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1. General - Scope of application
Antitrust in Zero-Price Markets > J. M. NEWMAN (Working Paper of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law of the University of Memphis, Sept. 2014, available on SSRN)
This article examines "zero-price markets", where firms set the price of products or services at 0. Software, search engines, social media platforms, mobile applications, travel booking services, navigation and mapping systems are now distributed for free. Yet, despite the exponential increase in zero-price products, few academics have addressed the impact of the absence of positive pricing on the traditional competition law analytical framework.
The author considers that "zero-price markets" challenge traditional theories and frameworks of analysis and that competition authorities do not sufficiently take into account the potentially high level of harm to consumer welfare that may result from these free products or services. The issues raised relate to market definition, the strengthening of market power, restrictions of competition, and the harm caused by free goods or services. Such gratuitousness raises questions about the role and effectiveness of competition law. Given the critical importance of zero-price markets in the global economy, competition authorities must evolve. This article makes numerous proposals, including a proposal to change the traditional "SSNIP test" used to define markets. It also proposes methods for assessing consumer harm in the context of these markets.
The concept of "anti-competitive object" and the legal certainty of undertakings > C. GRYNFOGEL (RJDA, No. 8-9, August-September 2014, Etudes et doctrine, p. 627)
Update on the control of local anti-competitive practices > A. MARIE (BRDA., 11/2014, 15 June 2014, No. 26, p. 13)
The Competition Authority still ranked among the best in the world > O. DUFOUR (Small Posters, 21 July 2014, No. 144, p. 4)
Social protection and competition law: a falsely simple problem > P. COURSIER (Gaz. Pal., 23 August 2014, n°s 234-235, p. 5)
Activity of the courts of the European Union in competition law (January 2014) > P. ARHEL (Petites affiches, 30 Jul. 2014, n° 151, p. 4)
Activity of the Paris Court of Appeal in the field of anti-competitive practices (January to April 2014) > P. ARHEL (Petites affiches, 17 Jul. 2014, n° 142, p. 6)
Competition Chronicle > L. IDOT (Europe, June 2014, No. 6, comm. 262 to 266; Jul. 2014, No. 7, comm. 303 to 305)
Chronique Droit de la concurrence > L. IDOT, C. PRIETO and M. BEHAR-TOUCHAIS (Revue des contrats, n° 3, Sept. 2014, p. 483)
Chronique Concurrence > D. BOSCO, C. PRÉBISSY-SCHNALL and G. DECOCQ (Contracts, conc., consom. Jul. 2014, No. 7, comm. 162 to 168; Aug.-Sep. 2014, Nos. 8-9, comm. 197 to 200)
Economic Law Chronicle > C. MATHONNIÈRE (RLDA 2013/94, No. S 5158 to 5161, p. 43; RLDA 2013/96, No. S 5256 to 5261, p. 49)
Bi-annual Competition Law Review > A. LACOURT (RLDA 2013/96, No. 5255, p. 46)
Chronique Concurrence > (RJDA, n° 6, June 2014, n°s 567 to 570, p. 188; n° 7, July 2014, p. 617; n° 8-9, August-September 2014, n°s 726 to 731, p. 688)
A Statistical Analysis of U.K. Antitrust Enforcement > C. VELJANOVSKI (Journal of Competition Law & Economics, 10, 3, pp. 711-738)
A Simple Quantitative Methodology for the Setting of "Optimal Fines" by Antitrust and Regulatory Authorities > V. BAGERI and Y. V. BAGERI and Y. KATSOOULACOS (European Competition Journal, 10, 2, pp. 253-278)
Patents, Antitrust, and the Rule of Reason > H. HOVENKAMP (University of Iowa College of Law Working Paper, Sept. 2014, available on CRDD)
Competition Law v Patent Settlement Agreements in Pharmaceutical Sector > H. STAKHEYEVA (Global Competition Litigation Review, Issue 3/2014, p. 173)
"This is not a market": gratuity and competition law > M. S. FERRO (Working Paper of the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, Sept. 2014, available on SSRN)
Proportionality in EU competition law > W. JUMP (ECLR, Vol. 35, Issue 7, p. 327)
Annual Review 2013 of National Competition Law > C. C. CLAUDEL-PICARD and I. LUC (RJEP, No. 721, Jul. 2014, p. 4)
2. Agreements
2.1. General
The "Endives" case: the Court of Appeal reminds us that it exercises control! > P. WILHELM (Contracts, conc., consom. Jul. 2014, No. 7, Alert 39)
Compensation for the harm suffered by an indirect victim of a cartel (comment under CJEU, 5 June 2014, Case C-557/12, Kone AG) > D. CHELLIAH (RLDA, Jul. August 2014,No. 95, p. 42)
In a very surprising decision, the Court accepted the principle of compensation to an indirect victim of a cartel by the companies that were members of the cartel, even though the victim had a contractual relationship only with a company that was not a member of the cartel.
