Restriction by object

European Court of Justice, Patent settlements, Pharmaceuticals, Restriction by object

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On 25 March 2021, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) dismissed all the appeals against the European Commission’s decision to fine Lundbeck and several other companies for entering into anti-competitive patent settlement agreements.1 The judgments largely repeat the position taken by the ECJ in its January 2020 Paroxetine judgment (see our alert). They notably confirm…

European Union, Platforms, Restriction by object

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The rise and proliferation of the online economy, centred specifically on platforms, has opened new opportunities for private individuals to sell their labour in new and more flexible ways. Either full or part-time or when convenient or requested. However, this has also created conflicts as unions see the increased utilization of freelancers and the self-employed…

Ecuador, Merger control, Restriction by object

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Last week (November 17, 2020), Ecuador’s Executive Branch issued the second package of reforms to its competition regime this year (Executive Decree 1193). The two main changes have to do with merger control and with restrictions ‘by object’. Following last April’s implementation of an expedited concentration procedure, the new reform now seeks to reduce the…

Competition law, European Union, Restriction by object

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What to consider a restriction of competition under Article 101 (1) is complex. However, the text of Article 101 (1) refers to agreements that are anti-competitive by object or by effect. A segregation utilized in early cases such as Consten and Grundig and Société Technique Minière. Both from 1966 and both involving the appraisal under…

European Court of Justice, European Union, Restriction by object

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    Sisyphus was a Greek mythological figure who was condemned to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll down every time it neared the top. Repeating this action for eternity. The quest for a clear and operational methodology for finding a restriction of competition ‘by object’ feels similar sometimes….

European Union, Price fixing, Restriction by object

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Caveat emptor, buyer beware. A familiar civil law principle that requires buyers to do their pre-contractual due diligence or face the consequences. And, as it happens, also a principle that is increasingly appropriate to describe the caution that professional buyers need to exercise in an antitrust context. Indeed, many stakeholders are calling for enforcement that…

Digital competition, European Union, Restriction by object, Vertically integrated platform

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Introduction A skilled tackle or an underhanded foul? In line with the opposing player or offside? Staying on track or cutting corners? In the world of sports, it is difficult to imagine how decisions would be made on these issues absent clear rules and competent referees to enforce them. One thing is certain: a sporting…

European Court of Justice, European Union, Restriction by effect, Restriction by object

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On September 5, 2019, Advocate General Bobek published his opinion in the Budapest Bank case (C-228/18). The opinion provides very clear and practical guidance on the concept of restriction of competition by object – a subject that has long been a bone of contention among competition practitioners, enforcers and courts. The opinion is also noteworthy…

Cartels, Denmark, Restriction by object

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The question of what constitutes a restriction of competition ‘by object’ has forever been intensely discussed and heavily litigated across the EU. As AG Kokott stated in her opinion in T-Mobile, the existence of an ‘object’ box is justified by the benefit of legal certainty and, not least, the need for conserving resources of competition…