Innovation

AI, Competition policy, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, European Commission, European Union, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Innovation, Market investigations, Merger regulation, New Competition Tool, Objectives of Competition Law

(Centrum für Europäische Politik)/ /Leave a comment

As the European Commission prepares for a new mandate under President Ursula von der Leyen later this year, former ECB President Mario Draghi – famous for his “whatever it takes” approach to saving the Euro – has now turned his focus to the future of EU competitiveness in the digital age. His long-awaited report, commissioned…

Innovation, Intellectual property (IP), Legislation, United States of America

(Elbert, Nazaretsky, Rakov & Co)/ /Leave a comment

The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2023 (PERA), introduced by Senators Thom Tillis and Chris Coons, aims to broaden the scope of patentable subject matter in the U.S. This Act addresses limitations from Supreme Court decisions like Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, which have restricted patent eligibility under Section 101 of the Patent Act….

Art. 22, European Commission, Guidance, Innovation, Market definition, Merger control, Merger regulation, Merger Thresholds, Sustainability

(Norton Rose Fulbright, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

Many of the most challenging transactions reviewed under the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) in recent years involved their likely effects on non-price competitive factors: innovation; quality and product differentiation; data protection and privacy; sustainability; and capacity and reliability of supply.  These topics are discussed briefly, or not at all, in the Commission’s guidelines on the…

Abuse of dominance, Cybersecurity, European Commission, European Union, Innovation, Tying and Bundling

(University of Bremen)/ /Leave a comment

After the rumor mill had been bubbling for weeks in advance, it became official at the end of July 2023: the European Commission announced on its website the initiation of official antitrust proceedings against the US software giant Microsoft due to possible anti-competitive behaviour in relation to Microsoft Teams. The legal background of the EU…

Digital markets, European Commission, Evidence, Innovation, Market definition, Platforms

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

On 8 November 2022, the European Commission launched a public consultation on its draft revised Market Definition Notice. The new Notice provides detailed explanatory guidance based on the recent case law of the European Commission and the European Court of Justice. It takes into account the latest market developments, in particular, competition on non-price elements…

Dutch clause, European Commission, European Court of Justice, Gun jumping, Innovation, International Law Talk, Merger control, Pharmaceuticals, Podcast

(University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

In the last edition of the International Law Talk Podcast, I had the pleasure to interview Jay Modrall on the Illumina/Grail saga. Jay talks us through the whole case with all its interesting aspects: external and internal dimensions, article 22 referrals, gun-jumping, phase II, court proceedings, substantive issues with competition innovation and much more. Listen…

Digitisation, Dutch clause, European Commission, European Union, Foreign direct investment, Innovation, Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction clauses, Killer acquisitions, Merger control, Podcast

(University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

The newest episode of the competition edition of the International Law Talk Podcast focuses on the revival of the Dutch clause and other current issues of merger control. For this highly topical issue, I interviewed merger control star Tilman Kuhn from White & Case. Earlier this year, the European Commission encouraged Member States to use…

Big data, Innovation, Merger control, South Korea

, , (Kim & Chang)/ /2 Comments

On February 26, 2019, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) announced in its official press release that, as of February 27, 2019, a new set of standards for reviewing mergers in R&D-intensive industries and those involving “big data” will be introduced in the Merger Review Guideline (“Amended Guideline”).  The Amended Guideline marks one of the…

European Commission, Innovation

, (Baker McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment

Today’s decision imposes a record fine of €4.34 billion on Google. In such an innovative and competitive industry, a decision and fine on this scale sends the wrong message. This post argues there is no obvious foreclosure, explains why Microsoft/WMP is an inadequate precedent (though Microsoft/Skype, in contrast, is directly on point), and asks whether…

Hong Kong, Innovation

, (Simmons & Simmons)/ /Leave a comment

With the exponential growth of technological advancement, our legal, social and economic systems need to respond promptly to creative incentives for disruptive innovators in the marketplace. In a speech delivered in February 2018, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roger Alford of the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division advocated that “those countries that have designed their…