Nicolas Petit

There’s no way, but the hard way* The Commission’s Draft Proposal for a New Regulation on Credit Rating Agencies (“CRAs”) is just out. It enshrines a whole host of competition-related remedies (see text at the end of this post). Amongst the proposals on the table : • A limitation of the (...)

The Rick Perry Syndrome* “Oops“, the Commission did it again… On November 15, 2011, in the S&P case, the Commission again closed abuse of dominance proceedings with an Article 9 decision. As already explained, Article 9 decisions have become the conventional procedure in Article 102 TFEU (...)

Microsoft/Skype – or the Commission in the Shadow of Parties Submission* The Commission’s decision in Microsoft/Skype contradicts its previous Article 102 decisions in Microsoft I (WMP) and Microsoft II (Internet Explorer). Read §152 of Microsoft/Skype : “consumers do not simply use whatever (...)

The Perverse Effects of the Court’s Ruling in Tele2 Polska* In its recent Tele2 Polska ruling, the Court deprived the National Competition Authorities "NCAs" of the ability to take "negative decisions" (C-375/09, Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów contre Tele2 Polska sp. z o.o., 3 (...)

Microsoft v. Google – Clash of the Titans* On Behalf of the Antitrust Community, A Big Thank You – Antitrust law professors should be grateful to Microsoft (hereafter, “MSFT”). As a repeat offender of the competition laws, MSFT has provided scholars with loads of research and educational material (...)

Information Exchange and Cartels – Dangerous Liaisons ?* Are information exchanges really = cartels under EU competition law ? The issue has triggered many discussions on the blog lately. I just thought I’d post my own ruminations on this. The Guidelines do not really say that information (...)

In 2007, an entrenched U.S. antitrust law standard was struck down : in Leegin, the U.S. Supreme Court wiped out the 96 year old rule of per se illegality of resale price maintenance (hereafter, “RPM”) . Whilst Leegin marks a clear relaxation of the law on RPM, such practices are still viewed (...)

Hungry for More ?* Apologies for the long post, but I have several remarks to add to my former post under Tomra v. Commission : •Priority-setting – As most of you know, this judgment confirmed a Commission Decision of 2006, in which Tomra, a producer of reverse vending machines used for (...)

Introduction An unlawful, abusive, margin squeeze typically occurs where a vertically integrated firm active in two related upstream and downstream markets supplies the upstream input to its downstream rivals, and charges prices that curtail the latter’s ability to exercise an effective (...)

1. Parties The present case arose from a complaint lodged by Review Applications of Communication (“RAC”), a firm active in communications applications before the Belgian Competition Council (“the Council), against a non-profit association, the Association of Interior Architects of Belgium (...)

I. Parties VEBIC is a professional association which comprises as its members all the Flemish provincial associations of bakers. Amongst the various activities it carries out on their behalf, VEBIC publishes a magazine entitled “Passie”. II. Facts Until 1 July 2004, the price of breads in (...)

1. Parties The present case arose from three complaints lodged in 1998 by several retail pharmacy outlets before the Belgian Competition Council (“the Council”). The complaints were directed against the Belgian Pharmacists Association as well as various local pharmacists association (...)

"The Last Hundred Days Strategy"- Is the Qualcomm Case Over ?* Milton Friedman and his wife Rose Friedman are known for having theorized that recently elected governments generally enjoy a period of political immunity following elections, which allows them to push reforms, including tough (...)

I. Parties Portima is an ICT company which provides electronic network and software services to insurance companies and brokers. Computer Ressource management (“CRM”) is a rival company which develops secured information exchange softwares for insurance companies and brokers. II. Facts (...)

Twilight of the Idols* The Van den Bergh Foods case, aka the Ice Cream case, if often cited as one of the best Article 101 TFEU judgments ever handed down by the General Court. Many praise its modern, unformalistic approach of vertical ties. They like its focus on the economic magnitude of (...)