This Glossary matches the list of keywords used by Concurrences search engine. Each keyword is automatically updated by the most recent EU and national case laws from the e-Competitions Bulletin and Concurrences Review. The definitions are excerpt from DG COMP’s Glossary of terms used in EU competition policy (© European Union, 2002) and the OECD’s Glossary of industrial organisation economics and competition law (© OECD, 1993).

Unfair competition

The law of unfair competition concerns the relationship between two undertakings considered individually; its purpose is to protect one of them against the manoeuvres of the other, which, by transgressing the rules of fair trade, seeks to divert customers from its competitors. It should be distinguished from rules protecting industrial property titles (patents, trademarks, registered designs) against counterfeiting or imitation: although the purpose of rules in this category is also to protect customers (through the protection of the means of production or identification of products belonging to an enterprise), they constitute a particular branch of law. Encyclopaedia Universalis

Related EU and national case law

Jiao Hongbin The Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court rules its first trademark infringement and unfair competition case regarding parallel import, in which it finds such acts should constitute neither trademark infringement nor unfair competition (Opel Electric / Guangdong Shifu Electric)

6 May 2020

First Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition Case regarding Parallel Import Concluded by Guangzhou IP Court* Recently, Guangzhou IP Court ruled on its first trademark infringement and unfair competition case regarding parallel import, in which it found such acts should neither (...)

Kit Horsley The UK Competition Authority announces that they received a lot of complaint about cancellations and refunds through its COVID-19 Taskforce

30 April 2020

Covid-19: CMA to tackle unfair cancellation policies* The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that through its Covid-19 Taskforce, which was launched on 20 March 2020, it has received a significant number of complaints in relation to cancellations and refunds. The (...)

Steven Bernstein The US FTC and DoJ publish a joint statement in order to protect employers, staffing companies, recruiters and others against anticompetitive conduct in the labor markets during the COVID-19 crisis

13 April 2020

Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department Issue Joint Statement on COVID-19 and Competition in U.S. Labor Markets* As individuals across the country are working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic as essential service providers, the federal antitrust regulators announced that (...)

Tim Kasten The French Competition Authority issues interim measures requiring a big tech company to negotiate in good faith with press publishers the terms and conditions for the re-use of their content (Google / Alliance)

9 April 2020

On 9 April 2020, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) issued Decision n° 20-MC-01 relative à des demandes de mesures conservatoires présentées par le Syndicat des éditeurs de la presse magazine, l’Alliance de la presse d’information générale e.a. et l’Agence France-Presse ordering interim (...)

Zhi Bao, Laura Liu, Wenting Ge, Stephen Crosswell, Thomas Jenkins The Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation fines three domestic pharmaceutical companies for abuse of dominance in the sale of injectable pharmaceutical ingredient (Kanghui / Puyunhui / Taiyangshen)

9 April 2020

On 9 April 2020, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) fined three domestic pharmaceutical companies Shandong Kanghui Medicine Company Limited ("Kanghui"), Weifang Puyunhui Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Puyunhui") and Weifang Taiyangshen Company Limited Pharmaceutical (...)

Florence Leroux, Thomas Oster The French Competition Authority imposes interim measures on a big tech giant to negotiate in good faith with press publishers and news agencies the remuneration associated to the use of their content based on transparent, objective and non-discriminatory criteria (Google)

9 April 2020

On 9 April 2020, the FCA imposed interim measures on Google, ordering the big tech giant to negotiate in good faith with press publishers and news agencies the remuneration associated to the use of their content based on transparent, objective and non-discriminatory criteria. These interim (...)

Croatian Competition Authority The Croatian Competition Authority fines major milk processor and buyer for imposing unfair trading practices on milk suppliers (Vindija)

9 April 2020

Vindija d.d. sanctioned HRK 284,000 for imposing unfair trading practices on milk suppliers* The Croatian Competition Agency found that the milk processor and buyer Vindija seriously violated the Act on the prohibition of unfair trading practices in the business-to-business food supply chain (...)

