This post explains (i) why there is friction between sustainability initiatives and competition law and (ii) how the EU Commission could take steps to address this. Recent EU developments suggest a renewed interest in this area: In November 2018, the EU Competition Commissioner hinted at a more worldly application of the EU competition rules by emphasising that…
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…
Competition authorities are tuned into mobile app stores, trying to implement classical competition rules into non-traditional digital markets. This tendency is loudly revealed when European Commission (“Commission”) deemed Google LLC (“Google”) as the dominant undertaking in the app stores for the Android mobile operating system (i.e. Google Play Store) and hit the online search and…
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…
This blog is written by Pauline Kuipers and Janneke Kohlen, Bird & Bird LLP Introduction The Dutch competition authority, ACM, initiated a market study in 2018 into the effect of the introduction of biosimilars on the competition between TNF alfa inhibitors. TNF-alfa inhibitors are biological medicines that are mainly used by rheumatoid arthritis patients, but…
Recent Developments in Canada: Supreme Court Expands Scope of Potential Liability in Price-Fixing Class Actions Written by Sandra A. Forbes, Derek D. Ricci ,Chantelle (Spagnola) Cseh and Maura O’Sullivan of the Davies Litigation Group The Supreme Court of Canada has released its long-awaited decision in two companion appeals that have significant implications for class actions…
The General Court of the European Union has issued two awaited rulings in the Starbucks[1] and Fiat[2] cases. The length and the depth of the analysis made by the judges of the General Court should be acknowledged, even if certain key issues are perhaps too rapidly dealt with. Although the Commission lost in Starbucks, the…
Recent Developments in Canadian Competition Law: Will the Competition Bureau Intrude on Privacy? Anita Banicevic and Mark Katz Introduction Similar to other antitrust authorities, Canada’s Competition Bureau is paying significant attention to the “digital economy”. In its most recent Annual Plan, for example, the Bureau stated that its highest priority is to ensure that Canadians…
Introduction On 4 July 2019 a long-awaited Dutch legislative proposal regarding sustainability initiatives (“Wet ruimte voor duurzaamheidsinitiatieven“) was submitted to the Dutch House of Representatives. The proposal aims to foster collaboration between undertakings towards sustainability goals by removing the barrier of competition law. This is an interesting development because of at least two reasons: (i)…
Bulgarian administrative law sets the bar high for legal interest of third parties not being an addressee of an administrative act to appeal the latter. A notorious example for the lofty threshold is the case regarding the revocation of the license of Corporate Commercial Bank. The majority shareholder in the bank appealed the revocation of…
