publishers and new agencies (Google)
Hausfeld (Brussels)
Belgium 8 contributions 2863 visits
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Hausfeld (London)
France 2 contributions 267 visits
After the record fine of 1.1 billion euros against Apple, the French Competition Authority continues to show a strong leadership in its fight against “Big Tech” — Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, the “GAFAs,” — by imposing interim measures on Google, requiring it to enter into good faith (...)

The French Competition Authority imposes interim measures against a research engine suspected to abuse of its dominance by infringing the law relating to neighbouring rights (Google)
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 622 contributions 251715 visits
Neighbouring rights: the Autorité has granted requests for urgent interim measures presented by press publishers and the news agency AFP (Agence France Presse)* It requires Google to negotiate with publishers and news agencies the remuneration due to them under the law relating to neighbouring (...)

The Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal annuls the Competition Authority decision requiring telecommunications providers to open networks (KPN / VodafoneZiggo / T-Mobile / Tele2)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 17 March 2020, the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (“Appeals Tribunal”) reversed a decision of the Authority for Consumers & Markets (“ACM”) which required telecommunications provider KPN and cable provider VodafoneZiggo to open their fixed networks to other providers. On 27 (...)

The Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal reverses a decision of the National Competition Authority requiring telecom providers to open up their fixed networks in the Netherlands to other providers (KPN / VodafoneZiggo / T-Mobile / Tele2)
Bird & Bird (Amsterdam)
Pays-Bas 32 contributions 4804 visites
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Bird & Bird (The Hague)
Pays-Bas 25 contributions 3249 visites
On 17 March 2020, the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (“CBb”) reversed the 2018 decision of the Authority for Consumers and Markets (“ACM”) requiring telecom providers KPN and VodafoneZiggo to open up their fixed networks in the Netherlands to other providers. In September 2018, the ACM (...)

The Canadian Competition Authority receives a complaint about abuse of dominance in the internet services market (Teksavvy / Bell / Rogers)
Affleck Greene McMurtry (Toronto)
Canada 5 contributions 873 visits
TekSavvy Claims That Bell And Rogers Abuse Their Dominant Position For Internet Services* In a public version of its complaint to the Canadian Competition Commissioner (see below), Internet re-seller TekSavvy says that Bell Canada and Rogers Communications Canada have been abusing their (...)

The EU General Court hears an appeal following abuse of dominance decision involving online comparison shopping services (Google)
Hausfeld (London)
Royaume-Uni 16 contributions 1512 visites
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Hausfeld (London)
United Kingdom 3 contributions 368 visits
Introduction From 12-14 February 2020, the European Union’s General Court (the “General Court”) heard Google’s appeal of the European Commission’s 27 June 2017 abuse of dominance decision pursuant to Article 102 TFEU (the “Decision”) involving on-line comparison shopping services (“CSSs”). A central (...)

The French Competition Authority fines €150 million a big tech company for abusing its dominant position in the search advertising market (Google)
Bird & Bird (Paris)
France 22 contributions 2140 visites
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Bird & Bird (Paris)
France 21 contributions 1413 visites
On 19 December 2019, the French Competition Authority ("FCA") fined Google for abusing its dominant position in the French search advertising market. The decision follows a complaint from Gibmedia (a company which publishes weather information, company data and telephone information) after (...)

The French Competition Authority fines a research engine company for abuse of dominance in the search advertising market (Google)
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 622 contributions 251715 visits
The Autorité de la concurrence hands down a €150M fine for abuse of a dominant position* Google has abused its dominant position in the search advertising market by adopting operating rules of its Google Ads advertising platform which are opaque and difficult to understand and by applying them (...)

The French Competition Authority fines a company for abusing its dominant position in the online search advertising market (Google)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 20 December 2019, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) announced that it had imposed a € 150 million fine on Google for abusing its dominant position in the market for search advertising. This is the fourth antitrust fine imposed on Google by a competition authority of the EU in less than (...)

The Polish Competition Authority opens an investigation into an e-commerce platform’s possible abuse of its dominant position (Allegro)
Bird & Bird (Warsaw)
Poland 17 contributions 1275 visits
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Bird & Bird (Warsaw)
Poland 17 contributions 1275 visits
Following the inspection conducted by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection ("UOKiK") in Allegro in July 2017, UOKiK has opened an antimonopoly investigation into Allegro’s practices that may violate both Polish and EU competition law. In its press release, UOKiK notes that Allegro (...)

The Turkish Competition Authority imposes a daily fine on a big tech company for not complying with the previously imposed obligations (Google)
ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law (Istanbul)
Turkey 13 contributions 2857 visits
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ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law (Istanbul)
Turkey 6 contributions 1463 visits
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ACTECON (Istanbul)
Turquie 6 contributions 1098 visites
Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) recently published its decision (“Review Decision”) reviewing the obligations that ought to be fulfilled by the economic integrity comprised of Google LLC, Google International LLC and Google Reklamcılık ve Pazarlama Ltd. Şti. (will be referred to as “Google” (...)

The Turkish Competition Authority experts impose administrative fines on undertakings in order to ensure the protection of competition (Google)
Erdem & Erdem (Istanbul)
Turkey 66 contributions 73500 visits
Introduction The Law on Protection of Competition (“Law No. 4054”) outlines the Competition Board’s (“Board”) and the Competition Authority’s experts’ powers while implementing their duties to ensure the protection of competition. Accordingly, Law No. 4054 imposes several types of administrative (...)

The EU Commission imposes interim measures on a technology company suspected to have abused its dominance in the TV and modem chipset markets (Broadcom)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 794 contributions 1703097 visits
Antitrust: Commission imposes interim measures on Broadcom in TV and modem chipset markets* The European Commission has ordered Broadcom to stop applying certain provisions contained in agreements with six of its main customers. This will prevent serious and irreparable harm to competition (...)

The EU Commission imposes interim measures on a company for abuse of dominance in the TV and modem chipset markets (Broadcom)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 16 October 2019, the European Commission adopted a decision ordering Broadcom to stop applying certain provisions contained in agreements with six of its main customers in the TV and modem chipset markets. According to the Commission’s press release, Broadcom was prima facie found to be (...)

The EU Commission imposes interim measures on a company for abuse of dominance in the TV and modem chipset markets (Broadcom)
Gómez-Acebo & Pombo (Brussels)
Belgium 45 contributions 17773 visits
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Gómez-Acebo & Pombo (Brussels)
Belgium 50 contributions 22308 visits
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Gómez-Acebo & Pombo (Brussels)
Belgium 44 contributions 17682 visits
On 16 October 2018, the European Commission announced that, in the framework of its investigation into possible anticompetitive practices by Broadcom, it had imposed interim measures on the American company. This is the first time in 18 years that the Commission uses the power enshrined in (...)

The EU Commission finds on a prima facie basis, that an undertaking abused its dominant position and orders to cease its prima facie abusive conduct in order to avert the risk of damage to competition (Broadcom)
McDermott Will & Emery (Paris)
France 109 contributions 50318 visites
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McDermott Will & Emery (Brussels)
Belgium 47 contributions 91066 visits
This article has been nominated for the 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. INTERIM MEASURES IMPOSED ON BROADCOM: THE RE-AWAKENING OF A ONCE-DORMANT TOOL?* The European Commission (EC) has found, on a prima facie basis, that Broadcom (...)

The Indian Competition Authority orders investigation into a multinational technology company with the aim of protecting Micro-processors importers from the company’s discriminatory practices (Intel)
Gujarat National Law University (Gandhinagar)
India 2 contributions 969 visits
On 9th August 2019, the Competition Commission of India directed the Director General to carry out investigations against Intel Corporation for allegedly violating Section 3 and 4 of the Indian Competition Act, 2002 (the ‘Act’). The case in hand was filed by Matrix Info Systems Pvt. Ltd. (the (...)

The EU Commission fines a company €242 million for engaging in predatory pricing in the market for 3G baseband chipsets (Qualcomm)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 18 July 2019, the Commission announced that it had adopted a decision against Qualcomm for abusing a dominant position in the market for 3G baseband chipsets, and imposed a fine of € 242 million. According to the Commission, Qualcomm’s prices to certain key customers were below its costs with (...)

The German Competition Authority reaches an informal settlement with an online marketplace and closes investigation into the company’s commercial practices (Amazon)
Hausfeld (Berlin)
Germany 3 contributions 141 visits
This article has been nominated for the 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. In July 2019, the German Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office – “FCO”) reached an informal settlement with Amazon and subsequently closed its investigation into (...)

The German Competition Authority ends an abuse probe after an online market place agrees to change business terms for dealers (Amazon)
Heinz & Zagrosek (Köln)
Germany 21 contributions 11789 visits
Bundeskartellamt ends abuse probe after Amazon agrees to changing business terms for dealers* On July 17, 2019, the German Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office, “FCO”) terminated its dominance probe into Amazon’s business terms towards sellers on its marketplace after Amazon agreed to various (...)

The EU Commission opens investigation into the allegedly anticompetitive conduct of a multinational online platform focused on e-commerce (Amazon)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 794 contributions 1703097 visits
Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into possible anti-competitive conduct of Amazon* The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether Amazon’s use of sensitive data from independent retailers who sell on its marketplace is in breach of EU competition (...)

The German Competition Authority obtains amendments of seller rules active on a major online marketplace (Amazon)
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68961 visits
Bundeskartellamt obtains far-reaching improvements in the terms of business for sellers on Amazon’s online marketplaces* In response to the competition concerns expressed by the Bundeskartellamt, Amazon is amending its terms of business for sellers on Amazon’s online marketplaces. Andreas (...)

The Austrian Competition Authority and the German Competition Authority close their respective abuse of dominance investigations after the company committed to changing contract terms (Amazon)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 17 July 2019, the Austrian Federal Competition Authority and the German Federal Cartel Office closed their respective abuse of dominance investigations against Amazon, after Amazon committed to changing contract terms. Throughout the years 2017 and 2018, both competition authorities had (...)