See also, "Ombrelle sur les prix": quand le principe d’effectivité du droit de l’Union fait de l’ombre de l’autonomie procédurale des Etats membres, C. MARECHAL (JCP éd. E, n° 30, 24 Jul. 2014, 1402, p. 39).
Applying Agreement Law to Technology Transfer Agreements: Beware of Sleeping Waters! > C. MARECHAL (Contracts, conc., consom. August-Sept. 2014, No. 8-9, Alert 45)
Pharmaceutical Co-Promotion, Co-Marketing and Antitrust > J. WESTIN, M. HEALY and B. BATCHELOR (ECLR, Vol. 35, Issue 8, p. 402)
Indirect evidence of the existence of a cartel and legal certainty under European competition law > C. GALOKHO (RTD eur. 4/2013, p. 727)
EI du Pont de Nemours v. Commission and Dow Chemical v. Comission" > N. TUOMINEN (RDUE, 4-2013, p. 804)
Harm and Overcharge in the South African Precast Concrete Products > J. KHUMALO, J. MASHIANE, and S. ROBERTS (Journal of Competition Law & Economics, 10, 3, pp. 621-646)
Umbrella effects > R. INDERST, F.P. MAIER-RIGAUD, and U. SCHWAIBE (Journal of Competition Law & Economics, September 2014, 10, 3, pp. 739-763)
Market Structure and the Competitive Effects of Vertical Integration > S. LOERTSCHER and M. REISINGER (RAND Journal of Economics, 45, 3, pp. 471-494)
2.2. Distribution
Bang and Olufsen case: towards a relaxation of the conditions for exemption of agreements prohibiting the sale of products on the internet > P. DE LANZAC and J. HOCHART (JCP éd. E, n° 23, 5 June 2014, 394, p. 5)
Chronicle Distribution and protection of the competitor > M. MALAURIE-VIGNAL and N. M. MALAURIE-VIGNAL and N. MATHEY (Contracts, conc., consum. July 2014, No. 7, comm. 164 to 161; August-Sept. 2014, No. 8-9, comm. 190 to 196)
Resale Price Fixing after the Revision of the EU Vertical Regime-a Comparative Perspective > C. I. NAGY (Acta Juridica Hungarica, 2013, Vol. 54, No. 4, p. 349)
Under Pressure - when do legal "recommended" resale prices turn into illegal "fixed" and binding resale prices: Resale price maintenance under scrutiny in Germany > U. ZINSMEISTER and M. HELD (ECLR, Vol. 35, Issue 7, p. 317)
3. Abuse of dominance
Can False Advertising Give Rise to Antitrust Liability? > C. A. COLE (CPI Antitrust Chronicle, July 2014 (2))
Antitrust Enforcement and Civil Rights: SEPs and FRAND Commitments > B. VESTERDORF (CPI Antitrust Chronicle, August 2014 (1))
Antitrust Rules and IP Rights in the European Union and the United States - Towards Convergence? > M. TODINO (CPI Antitrust Chronicle, August 2014 (1))
The Intel Case: Between Tomra Systems ASA, the Commission’s Guidance on Enforcement Priorities, and the alleged infringemnt of procedural requirements - no fat left on the bone > A. USAI (ECLR, Vol. 35, Issue 8, p. 387)
Can False Advertising Give Rise to Antitrust Liability? > C. A. COLE (CPI Antitrust Chronicle, July 2014 (2))
4. Restrictive practices
The significant imbalance in ordinary contract law or the uncertainties of a dual filiation > R. AMARO (Contracts, conc., consom. August-Sept. 2014, n°s 8-9, study 8)
Commercial negotiation and Hamon law: a voluminous law for a very small right > M. MALAURIE-VIGNAL (Contracts, conc., consom. Jul. 2014, n° 7, mark 7)
Compensation for the wrongful termination of distribution contracts > S. REGNAULT (JCP éd. E, n° 35, August 28, 2014, 1429, p. 39)
The sanction of injury in commercial relations > F. BUY (D. 26 June 2014, no. 23, p. 1333)
The contributions of the Hamon law in terms of payment deadlines > A. BERG-MOUSSA (JCP éd. E, n° 24, 12 June 2014, 1320, p. 28)
Law applicable to the termination of established commercial relations > L. WYNAENDTS and L. MARION (JCP éd. E, n° 25, 19 June 2014, 1336, p. 34)
