July 2005

I. Background The contractual relationship between the German car manufacturer BMW and its authorized car dealers is based on a formal dealer agreement. In respect of the termination of the contract, a 12 months’ instead of a 24 months’ notice applies if BMW sees the necessity to reorganise (...)

On 29 July 2005 the Belgian Competition Council approved the award of TV broadcasting rights by the Liga Beroepsvoetbal (“LBV”) to Belgacom Skynet, since there was no infringement of Art. 81 EC. The Council has found that the broadcasting rights of matches of the Belgian first (and second) (...)

DC Circuit Hits High Note In “Three Tenors” Case – Petition For Review Of FTC Decision In Polygram Holding, Inc. Denied* On July 22, 2005, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a petition for review filed by PolyGram Holding, Inc. In so doing, the DC Circuit, in an (...)

On 11 July 2001, the Tribunal de Defensa de la Competencia (hereinafter, “the NCA”) adopted a decision (“resolución”) in which it found that Repsol, S.A. (now Repsol YPF, S.A., hereinafter referred to as “Repsol”) acted in breach of Article 1(1) of the Spanish Competition Act. More precisely, (...)

California Court of Appeals affirms dismissal of “unfairness” claim on ground* People’s Choice Wireless, Inc. v. Verizon Wireless, B175179. In a case building upon the definition of “unfair” as defined in the California Unfair Practices Act, plaintiffs, independent dealers of cellular (...)

On 21 November 1996, the Competition Council had been asked by several French and foreign companies (the latter being represented by their respective exclusive distributor in France) to review practices applied by Automatismes et Techniques Avancées (ATA) on the taximeter market. On 10 March (...)

The La Provence group owns the two main regional daily newspapers distributed in Marseille (Southern France) namely Le Provençal and Le Méridional. The two newspapers transferred the exclusive responsibility for managing local advertising to Eurosud Publicité ; however, the commercial policy (...)

On 20 July 2005 the Chairman of the Office for the Protection of Competition confirmed a first-instance decision whereby Sazka (the dominant Czech operator of betting games and lotteries) had been found guilty of abusing its dominant position. At the same time, the Chairman reduced the fine (...)

"Mergers — Main developments between 1 May and 31 August 2005"* The European Commission cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the shipping company Royal P&O Nedlloyd (PONL) by AP Moller-Maersk A/S (Maersk). The Commission’s clearance was conditional upon the (...)

On August 2, following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission approved the issuance of two consent orders that separately resolved (1) its 2003 monopolization complaint against Union Oil Company of California ( Unocal ) alleging anticompetitive abuses of the regulatory (...)

The operation By letter dated 25 July 2005, the French Minister of Economic Affairs (“the Minister”) authorised a merger where France Handling, an undertaking jointly held by Aéroports de Paris (AdP), Danzas and Aérofret, was acquired by Groupe Vinci via its subsidiary Vinci Services (...)

On July 23, 2004 the acquisition of 100% of the shares of CCMX Holding (“CCMX”) by Cegid SA (“Cegid”) thereby conferring Cegid sole control of CCMX, was notified to the French Minister of Economy (the “Minister”). Both parties were active in the design, development and marketing of Enterprise (...)

"Public service compensation in practice: Commission package on State aid for Services of General Economic Interest"* Introduction One of the first initiatives within the Framework of the State Aid Action Plan has been the launch of the Commission package on state aid and the financing of (...)

"The restructuring of Huta Czestochowa — the Commission’s decision finding compliance with private creditor test but ordering recovery of some previously granted restructuring aid"* On 5 July 2005, the Commission took a hybrid decision deciding on the one hand that the restructuring of Huta (...)

The German Act against Restraints of Competition (“ARC”) has contained a special antitrust damages claim since its entering into force in 1958, which is now § 33 ARC. The German jurisprudence is therefore one of the most experienced as far as the private enforcement of antitrust law is (...)

Press Release published on the official website of the French Competition Authority. New number system for directory assistance: The Conseil de la concurrence has given ARCEP an opinion in which it stresses the risk of established operators gaining an advantage in the market.* Having been (...)