The EU Commission opens an investigation and sends statements of objections on interim measures in TV and modem chipsets markets (Broadcom)
Gómez-Acebo & Pombo (Brussels)
Belgium 45 contributions 17773 visits
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Gómez-Acebo & Pombo (Brussels)
Belgium 50 contributions 22308 visits
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Gómez-Acebo & Pombo (Brussels)
Belgium 44 contributions 17682 visits
The Commission has opened an investigation into Broadcom’s commercial practices over a number of competition concerns. Broadcom is one of the world’s largest designers, developers and providers of key components of wired communication devices and is a global leader in the markets of (...)

The Brazilian Competition Authority decides to file charges against a multinational technology company due to one of its online shopping platform features (Google)
OECD - Competition Division (Paris)
France 5 contributions 2695 visits
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University of São Paulo
Brazil 2 contributions 2657 visits
GOOGLE SHOPPING IN BRAZIL: HIGHLIGHTS OF CADE’S DECISION AND TAKEAWAYS FOR DIGITAL ECONOMY ISSUES On 26 June 2019, the Brazilian Competition Authority (CADE) decided to file the competition charges raised against Google on its “Google Shopping” feature. It was not an easy decision, which is shown (...)

The EU Commission opens an investigation against a designer of integrated circuits for wired communication devices and sends a Statement of Objections seeking to impose interim measures in TV and modem chipsets markets (Broadcom)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 794 contributions 1703097 visits
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether Broadcom may be restricting competition through exclusivity practices, in breach of EU rules. The Commission intends to impose interim measures during the investigation with regard to TV and modem chipsets (...)

The EU Commission opens a formal investigation to assess whether a producer of integrated circuit abused its dominant position (Broadcom)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 26 June 2019, the European Commission (the “Commission”) announced that it had opened a formal investigation to assess whether integrated circuit (“IC”) provider Broadcom may be abusing its dominant position, in breach of Article 102 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In parallel, (...)

The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court quashes the Competition Authority’s decision and finds a most favoured nation clause compatible with antitrust law for a hotel booking platform (Booking.com)
Heinz & Zagrosek (Köln)
Germany 21 contributions 11789 visits
Booking.com’s "narrow" MFN clauses now also permissible in Germany, Court of Appeals rules* On June 4, 2019, the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal quashed the decision of the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) prohibiting Booking.com to operate so-called narrow most favored nation (MFN) clauses (or best price (...)

The Italian Competition Authority launches an investigation against a search engine company suspected to abuse of its dominant position (Google)
Italian Competition Authority (Rome)
Italie 45 contributions 8809 visites
ICA: investigation launched against Google for alleged abuse of a dominant position* In the meeting of 8 May 2019, the Italian Competition Authority decided to launch an investigation against Alphabet Inc., Google LLC and Google Italy S.r.l. (indicated together as Google) to ascertain an (...)

The Indian Competition Authority orders a probe against a multinational technology company for abusing its dominant position (Google)
Gujarat National Law University (Gandhinagar)
India 2 contributions 511 visits
COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA STRIKES ANOTHER BLOW TO GOOGLE FOR ABUSE OF DOMINANT POSITION* On 16th April 2019, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered a probe against the multinational technology company, Google, for abusing its dominant position in clear violation of Section 4 (...)

The Indian Competition Authority finds that a company abused its dominant position by requiring device manufacturers wishing to pre-install apps to adhere to a compatibility standard (Google)
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (New Delhi)
India 51 contributions 10966 visits
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Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (New Delhi)
India 54 contributions 12848 visits
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Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (New Delhi)
India 54 contributions 11638 visits
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Following a complaint made by a number of users of smartphones using the Android operating system, the CCI prima facie found that Google was dominant in the market for licensable smart mobile device operating systems in India and had abused its dominant position by requiring device (...)

The Italian Competition Authority opens an antitrust investigation against a major e-commerce company for alleged abuse of dominance (Amazon)
Giannino SI (Monserrato)
Italie 142 contributions 121328 visites
The Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has opened an Article 102 TFEU investigation against several undertakings belonging to the Amazon group in the FBA case. The targets of the ICA investigation are Amazon Services Europe (ASE), Amazon Europe Core (AEC), Amazon EU (AEU), Amazon Italia (...)

The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf upholds a decision of the German Competition Authority prohibiting exclusivity clauses in the event ticketing market (CTS Eventim)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 3 April 2019, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (the “Court”) upheld a 2017 decision of the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) prohibiting exclusivity clauses in the event ticketing market. In a large number of its contracts with event organisers, ticketing service provider CTS Eventim used (...)

The Philippine Competition Authority files suits against company against a mass housing developer for abuse of dominance (Condo developer)
Philippine Competition Commission (Quezon City)
Philippines 1 contribution 84 visites
The Enforcement Office of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has filed a case against a mass housing developer for breaching the antitrust law by engaging in an exclusive internet service tie-up on its property in Tondo, Manila. In a Statement of Objections filed on March 27, the PCC (...)

The EU Commission imposes a fine of € 1.49 billion on a search engine company for abusing its dominant position by imposing restrictive clauses in contracts with third-party websites (Google AdSense)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 794 contributions 1703097 visits
Antitrust: Commission fines Google €1.49 billion for abusive practices in online advertising* The European Commission has fined Google €1.49 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. Google has abused its market dominance by imposing a number of restrictive clauses in contracts with third-party (...)

The Turkish Competition Authority launches an investigation into a search engine company for alleged abuse of dominance in the online search market (Google)
University of Sussex (Brighton)
Royaume-Uni 31 contributions 10892 visites
Background Competition authorities all over the world, including the European Commission, German, French, Italian and Indian competition authorities, have launched many investigations against the well-known online search engine company Google, many of which ended with imposition of huge (...)

The Austrian Competition Authority initiates investigation proceedings concerning discrimination against retailers on the internet (Amazon)
Austrian Competition Authority (Vienna)
Austria 15 contributions 2026 visits
After a first analysis, discussions with the European Commission (DG Competition) and the German Bundeskartellamt, the BWB has decided to initiate investigation proceedings concerning suspected infringements of Austrian and European Competition Law. The BWB will examine, whether Amazon abused (...)

The German Competition Authority finds the merging of user data from multiple sources to be both anti-competitive and in breach of the GDPR (Facebook)
Simmons & Simmons (London)
United Kingdom 2 contributions 2282 visits
In one of the first decisions to consider data protection and competition issues side by side, the German competition regulator (the Bundeskartellamt) last week found that Facebook had both abused its market power in Germany and breached EU data protection laws in the way in which it collects (...)

The German Competition Authority prohibits a social network company for abusing its dominant position by combining its user data from different sources (Facebook)
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68961 visits
Bundeskartellamt / Digital Economy Bundeskartellamt prohibits Facebook from combining user data from different sources* Bonn, 7 February 2019: The Bundeskartellamt has imposed on Facebook far-reaching restrictions in the processing of user data. According to Facebook’s terms and conditions (...)

The German Competition Authority orders a social network company to stop collecting and matching data of its users without explicit consent as it constitutes an abuse of dominance (Facebook)
Heinz & Zagrosek (Köln)
Germany 21 contributions 11789 visits
Bundeskartellamt hits „don’t like“-button on Facebook* On February 7, 2019, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) issued its long-awaited decision in the Facebook case, see press release and background paper in English here. It qualifies Facebook’s current practice of collecting and matching data (...)

The German Competition Authority holds that matching the data collected by a social network company constitutes an antitrust violation (Facebook)
International Center for Law & Economics (Portland)
United States 9 contributions 4713 visits
Doing double damage: The German competition authority’s Facebook decision manages to undermine both antitrust and data protection law* The German Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office or FCO) this week reached a decision in its nearly 3-year-old Facebook investigation. The decision appears to (...)

The German Competition Authority finds that the data gathering practices of a social network are an abuse of its dominant position, and orders amendments in its data processing policy (Facebook)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 6 February 2019, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) concluded administrative proceedings concerning the data gathering practices of Facebook Inc., Facebook Ireland and Facebook Germany (together “Facebook”). The FCO found that Facebook abused its dominant position by making the private use (...)

The French Competition Authority orders a search engine company to review and clarify the rules of its online advertising service (Amadeus / Google)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 31 January 2019, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) ordered Google to review the rules of its Google Ads service. The FCA’s Order follows a complaint by Amadeus, an operator of online enquiry services – such as “a directory that provides call or text numbers for business/ residential (...)

The German Competition Authority initiates an abuse of dominance proceeding against a major e-commerce company (Amazon)
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68961 visits
Bundeskartellamt initiates abuse proceeding against Amazon* The Bundeskartellamt has today initiated an abuse proceeding against Amazon to examine its terms of business and practices towards sellers on its German marketplace amazon.de. Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “Amazon (...)

The Indian Competition Authority opens an investigation into a processors manufacturer for abuse of dominant position (Velankani Electronics / Intel)
Vaish Associates Advocates (New Delhi)
Inde 256 contributions 31914 visites
CCI directs investigation against Intel for abuse of dominant position* The CCI by way of order dated November 9, 2018 under section 26(1) of the Act, directed the DG to investigate Intel Corporation (the Opposite Party/ OP/Intel) for alleged abuse of dominant position in the market for (...)

The Turkish Competition Authority follows the EU Commission’s footsteps in the search engines’ battles (Google)
ACTECON (Istanbul)
Turkey 17 contributions 6297 visits
The tech giant Google has been under the Turkish Competition Authority’s (“TCA”) scrutiny due to its practices in the market for licensable mobile operating systems and under the judicial review since July 2015. In September 2018, the TCA has finally released its short decision and imposed a fine (...)