Laurent Geelhand, Antoine Riquier 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)

9 April 2020

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 (...)

Jiři Švejda, Vojtech Chloupek The Czech Constitutional Court repeals the Act on significant market power which protected food suppliers from unfair practices by big retail chains on the basis of discrimination and unconstitutionality

7 April 2020

Back in 2016 and 2017, two different groups of senators proposed that the Constitutional Court repeal the Czech Act No. 395/2009 Coll., on Significant Market Power ("Act"), or at least some parts of it. In general, the Act protects food suppliers from unfair practices by big retail chains. (...)

Lynne Lewis, Megan Edwards, Tom Macken, Thomas Jones The Australian Competition Authority announces a re-focus of its 2020 compliance and enforcement priorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

27 March 2020

Due to the rapidly changing global landscape, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced on 27 March 2020 a "re-focus" of its 2020 Compliance and Enforcement Priorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While it has not explicitly revoked its existing priorities, which we (...)

Bahadır Balkı, Fırat Eğrilmez, Seniha Irem Akin The Turkish Act No. 7244 introduces a new regulatory authority to battle the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on economic and social life in Turkey

23 March 2020

How Will Turkey Deal with Unfair Practices During COVID-19 Outbreak: Establishment of the Unfair Price Assessment Board* Introduction While the world is dealing with novel coronavirus pandemic, many countries resorted to protectionist measures in order to preserve the quality of social life (...)

Cristina Poncibò, Francesca Bichiri The Italian Competition Authority initiates a proceeding against the sale of a generic drug for the treatment of HIV infections sold as a remedy to fight the COVID-19 virus (Kaletra)

17 March 2020

1.Introduction The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic is unfortunately accompanied by the equally rapid one of unfair commercial practices in Italy. A worrying scenario, also for potential, serious effects on people’s health, on which the Italian Competition Authority (‘ICA’) continues to keep the (...)

Andrzej Kmiecik The French Competition Authority imposes a record-breaking fine of €1.1 billion on a big tech company for engaging in restriction of resale opportunities, coordinating on prices and imposing unfair terms on its retailers (Apple / Tech Data / Ingram Micro)

16 March 2020

According to a press release of 16 March 2020, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) imposed a record-breaking fine of € 1.1 billion on Apple for anticompetitive practices in the distribution of Apple products (excluding iPhones). These practices included: (i) restricting resale (...)

Florence Leroux, Thomas Oster The French Competition Authority imposes a €1.1 billion fine on a big tech company who engaged in three anticompetitive practices with its distributors in the retail market for its products (Apple)

16 March 2020

On 16 March 2020, the French Competition Authority (FCA) imposed a €1.1 billion fine on Apple, the highest fine ever handed out to a company. The FCA considered that Apple had engaged in three anticompetitive practices with its distributors in the retail market for Apple products (excluding (...)

Aurelie Dellac The French Competition Authority fines a big tech and its wholesalers a record €1,24 billion for their series of vertical restrictions within the distribution network and their abuse of economic dependence (Apple / Tech Data / Ingram Micro)

16 March 2020

In a decision of March 16, 2020, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence, hereinafter “FCA”) imposed a €1,1 billion fine on the Apple group (“Apple”) for (i) engaging in a series of vertical restrictions of competition within its distribution network and (ii) abusing the economic (...)

Nandish Patil, Suchitra Kumbhat The Indian National Company Law Appellate Tribunal upholds the Competition Authority’s decision that a company mandating a party to sign an agreement which contains unfair and restrictive clauses is tantamount to abuse of its dominance (Verifone)

13 March 2020

Introduction The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) by way of its common order dated 13 March 2020 dismissed two appeals preferred by M/s Verifone India Sales Pvt Ltd. (Appellant/ OP 1/ Verifone) against two separate orders passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). (...)