The contract in the face of significant imbalance > E. GICQUIAUD (RTD com. 2/2014, p. 267)
Abrupt termination of established commercial relations > N. MATHEY (JCP ed. E, No. 28-29, 10 July 2014, 1381, p. 34)
Continuation of a business relationship after disposal > N. MATHEY (JCP éd. E, n°s 31-34, 31 Jul. 2014, 1415, p. 40)
Law applicable to the brutal breach of a distribution contract executed abroad or the introduction of a "dose" of contractual liability in the tort regime of Article L. 442-6, I, 5° of the Commercial Code > S. BEAUMONT and C. MAUGÈRE (RLDA 2013/96, No 5255, p. 46)
5. Concentrations
Chronique droit des concentrations > D. BOSCO et C. PRIETO (Contracts, conc., consom. August-Sept. 2014, n°s 8-9, Chron. 3)
Procedural Rights in EU Administrative Competition Proceedings: Ex Ante Mergers > A. D. CHIRITA (Working Paper of the Department of Law of the University of Durham, Sept. 2014, available on SSRN)
Recourse of Works Councils to a "concentration" expert > J. LUCAS (JCP éd. E, n° 35, August 28, 2014, 580, p. 5)
Unilateral Effects Analysis in Merger Review: Limits and Opportunities > M.B. COATE (European Competition Journal, 10, 2, pp. 231-252)
Merger Incentives and the Failing Firm Defense > J. BOUCKAERT AND P.M. KORT (The Journal of Industrial Economics, 62, 3, pp. 436-466)
A New Approach to the Failing Firm Defence? The Nynas/Shell Harburg merger > O. BRETZ, D. GORE, and K. SCHALLENBERG (ECLR, Vol. 35, Issue 10, p. 480)
A tale of two mergers - the UK approach to price control merger remedies > N. PARR, and S. VAZ (ECLR, Vol. 35, Issue 9, p. 430)
Concentrations in the free television sector and contentious innovations > P. IDOUX (RJEP., n° 721, Jul. 2014, p. 20)
6. State aid
Recovery of unlawful and incompatible State aid in the form of taxes > C. MICHEAU (RTD eur. 2/2014, Article, p. 343)
Federal Republic of Germany v. Commission" Judgment > J. PROBST (EDR, 4-2013, p. 796)
Epic EPIC and... colégram! > B. CHEYNEL (RLC 2014/40, n° 2584, p. 40)
Legality of regional aid to film production: a necessary clarification > Mr LE ROY (RLDI 2014/106, No 3527, p. 31)
State aid and sports stadiums: EU sports policy or deference to professional football > R. CRAVEN (ECLR, Vol. 35, Issue 9, p. 453)
Chronicle Competition, regulation and the public sector > S. NAUGES, L. VIDAL and L. AYACHE (Contracts, conc., consom. juill. 2014, n° 7, chron. 2)
The reform of State aid control (Round Table) > F.-H. BRIARD, B.-P. CHAUMONT, N. DEVOUEZE and J.-P. HORDIES (Cah. dr.entr., May-June 2014, n° 3, p. 9)
A further step towards a "Proceduralisation" of the Market Economy Investor Test: Annotation on the judgment of the Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) of April 3, 2014 in European Commission v Netherlands (C-224/12 P) > G.-M. GALLETTI (ECLR, Vol. 35, Issue 10, p. 509)
The scheme of State aid granted in the form of a guarantee to public operators (comment under CJEU, 3 Apr. 2014, Case C-559/12, French Republic v Commission) > M. BAZEX (D. Adm, No 7, Jul. 2014, p. 25)
State aid chronicle > M. DONY (JDE, n°209, May 2014, p. 203)
7. Public sector and competition
Markets, concessions, SGEIs, "in house"... the necessary European adjustments of French local authorities > P.-Y. MONJAL (RDUE, 4-2013, p. 623)
New European directives, in house and State aid > F. OLIVIER, J.-L. LESQUINS (Contracts and Public Procurement, n°8-9, August-September 2014, p. 7)
The author sheds light on European case law on the in-house exception to advertising and competitive tendering obligations in the light of the new Directives on markets and concessions, and questions the perverse effects of this exception, which would also allow exemption from the State aid regime.