The EU Commission sends a supplementary statement of objection to a manufacturer of LTE baseband chipsets for predatory pricing practices (Qualcomm)
Rosenblatt Limited (London)
12 contributions 2362 visits
QUALCOMM RECEIVES SUPPLEMENTARY STATEMENT OF OBJECTIONS FROM THE EU COMMISSION IN PREDATORY PRICING INVESTIGATION* Hot on the heels of the announcement of a record antitrust fine imposed by the European antitrust regulator upon another US technology company , the European Commission announced (...)

The EU Commission fines a multinational technology company for abuse of dominant position in the smartphone operating system sector (Google Android)
Baker McKenzie (London)
United Kingdom 2 contributions 2201 visits
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Baker McKenzie (Brussels)
Belgium 5 contributions 4050 visits
This article has been nominated for the 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. On 18 July 2018 the European Commission imposed a record fine of €4.34 billion on Google. In such an innovative and competitive industry, a decision and fine on (...)

The EU Commission fines a multinational technology company for abuse of dominance by imposing illegal restrictions on device manufacturers and mobile network operators (Google Android)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 794 contributions 1703097 visits
Antitrust: Commission fines Google €4.34 billion for illegal practices regarding Android mobile devices to strengthen dominance of Google’s search engine* The European Commission has fined Google €4.34 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. Since 2011, Google has imposed illegal restrictions (...)

The EU Commission fines a tech company for illegal tying in the market for third-party mobile device manufacturing (Google Android)
Economists Incorporated (Washington)
United States 2 contributions 375 visits
European Commission Fines Google for Illegal Tying* The European Commission (“EC”) recently fined Google €4.34 billion, stating that “Google has imposed illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to cement its dominant position in general internet search.” (...)

The French Competition Authority rejects a complaint about abuse of dominance in the sector of IT maintenance (Econocom)
Dechert (Paris)
France 11 contributions 15668 visits
On 27 June 2018, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) rejected a complaint filed by French company Econocom, active in the maintenance of servers and storage solutions, against the main manufacturers of IT hardware: IBM, Hewlett Packard (“HP”) and Oracle. This decision was issued in a peculiar (...)

The Spanish Supreme Court orders restarting the investigation of a complaint about abuse of dominant position (Oracle)
Callol, Coca & Asociados (Madrid)
Espagne 127 contributions 36029 visites
On 26 February 2013, Hewlett Packard and Hewlett Packard Española, S.L. (jointly, HP) filed a complaint against Oracle Corporation and Oracle Ibérica, S.R.L. (jointly, Oracle) before the NMCC denouncing restrictive practices of competition in the field of relational database management systems, (...)

The French Competition Authority issues an opinion concluding its sector-specific investigation into online advertising
Autorité de la concurrence (Paris)
France 622 contributions 251709 visites
Sector-specific investigation into online advertising* The Autorité de la concurrence has made public its opinion in which it analyses a very complex market characterised by a fragile competitive equilibrium. Given the concerns of stakeholders in the sector, the General Rapporteur announced (...)

The Indian Competition Authority fines a company for search bias and exclusive agreements (Google)
Gujarat National Law University (Gandhinagar)
India 2 contributions 511 visits
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Gujarat National Law University (Gandhinagar)
India 2 contributions 969 visits
On 8th February 2018, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a fine of INR 135.86 Crores (approximately $ 1.36 Billion) on Google, for abusing its dominant position striking the mandate of Section 4 of the (Indian) Competition Act, 2002 (‘Act’). The comment herein highlights the (...)

The Indian Competition Authority fines a global tech company for abuse of dominance in the market for online search and related advertising services (Google)
Vaish Associates Advocates (New Delhi)
India 256 contributions 31914 visits
CCI imposes penalty of INR 136 Crores on Google for abuse of dominant position* The Indian anti-trust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (“CCI/ Commission”) seems to have let Google off with just a rap on the knuckles. CCI vide order dated February 8, 2018 has imposed a penalty of (...)

The Indian Competition Authority fines a company for search bias in the search engine market (Google)
Indian Competition Commission (New Delhi)
India 3 contributions 392 visits
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has found Google to have abused its dominant position in online general web search and web search advertising services in India. The order was passed in response to informations filed by Matrimony.com Limited and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (...)

The French Competition Authority unconditionally clears a merger between two real estate online platforms (Axel Springer / Concept Multimédia)
Epex Spot (Paris)
France 7 contributions 2492 visits
On 1st February 2018, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) unconditionally cleared in Phase II proceedings the planned acquisition of sole control of French company Concept Multimédia - which owns the real estate online platform Logic-Immo.com - by German group Axel Springer - which owns the (...)

The German Competition Authority launches a sector inquiry into market conditions in the online advertising sector
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68960 visits
Bundeskartellamt launches sector inquiry into market conditions in online advertising sector* The Bundeskartellamt has launched a sector inquiry into the online advertising sector. Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: "Online advertising has experienced an extraordinarily high (...)

The EU Commission fines a baseband chipset manufacturer for abusing its dominant position (Qualcomm)
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Rome)
Italy 3 contributions 1189 visits
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Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Rome)
Italy 1 contribution 136 visits
This article has been nominated for the 2019 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. On January 24, 2018, the European Commission announced that it had fined Qualcomm EUR 997,439,000. The Commission thinks that Qualcomm had abused its dominant (...)

The EU Commission fines a company for abuse of dominance on the market for baseband chipsets for smartphones and tablets (Qualcomm)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57214 visits
On 24 January 2018, the European Commission (the “Commission”) announced that it had imposed fines totalling € 997.439 million on chipset producer Qualcomm for abusing a dominant position contrary to Article 102 TFEU. While the public version of the decision has not yet been published, the (...)

The EU Commission fines a manufacturer of baseband chipsets for abusing its dominant position by using loyalty rebates (Qualcomm)
McDermott Will & Emery (Brussels)
Belgium 35 contributions 4604 visits
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McDermott Will & Emery (Paris)
France 109 contributions 50318 visites
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Norton Rose Fulbright (Brussels)
Belgium 36 contributions 4858 visits
On 24 January 2018 the EC fined Qualcomm EUR 997 million for hindering competition on the market for Long-Term Evolution (LTE) basebands chips, in breach of Article 102 TFEU. Baseband chipsets, which enable smartphones and tablets to connect to cellular networks, are used both for voice and (...)

The Romanian Competition Authority opens a procedure against a company suspected of abuse of dominance in the mediation services market through online platforms (Dante International)
Romanian Competition Council (Bucharest)
Roumanie 64 contributions 12561 visites
The Competition Council analyses a possible abuse of dominant position of Dante International SA* The Competition Council opened an investigation on a possible abuse of dominant position by Dante International SA on the mediation services market through online platforms in Romania. Dante (...)

The Malaysian Competition Appeal Tribunal upholds a decision of the Competition Authority in a case of abuse of dominance in the provision and management of online foreign workers permit renewals (My E.G)
Wong Partners (Baker McKenzie Kuala Lumpur)
Malaysia 1 contribution 427 visits
On 28 December 2017, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) upheld the Malaysian Competition Commission’s (MyCC) decision on 24 June 2016 that My E.G. Services Berhad (MyEG) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, My E.G Commerce Sdn. Bhd. (MyEG Commerce) have abused their dominant position in the (...)

The German Competition Authority finds by a preliminary assessment that a social network company abused its dominant position by collecting and using data from third-party sources (Facebook)
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68960 visits
Preliminary assessment in Facebook proceeding: Facebook’s collection and use of data from third-party sources is abusive* The Bundeskartellamt has informed the company Facebook in writing of its preliminary legal assessment in the abuse of dominance proceeding which the authority is conducting (...)

The German Competition Authority indicates in its preliminary assessment of possible abuse of dominance case that data collection and use from third-party sources is abusive (Facebook)
Heinz & Zagrosek (Köln)
Allemagne 21 contributions 11790 visites
Bundeskartellamt sends preliminary assessment to Facebook* On December 19, 2017, the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) published a press release on its preliminary assessment in the ongoing Facebook dominance probe, accompanied by a background paper (available in English here). The FCO considers (...)

The EU General Court issues a ruling on mandatory access and interoperability in the software industry (Contact Software)
Jones Day (Brussels)
Belgium 21 contributions 13196 visits
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Jones Day (Amsterdam)
Netherlands 12 contributions 3468 visits
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Jones Day (Brussels)
Belgium 5 contributions 2051 visits
The European General Court’s ("GC") decision relates to a complaint filed with the European Commission ("EC") by Contact Software, a German software supplier of Product Data Management ("PDM"). Contact Software alleged an abuse of dominance by Dassault Systèmes and Parametric Technology Corp., as (...)

The US District Court Southern District of California receives a claim from a smartphone manufacturer against one of its suppliers over allegedly abusive wireless patents (Apple / Qualcomm)
DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach (Vienna)
Autriche 26 contributions 6473 visites
Apple and Qualcomm proceeding* In January 2017 Apple filed suit against Qualcomm over its allegedly abusive licensing practices regarding wireless patents. Apple filed patent, antitrust and breach of contract claims against Qualcomm; this could result in damages of billions of dollars. (...)

The EU Court of Justice endorses an effects-based assessment of rebates (Intel)
White & Case (Brussels)
Belgique 26 contributions 55143 visites
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White & Case (Brussels)
Belgique 47 contributions 46208 visites
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White & Case (Brussels)
Belgium 18 contributions 18324 visits
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This article has been nominated for the 2018 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. On 6 September 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU" or "Court") essentially held in Intel that the European Commission ("Commission") cannot (...)

The EU Court of Justice quashes the 2014 judgment of the General Court that upheld a fine of €1.06 billion for an abuse of dominant position by implementing loyalty rebates based on exclusivity agreements (Intel)
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 20 contributions 10827 visits
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 51 contributions 21989 visits
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 20 contributions 5431 visits
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On September 6, 2017 ,the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) quashed the 2014 judgment of the General Court (GC) that upheld a fine of €1.06 billion ($1.5 billion) on Intel Corporation Inc. (Intel) for abusing a dominant market position by implementing loyalty rebates based on (...)