Federico Marini Balestra, Lucia Antonazzi The Italian Supreme Administrative Court rejects an appeal lodged by a multinational drug company against a previous decision ascertaining it as having abused its dominant position by imposing unfair prices for drugs (Aspen)

13 March 2020

On 13 March, the Italian Supreme Administrative Court ("Consiglio di Stato") rejected the appeal lodged by the multinational Aspen Group against the decision of the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (“TAR”), which fully upheld the decision adopted by the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) (...)

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

10 March 2020

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

Georgina Foster, Helen Joyce, Lynsey Edgar The Australian Competition Authority announces its compliance and enforcement policy and priorities for 2020

25 February 2020

Beliefs in markets and consumer protection guide the ACCC’s investigations and enforcement actions At an event hosted by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia in Sydney on Tuesday, Rod Sims, Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), announced the (...)

Joanna Affre, Małgorzata Kozak Poland: Regulation on unfair contractual practices in the food retail sector – An answer to inefficient private enforcement or an example of good regulation?

February 2020

The article focuses on relatively new law in Poland aimed at elimination of unfair commercial practices in relations between undertakings in the agricultural and food products supply chain, thus at protection of weaker players - farmers and small suppliers. The Act on counteracting the unfair (...)

Muriel Chagny Compensation for damages: The French Supreme Court explains that compensation for damages can be assessed by taking into consideration the undue advantage granted to the author of an act of unfair competition (Cristal de Paris / Cristallerie de Montbronn)

12 February 2020

Tandis que la réforme du droit commun de la responsabilité civile tarde à se concrétiser sur le plan législatif, les juridictions judiciaires et, en tout premier lieu, la Cour de cassation n’hésitent pas à opérer certaines avancées qui sont autant de contributions à l’attractivité du droit et du système (...)

Frédéric Buy Unfair competition: The French Supreme Court rules that judges shall take into account any unfair profits made by the author of unfair commercial practices when assessing damages (Cristallerie de Montbronn / Cristal de Paris)

12 February 2020

On peut, sans grand risque de se tromper, affirmer que l’arrêt Cristal de Paris constitue l’un des arrêts les plus importants que la Cour de cassation n’ait jamais rendus au sujet de la concurrence déloyale, et de la réparation du préjudice économique de façon plus générale. Cette décision innovante est (...)

Martin Favart The Italian Competition Authority and the Authority for the Protection of Personal Data publish a joint investigative report on big data

10 February 2020

On 10 February 2020, the Italian Competition Authority, the Authority for Communications Guarantees and the Authority for the Protection of Personal Data (together the “Authorities”) published a joint investigative report on big data (the “Report”). The Report is based on a one-year survey carried (...)

Lucia Antonazzi The Italian Competition Authority publishes the final report of the big data joint fact-finding survey, which was launched in collaboration with the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority and the Data Protection Authority

10 February 2020

On 10 February 2020, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) published the final report of the Big Data joint fact-finding survey, launched in collaboration with the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority ("AgCom") and the Data Protection Authority on 30 May 2017. As part of the (...)

Shweta Shroff Chopra, Manika Brar, Naval Satarawala Chopra, Pallavi Shroff, John Handoll, Harman Singh Sandhu, Aparna Mehra, Gauri Chhabra, Yaman Verma, Rohan Arora The Indian Competition Authority closes a case of alleged abuse of dominance by the Indian state broadcaster and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Next Radio / Prasar Bharti / Ministry of Information and Broadcasting)

30 January 2020

The CCI closed a case of alleged abuse of dominance by Indian state broadcaster Prasar Bharti and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Opposite Parties). Two private broadcasters complained that the Opposite Parties had abused their dominance in the market for the provision of (...)

Manika Brar, Pallavi Shroff, Shweta Shroff Chopra, Naval Satarawala Chopra, John Handoll, Harman Singh Sandhu, Aparna Mehra, Gauri Chhabra, Yaman Verma, Rohan Arora The Indian Competition Authority dismisses a complaint by a fintech company for becoming dominant in the market after purchasing a technology provider in the financial services industry (Satyen Narendra Bajaj / PayU)

29 January 2020

It is trite law that, while the Competition Act prohibits an abuse of a dominant position, the mere existence of a dominant position with no evidence of abuse is not prohibited. This was made clear by the CCI in dismissing a complaint that PayU, a fintech company that provides payment (...)