Questions about the in house "ascending" > F. LLORENS AND P. SOLER-COUTEAUX (Contracts and public procurement, No. 8-9, August-September 2014, p. 2)
One year of European Union Public Procurement Law > W. ZIMMER (Contracts and public procurement, No. 7, Jul. 2014, p. 11)
The Directive on the award of concession contracts or the strengthening of public procurement law > G. ECKERT (RJEP, August-September 2014, No. 722, p. 3)
The SEM contract > R. NOGUELLOU (D. Adm, n° 6, June. 2014, p. 3)
Special file: new directives on public procurement and service concessions (more...) > (BJCP, n° 95, July-August. 2014, p. 239)
8. Procedures
8.1. General
The non bis in idem principle in competition law > G. GAULARD (Cah. dr.eur., no. 3, 2013, p. 703)
What is the effective remedy under Union law for violations of the right to have one’s case heard within a reasonable time? > A. BOHLER (RLC 2014/40, No. 2602, p. 104)
Ave Curia, debitores in solidum te salutant! (first comments on the Siemens judgment) > L. BERNARDEAU (RLC 2014/40, No. 2603, p. 111)
Ave Curia, alteri debitores in solidum te salutant! (first comments on the Areva and Alstom judgment) > L. BERNARDEAU (RLC 2014/40, No. 2604, p. 120)
The action for damages, an adequate remedy in the event of failure to comply with a reasonable time limit for judgment by the court of the European Union > F. ZAMPINI (RTD eur. 2/2014, Article, p. 291)
Notes From a Small Island: Natural Justice and the Institutional Design and Practice of Competition Authorities and Appellate Courts > R. O’DONOGHUE and T. JOHNSTON (ICC Journal, Spring 2014, Vol. 10 No. 1)
Competition Law Preliminary Rulings: A Quantitative and Qualitative Overview Post-Regulation 1/2003 > B. J. RODGER (Global Competition Litigation Review, Issue 3/2014, p. 125)
Parent liability for joint venture parents: the Courts’ "EI du Pont" and "Dow Chemical" judgments in conflict with optimal compliance incentives > S. MOBLEY, D. MOURKAS, and G. MURRAY (ECLR, Vol. 35, Issue 10, p. 499)
Competition compliance: focus on three years of deployment within the EFD Group > P. GRANOTIER (RJEP., no. 721, Jul. 2014 p. 1)
8.2. Sanction Policy - Clemency - Settlement - Undertakings
Sanctioning anti-competitive practices: what the autonomy of the undertaking prohibits and what membership of the group requires > A.-C. MARTIN (D. 26 June 2014, No. 23, p. 1359)
The tribulations of the principle of the personality of penalties in the case of mergers > J.-D. BRETZNER (RLDA 2014/94, No. 5157, p. 40)
About Leniency plus and Penalty plus concepts in competition law > A. APEL (RLC 2014/40, No. 2620, p. 168)
8.3. Actions for damages
The main principles of French civil procedure in the face of competition from European Union law > T. D’ALES and A. CONSTANS (JCP éd. E, No 23, 5 June 2014, 1306, p. 27)
French-style group actions: a missed appointment? > E. JOUFFIN (Banque & droit, n° 155, May-June 2014, p. 3)
Group action and other competition provisions of the consumer law: a singular device > E. CLAUDEL (RTD com. 2/2014, p. 339)
See also, M. ALBERTINI and M. DEBROUX, Contributions and uncertainties of the new group share (JCP éd. E, No. 24, 12 June 2014, 416, p. 5); F. BRUNET, A. DUPUIS and E. PAROCHE, L’action de groupe : l’indemnisation des consommateurs favorisée au détriment de la détection des cartels (D. 31 Jul. 2014, Etudes, p. 1600); Y. UTZSCHNEIDER and C. MUSSI, L’action de groupe en droit de la concurrence, une intention louable à la mise en œuvre complexe (AJCA, n°s 5-6, August-Sept. 2014, p. 222)
Interactions on the Rules on Joint and Several Liability and Settlements under the EU Directive on Damage Actions > Dr. M. SEEGERS (Global Competition Litigation Review, Issue 3/2014, p. 140)
Fault in EU Law Based Competition Restriction Damages Cases > K. HAVU (Maastricht European Private Law Institute Working Paper, July 2014, No. 2014/16)
The European embrace of private enforcement: this time with feeling > R. GAMBLE (ECLR, Vol. 35, Issue 10, p. 469)
9. Regulations
The regulation resulting from the implementation by the Competition Authority of its consultative competence (comment under Notice n°14-A-05 of 27 February 2014 relating to the competitive functioning of the market of regular interregional transport by coach) > M. BAZEX (D. Adm, n° 6, June. 2014, p. 42)
The purchase of electricity or gas by public persons and the end of regulated sales tariffs > C. FONTAINE and N. RICCI (JCP. Adm. et al. Terri., No. 28, 15 Jul. 2014 p. 29)
10. International policy
Competition Policy Chronicle > N. JALABERT-DOURY, J. FOURQUET, A. TERCINET, J.-M. BLUTEL and T. SCHREPEL (RDAI/IBLJ, 3/2014, p. 203)
This column is devoted to the analysis of international competition law news. As usual, it covers the latest developments in Community competition law, but also in national laws, not forgetting international developments in the field.