The EU Court of Justice issues landmark judgment on the legal treatment of fidelity rebates granted by dominant companies (Intel)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57214 visits
On 6 September 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“ECJ”) issued its long-awaited judgment in the Intel case (Case C-413/14 P), setting aside the General Court’s (“GC”) judgment. The GC must now re-assess the legality of the Commission’s decision in light of the ECJ’s ruling. Intel was (...)

The EU Court of Justice reverses the General Court’s decision in an abuse of dominance case against a big tech company in the market for processors and rules that rebates should be judged under the rule of reason (Intel)
Compass Lexecon (Brussels)
Belgium 34 contributions 66814 visits
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The Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies (Geneva)
Switzerland 14 contributions 29829 visits
Roundtable Discussion on the ECJ ruling in Intel* On 6 September 2017, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) issued a landmark judgment where it set aside the judgment of the General Court (“GC”) in the highly debated Intel matter. This judgment is of particular significance because it provides (...)

The EU Court of Justice modernizes abuse of dominance (Intel)
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Brussels)
Belgium 23 contributions 27350 visits
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Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Brussels)
Belgium 14 contributions 15838 visits
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Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (London)
United Kingdom 28 contributions 25665 visits
(“CJEU”) set aside General Court’s 2014 Intel judgment, upholding a European Commission (the “Commission”) decision fining Intel €1.06 billion for abuse of dominance through exclusivity rebates . The CJEU held that the General Court had erred in failing to examine all of Intel’s arguments calling (...)

The EU Court of Justice refers a case back to the General Court for re-examination (Intel)
Norton Rose Fulbright (Brussels)
Belgium 25 contributions 10235 visits
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Norton Rose Fulbright (London)
United Kingdom 4 contributions 875 visits
Major victory for Intel as CJEU sends case back to General Court for re-examination* On 6 September, the EU’s highest court, the Court of Justice (CJEU), released its long-awaited decision in the Intel case, in which the Commission imposed a fine of €1.06 billion – at the time, the largest fine (...)

The EU Court of Justice revisits forty years of case law on when a dominant company’s rebate scheme may be abusive (Intel)
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (London)
United Kingdom 30 contributions 14650 visits
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Baker McKenzie (London)
United Kingdom 5 contributions 2751 visits
In its ruling on the European Commission’s 500 page Intel decision, in a crisp 150 paragraphs, the EU Court of Justice (the Court) revisited forty years of jurisprudence on when a dominant company’s rebate scheme may be abusive. Though no final decision for Intel, the case marks a potentially (...)

The EU Court of Justice annuls the General Court ruling that upheld the fine imposed by the Commission for an abuse of dominance (Intel)
Jones Day (Brussels)
Belgium 20 contributions 5853 visits
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Jones Day (Brussels)
Belgique 26 contributions 17676 visites
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Jones Day (Frankfurt)
Germany 7 contributions 1949 visits
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What happened? The European Court of Justice ("ECJ") set aside a General Court ruling that had upheld a €1.06 billion fine imposed by the European Commission on Intel for abusing its dominant position in the market for x86 central processing units ("CPUs"). Background In its 2009 decision, (...)

The EU Court of Justice renders its judgment in a case regarding loyalty rebates granted by dominant companies (Intel)
Baker Botts (Brussels)
Belgium 19 contributions 12971 visits
An alternative view on accuracy and administrability Introduction In its judgment in Intel of 6 September 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) rejected the notion that particular loyalty rebates granted by a dominant company are subject to a per se illegality standard of (...)

The Dutch Competition Authority, after its market study into online video platforms, finds no dominant market power among online video streaming platforms (Youtube / Facebook / Netflix / Dumpert)
Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (The Hague)
Netherlands 135 contributions 18448 visits
No dominant market power among online video streaming platforms* The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has conducted a market study into online video platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, and Dumpert. ACM did not find any indications for anticompetitive risks on the (...)

The EU Commission fines a multinational technology company for abuse of dominance on the market of online comparison shopping service (Google)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgique 794 contributions 1703041 visites
Antitrust: Commission fines Google €2.42 billion for abusing dominance as search engine by giving illegal advantage to own comparison shopping service* The European Commission has fined Google €2.42 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. Google has abused its market dominance as a search (...)

The EU Commission imposes a record fine on a big tech undertaking for abuse of dominance in the search engine market (Google)
Simmons & Simmons (London)
United Kingdom 19 contributions 3780 visits
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Crowell & Moring (London)
United Kingdom 16 contributions 8316 visits
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Simmons & Simmons (London)
United Kingdom 12 contributions 3327 visits
Introduction On 27 June 2017, the European Commission (the Commission) imposed a record €2.42bn fine on Google after finding it had abused its dominant position in the search engine market by giving favourable treatment to its comparison shopping service in its search results. Background (...)

The Russian Competition Authority issues a warning letter to a multinational technology company to prevent abuse of dominance (Microsoft)
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Moscow)
France 292 contributions 36390 visits
FAS warned “Microsoft” not to create discriminatory conditions* On 13 June 2017, FAS issued warnings to “Microsoft” to stop actions that have signs of violating the antimonopoly law (Clause 8 Part 1 Article 10 and Articles 14.2, 14.8 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”). (...)

The Italian Competition Authority opens a market investigation on Big Data
Court of Justice of the European Union
14 contributions 39135 visits
Introduction The Italian Competition Authority, together with the national regulators for communications and data protection, opened a joint market investigation on Big Data. The investigation appears to be wide-ranging, covering not only competition issues, but data protection, consumer (...)

The Indian Competition Authority clears dominant mobile messaging service from abuse of dominance allegations (Fight for Transparency Society / WhatsApp)
Vaish Associates Advocates (New Delhi)
India 256 contributions 31914 visits
CCI closes allegation of abuse of dominance against WhatsApp* CCI vide its recent order dated June 01, 2017 has closed an allegation of abuse of dominant position against popular message service WhatsApp. The complaint against WhatsApp was filed by an individual Vinod Kumar Gupta on behalf of (...)

The Russian Competition Authority announces the payment of a fine by a multinational technology undertaking following a settlement (Google)
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Moscow)
France 292 contributions 36390 visits
Google paid the fine* On 9 May 2017 Google Inc. Paid a 438,067,400 RUB administrative fine imposed by the Federal Antimonopoly Service. On 17 April 2017 the 2-year dispute between the Federal Antimonopoly Service and “Google” ended in an amicable settlement reached at the Arbitration Court of (...)

The EU Commission publishes its final e-commerce sector inquiry report
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 149 contributions 45010 visites
On 10 May 2017, the European Commission (“Commission”) published its final Report on the e-commerce sector inquiry (“the Report”), aimed at identifying business practices in the sector that might restrict competition and limit consumer choice. The Report consists of two documents: (i) a 16-page (...)

The EU Commission publishes its final report on the inquiry into the e-commerce sector
Dentons (Brussels)
Belgium 6 contributions 4788 visits
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DLA Piper (London)
United Kingdom 1 contribution 330 visits
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DLA Piper (Amsterdam)
Netherlands 1 contribution 330 visits
On 10 May 2017, DG Competition of the European Commission (the "Commission") published its final report on the inquiry into the e-commerce sector (launched in May 2015 as part of the Digital Single Market strategy). The findings in the report are based on information gathered from 1,900 (...)

The EU Commission publishes its final report on the e-commerce sector inquiry
Shearman & Sterling (London)
United Kingdom 3 contributions 881 visits
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Court of Justice of the European Union
14 contributions 39135 visits
The European Commission has published, on 10 May, its final report on the E- commerce Sector Inquiry (the “Final Report”). The Commission launched the E-commerce Sector Inquiry in May 2015 in the context of its Digital Single Market (“DSM”) strategy, aiming to ensure better access for consumers (...)

The EU Commission accepts remedies proposed by an electronic commerce company in the e-books case (Amazon)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgique 794 contributions 1703041 visites
Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments from Amazon on e-books* The European Commission has adopted a decision that renders legally binding the commitments offered by Amazon. The commitments address the Commission’s preliminary competition concerns relating to a number of clauses in Amazon’s (...)

The Russian Competition Authority concludes an amicable settlement with a multinational technology company (Google)
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Moscow)
France 292 contributions 36390 visits
FAS terminated administrative proceedings against Google* The decisions was due to an amicable settlement reached between the antimonopoly authority and the company On 25 April 2017, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) terminated the proceedings against Google opened for failure to (...)

The EU Commission publishes a roadmap on the Standard Essential Patents to support the development of the 5G mobile communications standard
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 100 contributions 23682 visites
On 10 April 2017, the European Commission published its roadmap on “Standard Essential Patents for a European digitalised economy” (the “Roadmap”) with the aim of supporting the development of the 5G mobile communications standard (“5G”) and the Internet of Things (“IoT”) universe. A standard (...)

The Russian Competition Authority sends a warning to a multinational technology company suspected of abuse of dominance (Apple)
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Moscow)
France 292 contributions 36390 visits
FAS issued a warning to “Apple Rus” Ltd.* By 1 May 2017 the company should open a unified service centre in the Russian Federation On 20 February 2017, the FAS Commission investigated a case against “Apple Rus” Ltd. According to a statement received by FAS, in 2016 service centres failed to (...)

The French Competition Authority conducts an initial intermediary assessment of the commitments made by an online accommodation booking company (Booking.com)
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 622 contributions 251715 visits
The Autorité de la concurrence conducts an initial intermediary assessment of the commitments made by Booking.com.* The Autorité has not ruled out the possibility of issuing an opinion at its own initiative if the change in competition so requires, and is actively contributing to all of the (...)