Nicolas Éréséo Selective distribution: The Paris Court of appeal rules that a third-party reseller must reveal the identity of its supplier (Motoworld / Kawasaki, PC Moto)

29 January 2020

Le phénomène de la revente parallèle alimente un contentieux inépuisable comme l’illustre l’affaire fleuve qui vient de connaître son dénouement devant la Cour d’appel de Paris le 29 janvier 2020 (sur le même thème, voir égal. infra les obs. de N. Ferrier sur CA Rennes, 25 févr. 2020, RG n° 17/03287). En (...)

Federico Marini Balestra, Lucia Antonazzi The Italian Competition Authority sanctions telecommunication operators for their participation in a cartel (Assotelecomunicazioni / Fastweb / Telecom Italia / Vodafone...)

28 January 2020

On 7 February 2018, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) initiated an investigation against the major fixed and mobile operators (TIM S.p.A, Vodafone Italia S.p.A, Fastweb S.p.A and Wind Tre S.p.A). The investigation was aimed at verifying whether the companies had coordinated their (...)

Philippe Vanni Franchise: The French Supreme Court censures the trial judges for not having investigated whether the granting of illegal payment delays by the franchisor, within the franchise network, had not had the effect of unfairly advantaging its franchisees to the detriment of those of a competing network (Speed Rabbit pizza / Domino’s pizza France)

15 January 2020

Le contrôle de la “loyauté des pratiques commerciales” est d’abord assuré, entre professionnels, par des dispositions spécifiques du code de commerce (Chapitre II, Titre IV du Livre IV C. com. issu de l’ord. n° 2019-359 du 24 avr. 2019) qui sanctionnent les pratiques restrictives de concurrence et (...)

Valérie Durand Unfair competition: The French Supreme Court recalls the rules for determining the applicable law to an action for unfair competition (FLP / Goyard Saint-Honoré)

15 January 2020

Deux sociétés exerçant dans le secteur de la maroquinerie obtiennent d’un partenaire commun l’ouverture d’un comptoir dans un grand magasin situé à Osaka. Les deux comptoirs, installés à proximité l’un de l’autre, sont ouverts à l’étage des maroquineries de marques prestigieuses. Rapidement, l’un des (...)

Valérie Durand Unfair competition: The Paris Court of Appeal condemns a group of companies qualified as transport undertakings for unfair competition (Viacab / Uber)

12 December 2019

L’activité de transport de personnes par voiture s’est assez largement transformée au contact du numérique. L’apparition de nouveaux services et de nouvelles modalités d’exécution des prestations de transport associée à l’émergence des plateformes ont inévitablement interrogé les règles de différents (...)

Nicolas Éréséo Selective distribution: The Paris Court of Appeal rules that the company of the approved distributor whose control has been taken over by another distributor distributing a competing product does no longer comply with the contract signed with the supplier (Berthet / Blum France)

11 December 2019

La plupart des contrats de distribution sont conclus intuitu personae dès lors que les parties conviennent le plus souvent que le distributeur devra obtenir l’accord du fournisseur avant de pouvoir céder sa position contractuelle, ses parts sociales ou son fonds de commerce. Les clauses de ce type (...)

Sibylle Chaudouet Franchise: The Paris Court of Appeal decides on a melting-pot of rules regarding an exclusivity agreement in franchising (Lara / Casino)

11 December 2019

Une société ayant conclu un contrat de franchise avec l’enseigne Casino en vue de l’exploitation d’un magasin Spar s’estime lésée par la politique de prix pratiquée par celle-ci, et articule son argumentation, mais en vain, autour de la mise en jeu de sa responsabilité tant contractuelle que (...)

