Abuse of dominance

Anticompetitive business practices in which a dominant firm may engage in order to maintain or increase its position in the market. These business practices by the firm, not without controversy, may be considered as “abusive or improper exploitation” of monopolistic control of a market aimed at restricting competition. The term abuse of dominant position has been explicitly incorporated in competition legislation of various countries such as Canada, the EU and Germany. In the United States, the counterpart provisions would be those dealing with monopoly and attempts to monopolize or monopolization of a market.

Source: OECD

Abuse of dominance, Competition law, European Union, HBER, Regulation, Supply chain, Sustainability, VBER, Vertical agreements, Vertical restraints

(European University Institute)/ /Leave a comment

In European competition law, both Article 101 and 102 TFEU inquiries require a contextual approach to the dispute at hand. Since enforcers must consider any agreement or business activity within the economic, legal, and factual context of which it forms part, regulatory regimes become important guideposts for any competition analysis. This point has been emphasized…

Abuse of dominance, As Efficient Competitor, Economics, Effects-based, Fundamental rights, General Court of the European Union, Procedures

, , , (White & Case)/ /Leave a comment

The General Court of the European Union delivered a blow to the European Commission in fully annulling its Qualcomm (exclusivity payments) decision of 2018 and a EUR 997 million fine. Qualcomm v Commission[1] is the first annulment of an Article 102 TFEU decision adopted by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. The judgment is notably based on the…

Abuse of dominance, Competition law, Data protection, European Union, Facebook, Germany, Poland, Privacy, United Kingdom

(University of Strathclyde)/ /Leave a comment

In the wake of the recent hearing of the CJEU in the German Facebook case, this post assesses two common views on the integration of competition law and privacy policy, providing a general overview of the debate we are currently facing and reflecting on its apparent future.   How privacy is relevant for competition law?…

Abuse of dominance, Data protection, Digital economy, Digital markets, European Court of Justice, Restriction by effect

(Clifford Chance LLP)/ /Leave a comment

On 12 May 2022, the European Court of Justice delivered its preliminary ruling in response to a number of questions referred to it by an Italian court tasked to assess whether the use of customer data (legitimately collected by the ENEL group during a legal monopoly position) to target offers to those same customers once…

Abuse of dominance, Advocate General, European Court of Justice, European Union, Railway, Regulation

(bpv Hügel)/ /Leave a comment

In 2017 the ECJ decided in its CTL Logistics judgment (C‑489/15, CTL Logistics, ECLI:EU:C:2017:834) that national civil courts must not examine railway charges if they fall under the competence of a railway regulator under Directive 2001/14/EC (now Directive 2012/34/EU) under equity (§ 315 German Civil Code, “BGB”). AG Ćapeta recently suggested reconsidering this case law…

Abuse of dominance, Canada, Cartels, Competition law, Merger control

, (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada) and (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In February 2022, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development announced that the Canadian government was evaluating ways to improve the operation of Canada’s Competition Act (Act). The Minister said that changes would be made in multiple stages, with some initial amendments to be proposed in the following months that would have “an immediate…

Abuse of dominance, Apple, Digital economy, Digital Markets Act, European Union

(MINES ParisTech, PSL University)/ /1 Comment

The market power of big tech firms like Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft (the GAFAM) has long been a thorn in the eyes of the European Commission (EC).[1] Ever since the EU drafted the Digital Markets Act[2] to regulate market power in the digital markets, they faced strong protests.[3] The widely received Epic-Apple court…

Abuse of dominance, Bulgaria

(Eversheds Sutherland, Bulgaria) and (Tsvetkova, Bebov and Partners)/ /Leave a comment

In 2021 the Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission (“BCPC”) was focused on investigations for abuse of dominance in the medical sector. The centre of CPC’s attention were some medical institutions that refused to provide access to equipment, facilities, and specialists for performing medical services/treatments subject to reimbursement by the National Health Insurance Fund (“NHIF”). The investigated…

Abuse of dominance, As Efficient Competitor, Burden of Proof, European Union, General Court of the European Union, Rebates, Standard of Proof

, (White & Case) and (White & Case, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

On 26 January 2022, the EU’s General Court (GC) annulled the European Commission’s (EC) €1.06 billion fine on Intel for abusing a dominant position with its rebate schemes.[1] The judgment demonstrates that the European Courts are prepared to look in detail at evidence and economic analysis in antitrust cases, and will annul EC decisions if…

Abuse of dominance, Apple, Digital economy, Digital markets, Interim relief, Netherlands

(Loyens & Loeff, Netherlands) and , (Loyens & Loeff)/ /Leave a comment

On 24 December 2021, the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) published a summary decision finding an abuse of a dominant position by Apple. The decision dates back to 24 August 2021 but was published only last month following an injunction proceeding aimed at suspending the effects of the ACM’s decision as well as…