The Paris Commercial Court declares void price and availability parity clauses formerly implemented by a hotel online booking company (Booking.com)
Epex Spot (Paris)
France 7 contributions 2492 visits
In a ruling issued on November 29th, 2016, the Paris commercial court (hereafter the “court”) declared void several provisions, including price and availability parity clauses previously in force, of Booking.com’s general terms of service governing its B2B relationships with hotels. Following an (...)

The Indian Competition Authority dismisses allegations of abuse of dominance against a laptop manufacturer (S. K. Mittal / HP)
Vaish Associates Advocates (New Delhi)
Inde 256 contributions 31914 visites
CCI dismisses allegation of abuse of dominance against HP* CCI, by its order dated November 10, 2016, has dismissed allegation of abuse of dominance against HP for defective products and spurious spare parts. In the Information filed by an individual, Dr. S.K. Mittal, who was essentially (...)

The Italian Competition Authority launches an investigation into competition law breaches and personal data (WhatsApp)
White & Case (Milan)
Italy 7 contributions 17181 visits
Misleading Terms & Conditions and Unfair Contract Terms: The Italian Competition Authority Opens Two Investigations against WhatsApp Inc.* On 28 October 2016, the Italian Competition Authority (the “Authority”) opened two investigations against WhatsApp Inc. for alleged unfair commercial (...)

The EU Court of Justice Advocate General Wahl delivers his opinion in a case regarding rebates and calls for a new approach to Article 102 (Intel)
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (London)
Royaume-Uni 30 contributions 14652 visites
Call for a common-sense approach to Article 102 - Advocate General Wahl on Intel* If AG Kokott in Post Danmark II was a 102 hawk – ordoliberal-redux, fossilizing form over function, economics on the “too difficult pile” for authorities and courts – then AG Wahl firmly sets out his stall as the 102 (...)

The Advocate General Wahl recommends that the EU Court of Justice grant an appeal against the judgment of the General Court, which had upheld a decision of the Commission imposing a fine of € 1.06 billion for abuse of a dominant position (Intel)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 20 October 2016, Advocate General Wahl rendered his opinion on Intel’s appeal before the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) against the judgement of the General Court, which had upheld a decision of the European Commission of 13 May 2009 imposing a fine of € 1.06 billion for abuse (...)

The EU General Court upholds the Commission’s decision making legally binding commitments remedying a finding of an abuse of dominance in the market for consolidated real-time data feeds (Morningstar / Thomson Reuters)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 15 September 2016, the General Court upheld the Commission’s decision accepting commitments proposed by Thomson Reuters with a view to remedying a finding of an abuse of a dominant position in the market for consolidated real-time data feeds, in breach of Article 102 TFEU. The Commission had (...)

The Italian Competition Authority, in collaboration with 9 National Competition Authorities and the EU Commission, monitors the impact of the measures undertaken in the online hotel booking sector
Italian Competition Authority (Rome)
Italy 45 contributions 8807 visits
Monitoring launched in online hotel booking sector* Monitoring the impact of the new parity clauses in the contracts with online travel agencies by the Italian Competition Authority in partnership with 9 other National Competition Authorities The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), in (...)

The Arbitration Court of Moscow confirms that a technology company has abused its dominance on the market of pre-installed app stores (Google)
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Moscow)
France 292 contributions 36392 visites
Appeal Court supported FAS in a dispute with “Google”* On 17 August 2016, the 9th Arbitration Appeal Court pronounced legitimacy and reasonableness of the decision of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) on a case against “Google” abusing dominance on the market of preset application (...)

The Portuguese Competition Authority sends a statement of objections to a company specialized in standard mail services suspected of abuse of dominance (CTT)
Portuguese Competition Authority (Lisbon)
Portugal 68 contributions 17307 visits
The Portuguese Competition Authority sends Statement of Objections to CTT – Correios de Portugal S.A.* The Portuguese Competition Authority (Autoridade da Concorrência – AdC) confirms having sent a Statement of Objections to CTT – Correios de Portugal S.A. (CTT) outlining its preliminary view that (...)

The EU Commission takes further steps concerning the case involving comparison shopping services and advertising-related practices (Google AdSense)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgique 794 contributions 1703097 visites
Antitrust: Commission takes further steps in investigations alleging Google’s comparison shopping and advertising-related practices breach EU rules* The Commission has sent two Statements of Objections to Google. The Commission has reinforced, in a supplementary Statement of Objections, its (...)

The EU Commission considers comparison shopping services and advertising related practices (Google AdSense)
International Center for Law & Economics (Portland)
United States 9 contributions 4714 visits
Everything is amazing - and no-one at the European Commission is happy* Since the European Commission (EC) announced its first inquiry into Google’s business practices in 2010, the company has been the subject of lengthy investigations by courts and competition agencies around the globe. (...)

The German Competition Authority issues a working paper on the market power of platforms and networks
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68960 visits
Bundeskartellamt publishes working paper on "Market Power of Platforms and Networks"* The Bundeskartellamt has today published a working paper which deals with the "Market Power of Platforms and Networks" in the Internet. The report focuses on the factors relevant for assessing the market (...)

The Hungarian Competition Authority pursues the monitoring of the online booking market after closing its sector inquiry
Hungarian Competition Authority (Budapest)
Hongrie 60 contributions 10407 visites
The GVH continues to monitor the hotel booking market after closing its sectoral inquiry* The Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasági Versenyhivatal, GVH) prepared its report on its sectoral inquiry on the online accommodation booking market. Due to the positive changes that took place on (...)

The German Competition Authority terminates proceedings regarding possible abuse of dominance in the market for the distribution of passenger train tickets and accepts several commitments by the incumbent train company (Deutsche Bahn)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
By a decision of 24 May 2016, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) announced that it had terminated proceedings against Deutsche Bahn AG after having accepted several commitments. In 2014, the FCO initiated an investigation against Deutsche Bahn AG and reached the preliminary conclusion that (...)

The German Competition Authority announces that, following its investigations, a railway company has decided to make far-reaching changes to the sale of passenger tickets (Deutsche Bahn)
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68960 visits
Deutsche Bahn AG to make changes to ticket sales* Following investigations by the Bundeskartellamt, Deutsche Bahn AG has undertaken to make far-reaching changes to the sale of passenger tickets. The measures will improve the ticket sales possibilities of its competitors. In early 2014 the (...)

The French Competition Authority gathers informations to assess data processing in the on-line advertising sector
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 622 contributions 251715 visits
The Autorité de la concurrence begins, at its own initiative, gathering information in order to assess data processing in the on-line advertising sector* The Autorité has decided, at its own initiative, to gather information with a view to assessing competition in the internet advertising sector (...)

The French and German Competition Authority publish a joint study on competition law and data
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 622 contributions 251715 visits
The French Autorité de la concurrence and the German Bundeskartellamt publish joint paper on data and its implications for Competition Law* The increasing collection, processing and commercial use of data in digital markets has prompted a broad debate about the role of data in corporate (...)

The Lithuanian Competition Authority prohibits a merger between two managers of classified ads websites for real estate and vehicles (AS Eesti Meedia / AllePAL OÜ)
Lithuanian Competition Authority (Vilnius)
Lituanie 73 contributions 10640 visites
Competition Council: Merger between classified ads websites restricted competition* On 6 May 2016, the Competition Council (hereinafter – KT) prohibited a merger whereby in 2014 AS Eesti Meedia acquired 100 per cent of AllePAL OÜ shares. KT found that the merger restricted competition in the (...)

The EU Commission sends a statement of objections concerning the imposition of restrictions on smartphone manufacturers and mobile network operators (Google Android)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 20 April 2016, the European Commission confirmed it issued a Statement of Objections (“SO”) to Google concerning the imposition of restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators. The investigation was formally opened in April 2015. Google now has until July 2016 to (...)

The EU Commission sends a statement of objections to a technology company suspected of imposing restrictions on device manufacturers and mobile network operators (Google Android)
Constantine Cannon (London)
Royaume-Uni 10 contributions 4987 visites
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Constantine Cannon (London)
Royaume-Uni 5 contributions 2645 visites
EU Commission Hits Google With Abuse Of Dominance Charges Over Android*Just as expected, following a one-year investigation and a number of information requests, the European Commission formally announced today that it is accusing Google’s parent company, Alphabet, of abusing its dominant (...)

The EU Commission sends a statement of objections to a technology company suspected of imposing restrictions on device manufacturers and mobile network operators (Google Android)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgique 794 contributions 1703097 visites
Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Google on Android operating system and applications* The European Commission has informed Google of its preliminary view that the company has, in breach of EU antitrust rules, abused its dominant position by imposing restrictions on (...)

The Beijing High People’s Court releases guidelines on Internet-related intellectual property rights trials
University of Melbourne
Australia 103 contributions 22337 visits
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China Competition Bulletin (Beijing)
China 101 contributions 19572 visits
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Hogan Lovells (Beijing)
China 68 contributions 13787 visits
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On 13 April 2016, the Beijing High People’s Court released the Guideline on the Trial of Internet-Related Intellectual Property Right Cases. The guideline contains 42 provisions, covering copyright, trademark, and unfair competition issues. Specifically, there are two competition-related (...)

The Moscow Arbitration Court confirms the Competition Authority’s decision and prescription concerning the operating systems for smartphones (Yandex / Google)
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Moscow)
France 1 contribution 411 visits
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Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Moscow)
France 1 contribution 411 visits
In March 2016, the Moscow Arbitration Court expressed its support of the position of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) on the case of abuse of dominance by the Google group of companies involving its actions on the Android operation system. The decision of FAS Russia was taken as (...)

