Competition law

Competition law, Eurasian Economic Union

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Globalization and regional integration processes are trends that determine the development of the world’s economy at present and, as a result, substantially affect competition policy. To address new challenges in global markets, different states cooperate more closely with each other on competition law matters. Considered international cooperation is required for both practical (conduct of joint…

Competition, Competition law, Competition policy, Digitisation, European Union, Merger control, Remedies, Uncategorized

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Most competition authorities have a preference for structural remedies in merger cases in the form of divestitures while behavioural remedies are used less frequently. The below blog post analyses whether the historical bias of behavioural remedies is still warranted or whether it is time that authorities take a more flexible and differentiated approach when considering…

Abuse of dominance, Antitrust, Big data, Canada, Competition law, Competition policy, Digital competition, Digital markets, Digitisation, E-commerce, E-communications, Enforcement, Merger control, Merger regulation, Mergers, Minority shareholding

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The Davies Forecast of Top 5 Trends and Issues for Canadian Competition Law in 2020 Jim Dinning, Anita Banicevic and Mark Katz Here is Davies’ annual forecast of Canadian competition law developments for the year ahead. 1. FOCUS ON THE DIGITAL ECONOMY Given the Competition Bureau’s stated priorities during the tenure of current Commissioner of…

Abuse of dominance, Antitrust, Canada, Competition, Competition law, Competition policy

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Recent Developments in Abuse of Dominance Law in Canada: When is Anti-Competitive Conduct Justified? Charles Tingley and Mark Katz On October 17, 2019, the Canadian Competition Tribunal dismissed an application by the Commissioner of Competition alleging that the Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA) had abused a dominant position in the market for in-flight catering services at…

Algorithms, Competition law, India

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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has released Interim Observations for a market study being conducted by it to understand qualitative aspects of e-commerce in India.[1] It has outlined its scope to understand the market landscape, strategies and issues arising thereunder, without undertaking an examination of breach of competition law.[2] So far, it has divided…

Competition law, European Commission, European Union, Sustainability

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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…

Cartels, Competition law, Netherlands

(Bird & Bird, The Netherlands) and (Bird & Bird)/ /Leave a comment

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)…

Competition law, E-commerce, Keyword bidding, Online advertising restrictions

(Bird & Bird, The Netherlands) and (Bird & Bird, Netherlands)/ /2 Comments

Introduction The growth of e-commerce over the last decade has had a significant impact on most if not all retail markets. Trends like the increased importance of online sales, price transparency and the emergence of new market players such as online platforms significantly affected the distribution and pricing strategies of both manufacturers and retailers, not…

Competition law, Court of Appeal, Digital markets, Germany, Online platforms, Vertical restraints

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /1 Comment

On June 4, 2019, the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal quashed the decision of the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) prohibiting Booking.com to operate so-called narrow most favored nation (MFN) clauses (or best price clauses) on its hotel booking platform with hotels in Germany, see press release here.  It thereby set a (preliminary) end to a long saga…

Abuse of dominance, Competition law, Digital markets, Netherlands

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After Google has been fined several times for breach of (EU) competition rules the last couple of years, it might now be Apple’s turn. Last month (March 2019), Spotify filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission. The Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (“ACM”) immediately responded by stating that ACM is finalizing its…