Croatian Competition Authority The Croatian Competition Authority fines major national winemaker for unfair trading practices (Iločki podrumi)

6 December 2019

Winemaker Iločki podrumi sanctioned HRK 250,000 for imposing unfair trading practices* The Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) opened an ex-officio infringement proceeding against the undertaking Iločki podrumi after having assessed the writing by a supplier of grapes which was communicated to the (...)

Daniel Arányi, László Zlatarov The Hungarian Competition Authority fines €3,5 million a social network company for unfair commercial practices (Facebook)

6 December 2019

On 6 December 2019, the Hungarian Competition Office ("GVH") found that Facebook’s practice of referring to its services as “free” on its cover page and Help Centre misled Hungarian users. As a consequence, the GVH held that Facebook violated the Hungarian Unfair Commercial Practices Act ("UCPA") (...)

Philippe Vanni Franchise: The Paris Court of Appeal confirms the serious and non-wilful wrong of the franchised company and the personal liability of its director for having created, during the franchise contract, a competing company using the distinctive signs of the franchisor’s concept (Buffalo Grill / Val Trappeur)

13 November 2019

S’il peut arriver qu’un ancien franchisé poursuive son activité après la fin de son contrat de franchise au mépris d’une clause de non-concurrence post-contractuelle, beaucoup plus rare est la situation dans laquelle il crée une société concurrente, utilisant les éléments distinctifs du concept alors (...)

Etienne Pfister, Gaël Hichri, Alexandre Carbonnel Price discriminations: Current issues

25 November 2019

Law & Economics workshop organised by Concurrences with Étienne Pfister (Autorité de la concurrence) in partnership with Magenta and NERA Economic Consulting.

Soumya Hariharan, Nandita Sahai, Sakshi Agarwal The Indian Competition Commission orders an investigation against online travel agencies for imposing vertical restrictions and abuse of dominance (MakeMyTrip / OYO)

28 October 2019

Introduction The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (Informant), an association of hotels and restaurants in India, filed an Information with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against MakeMyTrip India Pvt. Ltd. (MMT), Ibibo Group Private Limited (GoIbibo), (...)

Nicolas Éréséo Selective distribution: The Paris Court of Appeal rules that a concessionaire may invoke an implicit non compete obligation at the expense of the grantor (Aéroports de Paris / La Conciergerie Paris Airports)

15 October 2019

L’arrêt sous commentaire ne concerne pas les contrats de distribution mais intéressera tous les professionnels qui les pratiquent en ce qu’il aborde des sujets bien connus tels que la possibilité d’invoquer une exclusivité implicite ou les conditions d’application de la loi dite « Doubin ». L’affaire (...)

Marcin Alberski, Piotr Dynowski The Polish Competition Authority imposes a fine for abuse of contractual advantage in relations between a buyer and a supplier in the food sector (Fruit Polska)

1 October 2019

The Polish Act on Counteracting the Unfair Use of Contractual Advantage in the Trade in Agricultural and Food Products (the “Act”) applies to all contracts for supply of agricultural and food products (i.e. between supermarkets or retail chains and food producers, as well as food producers and (...)

Stephanie Theodotou, Panayiotis Agisilaou The Cypriot Competition Authority terminates its investigation into a services company for allegedly imposing unfair trading terms to its customers and retrospective rental fees for point of sales terminals (JCC)

10 September 2019

Introduction On 10 September 2019 the Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition (“CPC”) terminated its ex officio investigation against JCC Payment Systems Ltd (“JCC”), having concluded that there have been no violations of Sections 3(1) and 6(1) of the Protection of Competition Law (Law (...)

Seth D. Greenstein The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reformulates legal doctrines created for physical property to apply to new technology-based torts (HiQ / LinkedIn)

9 September 2019

THE NINTH CIRCUIT’S DECISION IN HIQ V LINKEDIN: DATA SCRAPING MAY HAVE A FUTURE, BUT FOR HOW LONG?* Do companies that gather public information have an obligation to make that information available en masse to would-be competitors? Do competitors have a right to access those companies’ websites (...)