The German Competition Authority opens a proceeding against a social network company suspected to have abused its dominance by infringing data protection rules (Facebook)
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68960 visits
Bundeskartellamt initiates proceeding against Facebook on suspicion of having abused its market power by infringing data protection rules* The Bundeskartellamt has initiated a proceeding against Facebook Inc., USA, the Irish subsidiary of the company and Facebook Germany GmbH, Hamburg. The (...)

The German Competition Authority initiates proceedings against a social network company regarding potential abuse of dominance (Facebook)
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgique 51 contributions 21990 visites
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 59 contributions 42266 visits
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgique 20 contributions 10828 visites
The German Federal Cartel Office (the FCO) has announced that it has initiated proceedings against Facebook for the company’s alleged abuse of its dominant position in a market for social networks. The FCO appears to be taking the position that, as a firm with a possibly dominant position, (...)

The UK High Court throws out a private claim for damages based on abuse of dominance in the online mapping sector (Streetmap / Google)
Constantine Cannon (London)
Royaume-Uni 5 contributions 2645 visites
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Constantine Cannon (London)
Royaume-Uni 10 contributions 4987 visites
Google wins court battle against StreetMap in the UK*Google won a big victory Friday in the High Court of England and Wales, which ruled that Google did not abuse its dominant position to the detriment of the now-defunct UK online mapping provider, Streetmap.The Court’s ruling against (...)

The Turkish Competition Authority unconditionally clears an acquisition in the market for data memory systems (Western Digital / SanDisk)
Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University (Ankara)
31 contributions 10893 visits
This case note analyses the decision of the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) in which it has unconditionally cleared in Phase I the acquisition of the sole control of SanDisk by Western Digital in the market for data memory systems. The Operation On 4 December 2015, the TCA received a (...)

The Turkish Competition Authority rejects the complaint that agreements between a major IT company and several OEMs on the exclusive pre-installation of mobile apps infringed competition rules (Yandex / Google)
Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University (Ankara)
31 contributions 10893 visits
This case note analyses the decision of the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) in which it has rejected the complaint of a rival IT company, Yandex, that agreements of a major IT company, Google, with a number of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on the exclusive pre-installation of its (...)

The German Competition Authority prohibits "best price" clauses implemented by an online hotel booking company (Booking.com)
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68960 visits
Narrow ’best price’ clauses of Booking also anticompetitive* Today the Bundeskartellamt prohibited Booking (Booking.com Deutschland GmbH, Berlin, and Booking.com B.V., Amsterdam) from continuing to apply its ’best price’ clauses and ordered the hotel booking portal to completely delete the clauses (...)

The Romanian Competition Authority fines an IT company for abuse of dominance on the inkjet printers business market (Hewlett-Packard)
Romanian Competition Council (Bucharest)
Romania 64 contributions 12567 visits
The Competition Council has sanctioned HP Romania for abuse of dominant position* The Competition Council has sanctioned Hewlett - Packard (HP) Romania with fine of lei 2,966,516 (approx. Euro 665,000) for abuse of dominant position. Following the investigation conducted, the Competition (...)

The Hungarian Competition Authority accepts commitments proposed by a software company suspected of abuse of dominance (Nielsen)
Hungarian Competition Authority (Budapest)
Hongrie 60 contributions 10407 visites
The GVH accepted the commitments offered by Nielsen* The Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasági Versenyhivatal, GVH) accepted the commitments offered by Nielsen Közönségmérés Kft. (Nielsen), pursuant to which in the future it will set the prices of its databases and of the related discounts (...)

The Düsseldorf Regional Court rules on the requirements of an antitrust defence against an SEP holder in light of the ECJ’s judgment (SISVEL / Haier)
Simmons & Simmons (Dusseldorf)
Germany 4 contributions 577 visits
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Simmons & Simmons (Dusseldorf)
Germany 3 contributions 423 visits
A strict approach to applying the principles established in Huawei/ZTE, in particular as regards the prompt provision of security and a statement of account of past use, resulted in the defendant losing the right to raise a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) defence. In detail (...)

The Irish Competition Authority publishes commitments made by an online hotel booking company (Booking.com)
Irish Competition Authority (Dublin)
Ireland 53 contributions 8136 visits
Commission secures 5-year commitments from Booking.com* Commission secures 5-year commitments from Booking.com Accommodation providers in Ireland will have increased ability to offer lower prices Consumers will have greater access to more competitive rates Tuesday, 6th October 2015: The (...)

The Russian Competition Authority finds that a smartphone operating system developer abused its dominance on the market of pre-installed app stores (Google)
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (Moscow)
France 292 contributions 36392 visites
“Google” abuses its dominant position on the market of pre-installed application stores in “Android” OS* The FAS Commission arrived to that conclusion on 14th September 2015, based on investigating the case against “Google Inc, Google Ireland” Ltd., “Google” Ltd. FAS found that “Google Inc. Google (...)

The German Competition Authority decides not to open formal proceedings against a search engine company in an ancillary copyright dispute (Google)
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68960 visits
Bundeskartellamt takes decision in ancillary copyright dispute* Bonn, 09 September 2015: In the dispute between the copyright collecting society VG Media and Google, the Bundeskartellamt has decided not to open formal proceedings against Google regarding its conduct in connection with the (...)

The Croatian Competition Authority opens an ex officio investigation regarding an apps sales market (Google)
Croatian Competition Agency (Zagreb)
Croatia 68 contributions 11238 visits
CCA investigation in Android apps sales market* Following some press articles claiming that the Croatian software companies were forced to open branch offices or find partners abroad because Google did not allow them to register for direct sale of their apps via the Google Play store, the (...)

The EU Court of Justice holds standard-essential patent owner can abuse its position by seeking to enjoin infringement and sets out specific requirements (Huawei / ZTE)
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (London)
United Kingdom 5 contributions 2087 visits
This article has been nominated for the 2016 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. Background A Scattered European Landscape There is considerable inconsistency as to the availability of injunctive relief in relation to FRAND-obligated SEPs in (...)

The Finnish Competition Authority welcomes the judgement of the EU Court of Justice clarifying the position of standard-essential patent holders from the perspective of competition law (Huawei / ZTE)
Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (Helsinki)
Finland 60 contributions 8649 visits
The Court of Justice of the European Union has clarified the position of standard-essential patent holders from the perspective of competition law* On Thursday 16 July, the Court of Justice of the European Union gave a judgment on the relationship between patent law and competition law. The (...)

The EU Court of Justice rules on the seeking of injunctions in the context of standard-essential patents encumbered by FRAND in the technology sector (Huawei / ZTE)
Norton Rose Fulbright (Brussels)
Belgique 18 contributions 4360 visites
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McDermott Will & Emery (Brussels)
Belgium 47 contributions 91066 visits
THE EUROPEAN UNION’S HIGHEST COURT RULES ON STANDARD-ESSENTIAL PATENTS INJUNCTIONS AND ABUSE OF DOMINANCE* The long-awaited ruling on the seeking of injunctions in the context of standard-essential patents encumbered by fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms has been delivered (...)

The EU Court of Justice confirms practical steps to be taken by standard essential patent holders before seeking injunctions (Huawei / ZTE)
Norton Rose Fulbright (London)
United Kingdom 4 contributions 1178 visits
Synopsis The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the holder of a Standard Essential Patent that has committed to license its Standard Essential Patent on FRAND terms may be found in breach of the competition rules (Article 102 TFEU) by seeking an injunction against a (...)

The EU Court of Justice sets out specific requirements with which an SEP holder needs to comply to be able to seek an injunction without abusing its dominant position (Huawei / ZTE)
White & Case (Brussels)
Belgium 47 contributions 46208 visits
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White & Case (Brussels)
Belgium 9 contributions 5645 visits
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Preu Bohlig & Partner (Hamburg)
1 contribution 428 visits
Standards lie at the heart of the digital economy – without standards, we would not have smartphones, tablets and other key parts of modern life. Europe’s highest court recently delivered a judgment in Huawei v. ZTE explaining when EU competition law will prevent holders of patents that are (...)

The EU Court of Justice rules on the circumstances in which a presumptively dominant SEP holder who has given a FRAND commitment may seek injunctive relief (Huawei / ZTE)
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (Brussels)
8 contributions 4178 visits
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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (Brussels)
6 contributions 5786 visits
The application of competition law to standard essential patents (SEPs) has been the subject of significant debate. The latest instalment was provided by the Court of Justice on 16 July 2015 with its much-anticipated preliminary ruling in Huawei v. ZTE, which concerns the circumstances in which (...)

The Croatian Competition Authority accepts commitments proposed by a company operating in the provision of specialised IT support to leasing companies (Gemicro)
Croatian Competition Agency (Zagreb)
Croatia 68 contributions 11238 visits
Gemicro committments accepted* In the proceeding against the undertaking Gemicro the Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) accepted the committments made by Gemicro for the removal of anticompetitive effects and restoration of competition in the provision of specialised IT support to leasing (...)

The EU Commission opens an investigation on e-book’s distribution agreements concluded between several publishers and an electronic commerce company (Amazon)
DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgique 794 contributions 1703097 visites
Commission opens formal investigation into Amazon’s e-book distribution arrangements* The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into certain business practices by Amazon in the distribution of electronic books ("e-books"). The Commission will in particular investigate (...)

The Indian Competition Authority exonerates global computer manufacturer from allegations of abuse of dominance in the market for x86 servers (Surana and Surana / Dell India)
Vaish Associates Advocates (New Delhi)
Inde 256 contributions 31914 visites
CCI exonerates Dell India Pvt. Ltd against allegations of abuse of dominant position* CCI by its order dated 10 June 2015 dismissed from allegations of involvement in anti-competitive practices and abuse of dominant position against Dell India Pvt. Ltd (DIPL). The case was filed by M/s Surana (...)

