In its decision of 17 June 2024, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has cleared the takeover of Olink Holding AB (publ), Sweden (“Olink”) by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., USA (“Thermo Fisher”) after an extensive review period exceeding five months (press release). This case marks a significant milestone as it is the first time that…
Ever since its introduction in 2021, Section 19a of the German Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen or “GWB”) has attracted attention, not only in Germany, but also around the globe. Through this provision, the national legislator strengthened the regulatory framework against potentially anti-competitive practices by specific market players, namely “undertakings of paramount…
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) introduced an innovative framework aimed at promoting contestability and fairness in digital markets. In addition to imposing a multitude of substantial obligations on gatekeepers, the DMA incorporates a sophisticated and multi-faceted enforcement system. The European Commission assumes the primary role as the enforcer of the DMA, while the Member States…
Tension is mounting among TV broadcasters and streaming providers as the German Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office – FCO) approved the plans to award the media rights on February 26, 2024 and the DFL’s tendering process will begin shortly. However, the FCO has still not decided the associated antitrust issues, which have been hovering over the…
The following is a selection of some important developments in German competition law and policy in 2023. It covers the latest competition law reform, cases under special rules for digital gatekeepers, abuse of dominance, merger control, antitrust (cartels, horizontal cooperation) and damages litigation. 11th Amendment of the ARC On November 7, 2023, the latest…
Report on the hearing at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (OLG Düsseldorf) on 21 February 2024 Introduction “We don’t really know what the LG Dortmund should have done wrong.” Presiding judge at the beginning of the hearing “Oh boy, when it starts like this already…” the representatives of FIFA and the DFB…
With the (belated) transposition of the EU Representative Actions Directive (RAD) on 13 October 2023 by means of the RAD Implementing Act (Verbandsklagenrichtlinienumsetzungsgesetz – non-German speakers, I treat you to a beer if you can properly pronounce this Zungenbrecher), the German legislator has ventured new legal territory for collective actions. Now, four main models build the…
“The estimated damage cannot be less than 5% of the purchase price paid for reasons of effectiveness under EU law.” This was recently stated by the German Federal Court of Justice about claims for damages due to the Dieselgate scandal. However, the Court’s reasoning in favour of this legal lower limit for damages might equally,…
On 7 November 2023, a new amendment law to the German Competition Act (“Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen”, GWB) came into force. Because it is the 11th major amendment, it is commonly referred to as the 11th GWB Amendment (11. GWB-Novelle). In addition to numerous small alterations, it is particularly noteworthy for three important novelties: New…
On 5 October 2023, the German competition authority adopted its first tangible evidence of enforcement surrounding its new competition rules (Section 19a GWB) directed at undertakings with paramount significance for competition across markets on its case against Google for its data processing terms (see the Bundeskartellamt’s decision designating Alphabet here and a previous comment on…