Valérie Durand Unfair competition: The Toulouse Court of Appeal recalls the grounds enabling to sanction unfair competition acts (Ms. G / Mr F)

4 September 2019

L’arrêt rendu par la Cour d’appel de Toulouse le 4 septembre 2019 est l’occasion de rappeler les différentes sources de protection des concurrents contre des actes de concurrence déloyale. L’affaire concerne des actes réalisés par un agent général d’assurances à la suite de son départ à la retraite. Au (...)

Daniel Fasquelle Restrictive trade practices in the food and retail sector: Is the end near, truly? (New Frontiers of Antitrust - Paris, June 14th, 2019)

November 2019

The present contribution was received following up the 10th edition of the “New Frontiers of Antitrust” annual Concurrences review Conference held in Paris on June 14th, 2019, at the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. The discussions revolved around four topics. The members of the first (...)

Frédéric Buy Unfair competition: The Paris Court of Appeal recalls that a legal entity not subject to a code of ethics’ rules can commit an act of unfair competition in case of breach distorting competition on the market (Mutualité française d’Alsace / Syndicat des chirurgiens-dentistes du Bas-Rhin)

29 August 2019

La concurrence déloyale fait partie de ces notions dont on croit parfois, avec peu de naïveté, qu’elles peuvent être facilement apprivoisées. D’un côté, la concurrence déloyale n’appartient pas, en tout cas officiellement, à la famille des pratiques commerciales déloyales telle que définie par la récente (...)

Panayiotis Agisilaou, Stephanie Theodotou The Cyprus Competition Authority fines an undertaking for abusing its dominant position in the market of producing and presenting theatrical performances (CPC / THOC)

27 August 2019

Introduction On 27th August 2019 the Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition (“CPC”) issued a decision imposing a fine of €342,221.35 to the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (“THOC”) for a violation of Section 6(1) of the Protection of Competition Law (Law 13(I)/2008), as amended (“Law”). (...)

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Frédéric Jenny, Isabelle de Silva, Cecilio Madero Villarejo, Simon J. Evenett, Christopher Bellamy QC, Bernard Amory, Jorge Padilla, Ian Forrester, Wouter Wils, Alvaro Ramos, Emmanuel Frot, Mélanie Thill-Tayara, Laurence Idot, Virginie Beaumeunier, Paul Csiszar, Richard Panquiault, Benoît Durand, Laurent Godfroid, Daniel Fasquelle, Sebastien Soriano, Christian D’Cunha, Thomas Kramler, Arno Rasek, Cristina Caffarra, Veronica Pinotti, Nicolas Petit New Frontiers of Antitrust 2019

14 June 2019

Annual Concurrences Paris conference organised at the Ministry for the Economy and Finance with the support of Analysis Group, Compass Lexecon, CRA International, Dechert, Gide Loyrette Nouel, Jones Day, Qualcomm, RBB Economics, White & Case (Panel Sponsors), Cleary Gottlieb, ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law, Orrick (Social Event Sponsors), and MLex, PaRR (Media Sponsors).

Daniel Fasquelle Opening remarks (The reform of the French Commercial Code’s Title IV Book IV - Nanterre, April 4th, 2019)

September 2019

La réécriture du titre IV du livre IV du code de commerce : Beaucoup de bruit pour rien ? Daniel Fasquelle Professeur agrégé des universités Membre, LARJ (Laboratoire de recherche juridique) EA 3603 Vice-président, Commission des affaires économiques, Assemblée nationale, Paris Introduction 1. (...)

Eleonora Mateina, Anastasiya Grunova The Bulgarian Competition Authority imposes a fine to an undertaking for having abused of its dominance in the market of balancing energy of renewables (NEK / BCPA)

23 July 2019

THE BULGARIAN NATIONAL ELECTRICITY COMPANY SANCTIONED FOR ABUSE OF DOMINANCE ON THE MARKET OF BALANCING ENERGY OF RENEWABLES* The Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (“BCPC”) imposed a fine amounting to BGN 315 612 the National Electricity Company EAD (“NEK”) for abuse of dominance (...)