The Guangdong High People’s Court hears the appeal of one of China’s first administrative monopoly cases (Guangdong Education Department / Shenzhen Sware Technology)
University of Melbourne
Australia 103 contributions 22337 visits
,
China Competition Bulletin (Beijing)
China 101 contributions 19572 visits
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Hogan Lovells (Beijing)
China 68 contributions 13787 visits
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One of China’s first administrative monopoly court cases heard in Guangdong* On 28 May 2015, the Guangdong High People’s Court heard the appeal of the administrative monopoly case against the Guangdong Education Department filed by Shenzhen Sware Technology. The court is expected to announce its (...)

The EU Court of Justice and several National Competition Authorities adopt decisions regarding Most Favoured Nation clauses and rebate schemes that are relevant and applicable in the context of ASEAN competition law (Booking.com / Post Danmark)
Rajah & Tann (Singapore)
Singapore 6 contributions 3721 visits
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Rajah & Tann (Singapore)
Singapore 8 contributions 3968 visits
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McCarter & English (Washington)
United States 1 contribution 508 visits
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This article has been nominated for the 2016 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. Introduction As we move into the second half of the year, we examine two recent competition enforcement cases in Europe, and consider their relevance and (...)

The EU Commission launches an antitrust sector inquiry into the e-commerce sector
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgique 51 contributions 21990 visites
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 59 contributions 42266 visits
,
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgique 20 contributions 10828 visites
On May 6, 2015, the European Commission (Commission) launched an antitrust sector inquiry into the e-commerce sector. This sector inquiry is part of the Commission’s broader Digital Single Market Strategy, which aims inter alia to improve access for consumers and businesses to online goods and (...)

The Competition Commission of India passes an order in favour of prominent online retail platforms in India (Mohit Manglani / M/s Flipkart India)
Facebook (New Delhi)
India 7 contributions 2925 visits
Introduction After Google, e-commerce seems to be next hot topic in the antitrust community. The European Commission’s recent inquiry has made this sector one of the most watched ones. Predictably, with the exponential increase in internet penetration, the Indian competition law has also (...)

The French Competition Authority obtains extensive commitments from an online hotel booking company (Booking.com)
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 622 contributions 251709 visits
The Autorité de la concurrence, in coordination with the European Commission and the Italian and Swedish authorities, has obtained particularly extensive commitments from Booking.com aiming to boost competition between online booking platforms and give hotels more freedom in commercial and (...)

The Italian Competition Authority renders legally binding the commitments proposed by an online hotel booking company (Booking.com)
Italian Competition Authority (Rome)
Italy 45 contributions 8805 visits
Commitments offered by booking.com: closed the investigation in Italy, France AND Sweden* On 21 April 2015, the Italian Competition Authority has rendered legally binding the commitments offered by Priceline Group’s companies Booking.com BV and Booking.com (Italy) and closed, with respect to (...)

The German Competition Authority sends a statement of objections to an online hotel booking company suspected of abuse of dominance (Booking.com)
German Competition Authority (Bonn)
Germany 332 contributions 68960 visits
Bundeskartellamt issues statement of objections regarding Booking.com’s ’best price’ clauses* Today the Bundeskartellamt has informed Booking.com Deutschland GmbH, Berlin, of its competition concerns regarding the continued use of ’best price’ clauses in its contracts with hotels in Germany. This (...)

The EU Commissioner in charge of competition policy announces a potential inquiry in the e-commerce sector
General Court of the European Union (Luxembourg)
Belgique 21 contributions 26977 visites
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Allen & Overy (Hamburg)
Germany 7 contributions 17806 visits
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White & Case (Brussels)
Belgium 47 contributions 46208 visits
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 (...)

The Chinese NDRC applies rigorously the Anti-monopoly Law and fines a company for abuse of dominant position (Qualcomm)
Dacheng - Dentons (Shanghai)
China 2 contributions 418 visits
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Dacheng - Dentons (Beijing)
China 2 contributions 418 visits
On February 10, 2015, as one of the global antitrust enforcement powerhouses by now, the National Development and Reform Commission of PRC (“NDRC”) issued its sanction decision against the US semiconductor giant Qualcomm Incorporated (“Qualcomm), imposing a fine of RMB 6.088 billion (equivalent to (...)

The Chinese NDRC imposes changes in licensing practices (Qualcomm)
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Washington)
United States 3 contributions 5048 visits
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Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (London)
Royaume-Uni 28 contributions 25665 visites
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Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Brussels)
Belgium 1 contribution 275 visits
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This article has been nominated for the 2016 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. On March 2, 2015, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”), the agency responsible for investigating price-related violations of China’s (...)

The French Competition Authority receives commitments from an online hotel booking company aiming at ending practices likely to constitute an abuse of dominance (Booking.com)
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 622 contributions 251709 visits
Online hotel booking sector* Booking.com has proposed to the Autorité de la concurrence to remove the so-called “pricing parity clause” obliging hotels to grant it pricing conditions that are at least as favorable as those granted to the other online platforms Hotels can now place booking.com in (...)

The EU Parliament passes a resolution calling on the Commission to unbundle search engines from other commercial services (Google)
Ashurst (Milan)
Italy 100 contributions 23632 visits
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 (...)

The Advocate General Wathelet states that before seeking an injunction, a standard-essential patent holder must inform an infringer that the latter needs a license (Huawei / ZTE)
White & Case (Brussels)
Belgium 47 contributions 46208 visits
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White & Case (Brussels)
Belgium 9 contributions 5645 visits
Summary The Advocate General’s advisory Opinion in the Huawei v. ZTE FRAND Case (C-170/13) would, if followed by the full European Court of Justice (ECJ), usher in a significant shift in the playing field in German litigation on Standard essential patents (SEPs). Germany has been known as a (...)

The UK Patents Court defers hearing on competition law issues in a patent litigation until infringement of patents is established (Illumina / Premiatha)
Fieldfisher (London)
United Kingdom 1 contribution 257 visits
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Fieldfisher (London)
United Kingdom 3 contributions 938 visits
Illumina, Inc v Premiatha Health PLC [2016] EWHC 1726 (Pat)*In July 2015 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its judgment in Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd v ZTE Corp., ZTE Deutschland GmbH (Case C-170/13). In that Judgment the CJEU ruled that in proceedings for an (...)

The EU Commission publishes its final report on the e-commerce sector inquiry
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 20 contributions 10827 visits
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 51 contributions 21989 visits
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 20 contributions 5431 visits
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On 10 May 2017, two years after launching its e-commerce sector inquiry on 6 May 2015, the European Commission published its final report (Final Report) on the inquiry. The inquiry was opened in the framework of the Commission’s broader Digital Single Market strategy, which was aimed at (...)

Procedures

 The US DoJ gives permission to three States to join its antitrust lawsuit against a big tech company for maintaining monopolies in search and search advertising (Google)
US Department of Justice - Antitrust Division (Washington)
United States 80 contributions 18048 visits
Three Additional States Ask Court To Join Justice Department Antitrust Suit Against Google* Today, the Attorneys General of Michigan and Wisconsin filed for permission to join the antitrust lawsuit filed by the United States and eleven other state Attorneys General against monopolist Google. (...)

The UK High Court issues guidance on the balancing of conflicting interest in a case involving the protection of a big tech’s confidential and technical information concerning its search algorithms (Foundem / Google)
Hausfeld (London)
Royaume-Uni 3 contributions 368 visites
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Hausfeld (London)
United Kingdom 6 contributions 686 visits
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Hausfeld (London)
United Kingdom 4 contributions 255 visits
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Introduction There is an emerging trend in competition damages cases in England for the majority of documents to be disclosed into so-called “confidentiality rings.” These restrictive confidentiality procedures can result, in certain instances, in the parties themselves being precluded from (...)

The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf suspends the decision of the German Competition Authority which prevented data gathering practices from a social network company (Facebook)
Ashurst (Frankfurt)
Germany 11 contributions 2624 visits
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Ashurst (London)
United Kingdom 2 contributions 610 visits
On 26 August 2019, the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf suspended the German Federal Cartel Office’s (’FCO’ or Bundeskartellamt) decision to prevent Facebook from combining user data from various sources such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and unrelated sites that use Facebook analytics and (...)

The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf grants a social network company the suspensive effect to an appeal in an interim decision (Facebook)
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Brussels)
Belgium 1 contribution 2224 visits
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Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Frankfurt)
Germany 1 contribution 2224 visits
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White & Case (Dusseldorf)
Germany 2 contributions 2281 visits
In February of this year the German antitrust agency, the Federal Cartel Office, issued a decision against Facebook regarding their handling of user data. Facebook appealed and on August 26, 2019, the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal in an interim decision granted suspensive effect to Facebook’s (...)

The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf orders suspensive effect of an appeal against FCO decision concerning a social network company (Facebook)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 189 contributions 57208 visits
On 26 August 2019, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (the “Court”) granted Facebook’s request for an injunction against the immediate application of measures imposed by the German Federal Cartel Office (the “FCO”) arising from the FCO’s finding in February 2019 that Facebook abused its dominant (...)

The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf suspends an order of the German Competition Authority on an alleged abuse of dominance in the social networks (Facebook)
Baker Botts (London)
United Kingdom 10 contributions 1917 visits
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Baker Botts (Washington)
United States 17 contributions 12456 visits
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Baker Botts (Brussels)
Belgium 21 contributions 11425 visits
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On 26 August 2019, a German appeal court suspended an order of the German competition authority (the “FCO”) which had found that Facebook’s data processing practices in Germany constituted an abuse of dominance in breach of German antitrust rules (the “decision”). Expressing serious doubts as to the (...)

The EU General Court dismisses appeal against Commission’s request for information (Qualcomm)
Court of First Instance of Namur (Namur)
Belgium 224 contributions 41004 visits
On 9 April 2019, the General Court (“GC”) dismissed the appeal lodged by Qualcomm against the Commission’s decision of 31 March 2017 requesting information in the context of an investigation against Qualcomm for alleged predatory pricing contrary to Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of (...)

