A situation in a market in which firms or sellers independently strive for the patronage of buyers in order to achieve a particular business objective, e.g., profits, sales and/or market share. Competition in this context is often equated with rivalry. Competitive rivalry between firms can occur when there are two firms or many firms. This rivalry may take place in terms of price, quality, service or combinations of these and other factors which customers may value.
Source: OECD
The German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) terminated antitrust proceedings against toy manufacturer Lego on July 18, 2016, following Lego’s agreement to change its current rebate system. Lego will enable online retailers to obtain in practice the same amount of discounts as available for brick and mortar shops. The FCO had opened proceedings against Lego based…
With little fanfare, on Friday, 1 July 2016, among a raft of other amendments to the Act against Restraint of Competition (‘ARC’; 9th amendment), the Federal Ministry of Economics proposed a far reaching change to German merger notification thresholds making it one of the few jurisdictions worldwide that take jurisdiction based on the size of…
The role of data and how it can harm competition is a recurring topic in contemporary antitrust literature. Below, we highlight a few points integral to understanding what the fuss is all about. Making sense of data Frankly speaking, data itself is not revolutionary, and it presents nothing that competition authorities have not seen before….
Introduction The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA), an association of undertakings accounting for 75% the household waste currently managed in Ireland, announced that it is committed “to freezing prices at current rates for twelve month period from 20th June 2016 to 1 July 2017.”[1]IWMA, “IWMA Agrees Measures to Alleviate Consumer Concerns on Pay by Weight,”…
The question of how to treat bans on sales via third-party internet platforms in selective distribution systems and the impact of the Court of Justice’s Pierre Fabre ruling (see judgment of October 13, 2011, case C-439/09) have been on the agenda in Germany for some time. Recently, the Frankfurt Court of Appeals has submitted a…
Polish competition authority, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), took its stance on the Uber’s innovative business model. As it is its last important statement under President Adam Jasser, I would like to mention him at the end of this entry, especially as the way UOKiK tackled the “Uber problem” is an another…
The Global Competition Law Center at the College of Europe and the UCL Center for Law, Economics and Society organize on Wednesday, June 8, 2016 from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM a scholarship symposium dedicated to COMPETITION POLICY AT THE INTERSECTION OF EQUITY AND EFFICIENCY Honoring the Scholarship of Eleanor M. Fox (NYU) with Eleanor…
81th Lunch Talk of the Global Competition Law Center Thursday, April 28, 2016 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM The ECN+ Initiative: Outcome and Challenges of the Commission Consultation on the Empowering of NCAs with Eddy DE SMIJTER, DG COMP Guido LOBRANO, Business Europe Alf-Henrik BISCHKE, Hengeler Mueller Moderator: Jacques Bourgeois, Sidley Austin LLP Programme:…
“A strong and active antimonopoly authority is an incentive for undertakings to engage in prevention” – the President of the Polish Competition Authority presents his views on competition law compliance. Adam Jasser, the President of the Polish Competition Authority (UOKIK) has recently spoke to Bartosz Jagura of Viadrina Compliance Center about competition law compliance. It…
We have recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of the EU Merger Regulation, which came into force on 21 September 1990. Since that date, we have seen an exponential growth in merger control notifications at the European level – at least up until the financial crisis that began in 2008. The good news is that, to…