Maria Rosaria Miserendino, Gabriele Accardo The Italian Competition Authorities publish guidelines and policy recommendations for big data aimed to understand the implications that developments in digital economy have for antitrust, regulation and consumer protection

10 July 2019

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

Glossary

A

Absolute territorial protection • Abuse of dominant position • Abuse of economic dependence • Access to essential facility • Access to information • Access to the file • Agency agreement • Agent • Agreement (notion) • Amicus curiae • Ancillary restraints • Annulment • Anticompetitive objet or effect • Anticompetitive practices • Applicable law • Arbitration

B

Barriers to entry • Bid rigging • Block exemption (Regulation) • Boycott • Brand competition • Burden of proof • Business secrets • Buyer power

C

Cartel • Clearance phase I (merger) • Clearance phase II (merger) • Collecting society • Collective dominance • Collective redress (class action) • Competence • Competition policy • Competition policy • Complaint • Compliance programme • Compulsory license • Concerted practices • Concession • Concurrent jurisdiction • Consumers protection • Consumers’ associations • Control (change) • Control (notion) • Cooperation Agreement • Cooperation between competition authorities • Coordinated effects • Copyright • Corporate group • Corruption • Cost-based access • Criminal sanctions • Cross subsidisation

D

Damages • Dawn raids • De minimis notice • Direct effect • Discriminatory practices • Distribution agreement • Dominance (notion)

E

ECHR • Economic analysis • Economic efficiency • Effect on trade between Member States • Effective judicial protection • Environmental protection • Essential facility • European Competition Network (ECN) • Excess prices • Exchanges of information • Exclusive distribution • Exclusive purchasing agreement • Exclusive right (Art. 106 TFEU) • Exclusivity clause • Exhaustion • Extra-territoriality

F

Failing firm defence • Fine • Fine mitigating • Foreign direct investment (FDI) • Franchising • FRAND

G

Geographic market • Group purchasing organization • Gun jumping

H

Hard core restrictions • Horizontal agreement

I

Individual exemption • Intellectual property right • Interim measures • International competition network (ICN) • Investigations / inquiries • Investigations/ inquiries

J

Joint control • Joint venture • Judicial review

L

Legal privilege • Leniency • Licensing • Limitation period • Low prices

M

Mandatary (distribution) • Margin squeeze • Market economy investor • Market power • Market share • Media pluralism • Merger (notion) • Merger (prohibition) • Merger (withdrawal) • Minority shareholdings

N

Ne bis in idem • Non-competition clause • Notification • Nullity

O

Oligopoly

P

Parallel imports (parallel trade) • Passing-on • Pay-for-delay • Periodic penalty payment • Personal data • Predatory pricing • Preliminary ruling (Art. 267 TFUE) • Price discrimination • Price-fixing agreement • Prices • Principle of effectiveness • Principle of equal treatment • Principle of equivalence • Principle of proportionnality • Private enforcement • Privatization • Procedural autonomy • Professional association • Public procurement • Public undertaking

R

Referral (merger) • Refusal to deal • Regulated prices • Relevant market • Remedies (antitrust) • Request for information • Resale price maintenance (RPM) • Resale-below-cost • Right against self-incrimination • Rights of defence • Rule of reason

S

Sector inquiry • Selective distribution • Services of general economic interest • Single branding • Sole control • Spill-over effects • Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) • State action defense • State aid (compatibility) • State aid (existing aid) • State aid (notification) • State aid (notion) • State aid (recovery) • State aid (tax ruling) • State aid (unlawful aid) • State measure • Sudden break of established business relationships

T

Test SIEC (merger) • Test SLC (merger) • Transfer of technology • Transfer pricing • Trustee (mergers) • Turnover threshold (merger) • Tying or tied selling

U

Undertaking (notion) • Unfair competition • Universal service

V

Vertical agreement • Vertical restraints (or restrictions)