The EU Court of Justice rules on the applicability of contractual jurisdiction clauses in the context of abuse of a dominant position, ruling that some competition law violations are more contract related than others (Apple / MJA)
Latham & Watkins (Brussels)
Belgique 11 contributions 3534 visites
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Liège University (Liège)
Belgium 1 contribution 126 visits
With its judgment the European Court of Justice (‘ECJ’) confirms its previous case law indicating that the criterium to determine whether a competition law violation is covered by a contractual jurisdiction clause is the existence of a ‘contractual link’, adding that this is the case even when such (...)

Regulatory

 The UK Competition Authority publishes report setting out recommendations which the Government could implement to regulate technology firms in a way that promotes competition in digital markets
Hausfeld (London)
United Kingdom 2 contributions 150 visits
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Hausfeld (London)
United Kingdom 4 contributions 1906 visits
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Hausfeld (London)
United Kingdom 4 contributions 255 visits
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In December 2020, the CMA’s Digital Markets Taskforce (DMT) published its report setting out 15 recommendations which the UK Government could implement to regulate technology firms with ‘strategic market status’ (SMS) in a way that promotes competition, innovation and protects consumers and (...)

The UK Competition Authority advises the Government on a regulatory regime for tech giants
United Kingdom’s Competition Authority - CMA (London)
United Kingdom 216 contributions 43574 visits
CMA advises government on new regulatory regime for tech giants* The CMA has issued advice to government on the design and implementation of the UK’s new pro-competition regime for digital markets. New regime will proactively shape the behaviour of the most powerful tech firms It will ensure (...)

The UK Competition Authority proposes a pro-competition regime for digital markets
Herbert Smith Freehills (London)
United Kingdom 11 contributions 1796 visits
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Herbert Smith Freehills (Brussels)
Belgium 9 contributions 1992 visits
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Herbert Smith Freehills (London)
Royaume-Uni 31 contributions 7864 visites
On 8 December 2020 the CMA issued advice to the UK government on the design and implementation of a new pro-competition regime for digital markets. The advice was prepared by the Digital Markets Taskforce (DMT) formally launched by the CMA on 1 July 2020, following recommendations by the (...)

The UK Competition Authority publishes recommendations for the regulation of digital markets
Covington & Burling (London)
United Kingdom 5 contributions 949 visits
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Covington & Burling (London)
United Kingdom 2 contributions 254 visits
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has published advice to the UK Government on the design and implementation of a new regulatory regime for digital markets. The new regime, if implemented, will apply to certain digital businesses that are designated as having Strategic Market (...)

The EU Commission launches proposals for a regime regulating crypto-assets and distributed ledger technology in the financial sector through a digital finance package
Shearman & Sterling (Brussels)
Belgium 12 contributions 4150 visits
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Shearman & Sterling (Brussels)
Belgium 1 contribution 44 visits
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Shearman & Sterling (London)
United Kingdom 1 contribution 44 visits
On September 24, 2020 the European Commission (EC) launched proposals for a new EU-wide regime to regulate crypto-assets and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the financial sector through a Digital Finance Package. Key issues relevant to companies and stakeholders in digital finance are (...)

The French Competition Authority publishes a paper on how merger control and anticompetitive practices concepts should be adapted to the digital sector
Bird & Bird (Paris)
France 22 contributions 2140 visits
As part of its discussions at international level on the reform of competition law, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) recently published a paper providing food for thought on how merger control and anticompetitive practices concepts should be adapted to the digital sector. Regarding (...)

The Italian Competition Authority, the Communications Authority and the Data Protection Authority publish the findings of a joint sector inquiry into the field of big data
Portolano Cavallo (Milan)
Italy 35 contributions 2580 visits
On February 10, 2020 the Italian Authorities for Communications, Competition and Data Protection published the findings of a joint sector inquiry into the field of Big Data (“Investigation”), which lasted almost three years. It was launched on May 30, 2017 to study the functioning and impact of (...)

The German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy publishes the draft bill on the 10th amendment to the German Act against restraints of competition
Morgan Lewis (Frankfurt)
Germany 6 contributions 2304 visits
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Morgan Lewis (Frankfurt)
Germany 3 contributions 821 visits
The German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has published the draft bill on the 10th amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition, which includes a proposal for the revision of abuse control in Germany. Such revision would be of high relevance for undertakings in the (...)

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy issues an update on the reform of German competition law
Court of First Instance of Namur (Namur)
Belgium 224 contributions 41004 visits
On 24 January 2020, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy published an update of its draft 10th amendment to the Act against Restraints of Competition (the “ARC”), officially called the “ARC Digitization Act”. Compared to the initial draft (see VBB on Competition Law, Volume (...)

The Indian Competition Authority publishes a market study on e-commerce platforms
Trilegal (Mumbai)
India 7 contributions 4387 visits
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Trilegal (Bangalore)
India 5 contributions 2984 visits
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Trilegal (Mumbai)
India 7 contributions 4387 visits
The growth of e-commerce and online marketplaces has had a significant impact on businesses and consumer behaviour. Competition authorities worldwide are increasingly focused on assessing competition concerns on online platforms, including United Kingdom (UK), Australia, the European Commission (...)

The Indian Competition Authority publishes a report on its market study on e-Commerce in India and focuses on the three broad categories of e-commerce in consumer goods, accommodation services, and food services
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (New Delhi)
India 46 contributions 10105 visits
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Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (Mumbai)
India 58 contributions 12043 visits
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Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (New Delhi)
India 47 contributions 10132 visits
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The CCI published a report on its Market Study on E-Commerce in India. The Study focused on the three broad categories of e-commerce in consumer goods, accommodation services and food services. After giving an overview of trends in and features of e-commerce, the CCI identified and discussed (...)

The Indian Competition Authority releases a market study on e-commerce
National Law University (Punjab)
2 contributions 445 visits
Introduction In April 2019, the Competition Commission of India (“Commission”) had announced a market study into the functioning of ‘E-Commerce’ in India. The focus area of the study was to gather information relating to “trends, practices and issues” which are relevant to the fair and competitive (...)

The Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg Competition Authorities advocate for an ex ante competition law enforcement in the digital world
Court of First Instance of Namur (Namur)
Belgique 224 contributions 41001 visites
On 2 October 2019, the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg competition authorities took the unusual step of adopting a joint memorandum on the role of the competition authorities in a digital world. This joint memorandum discusses merger control issues, the need for guidance in fast-moving digital (...)

The German Competition Authority publishes an annual report 2018 and a biannual activity report 2017/2018
Court of First Instance of Namur (Namur)
Belgique 224 contributions 41001 visites
On 27 June 2019, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) published its annual report 2018 and biannual activity report 2017/2018. The reports include statistics on the total amounts of fines, leniency applications and merger pro-ceedings, describe the FCO’s policies and the key cases which the (...)

The EU Commission publishes a report on competition policy for the digital era
Crowell & Moring (London)
Royaume-Uni 16 contributions 8315 visites
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Simmons & Simmons (London)
United Kingdom 7 contributions 6613 visits
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Simmons & Simmons (London)
Royaume-Uni 4 contributions 2029 visites
On 04 April 2019, the European Commission (EC) published a report commissioned by the EU’s Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager. The report looks at how competition policy should continue to evolve in the digital age and is written jointly by an economist, a lawyer and an engineer. The (...)

The EU Commission publishes the final report on competition policy for the digital era
Court of First Instance of Namur (Namur)
Belgique 224 contributions 41001 visites
On 4 April 2019, the European Commission published a special report commissioned by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on how competition policy should evolve to continue promoting pro-consumer innovation in the digital age (“Competition Policy for the Digital Era”). The report is grounded in three (...)

The EU Commission publishes a report on competition policy for the digital era
Norton Rose Fulbright (Brussels)
Belgium 25 contributions 10237 visits
“Digital Era” Report Bolsters Commissioner Vestager’s Digital Legacy* On April 4, 2019, the European Commission published a report by Jacques Crémer, Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye, and Heike Schweitzer on competition policy for the digital era (the Digital Era Re port, or the Report), the culmination (...)

The French Competition Authority takes into account the emergence of online video platforms in its opinion on the audiovisual sector
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 622 contributions 251709 visits
Audiovisual sector* In the context of the reform of the audiovisual sector, the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Education of the French National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) referred this matter to the Autorité de la concurrence, which today delivers its opinion. In the face of the digital (...)

The OECD holds a roundtable on e-commerce
OECD - Competition Division (Paris)
France 291 contributions 848102 visits
1. Introduction 1. E-commerce – broadly, buying and selling online – is a global phenomenon and an important expanding distribution mechanism across the OECD. During the last decade, e-commerce activities have been growing both in the demand and supply side, as seen by the increasing number of (...)

The OECD holds a roundtable on blockchain technology and competition policy
OECD - Competition Division (Paris)
France 291 contributions 848102 visits
1. Introduction 1. Blockchain is a general-purpose technology that threatens to disrupt markets and institutions across the world. Where the internet enabled the publishing and digital transfer of information, blockchain authenticates the ownership of assets, makes them unique, traceable, and (...)

The OECD holds roundtable on dig data
OECD - Competition Division (Paris)
France 291 contributions 848102 visits
Executive summary, by the Secretariat * The 126th meeting of the Competition Committee held a Hearing on 29 November 2016 to discuss Big Data and the challenges of adapting competition policy to the digital economy. Considering the background note prepared by the OECD Secretariat with the (...)

The German Competition Authority publishes discussion paper on internet platforms in merger control, contractual restrictions of competition and abuse of dominance scenarios
Heinz & Zagrosek (Köln)
Germany 21 contributions 11790 visits
The FCO publishes discussion paper on internet platform markets* On October 1, 2015, the FCO published a paper entitled “Digital economy – internet platforms between competition law, privacy and consumer protection” on the occasion of a conference of the working group competition law (consisting (...)

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