The new Business and Property Courts of England and Wales (“B&PCs”) became operational on 2 October 2017. As well as London, new BPCs have also been established in seven regional centres. As part of the reforms, the Mercantile Court has been renamed as the ‘Circuit Commercial Court’ and Mercantile Judges are now known as ‘Circuit…
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…
Introduction I recommend reading the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (CAT) decision in Flynn/Pfizer vs UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as both lawyers and economists can find a fair number of details to note for later cases related to excessive pricing. In this short article I do not wish to argue whether the CMA’s methodology…
On 4 January 2018, the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court (Court) rendered a landmark judgment in the Huawei v. Samsung standard essential patent (SEP) case that is expected to reshape dynamics between SEP licensors and licensees. On 21 March 2018, the Court released the non-confidential version of its judgment to the public. The Court ruled in…
Summary On 7 June 2018, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) held that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) misapplied the relevant legal test when finding that Pfizer and Flynn Pharma (Flynn) unfairly priced their epilepsy drug. The CAT quashed the record £84.2 million and £5.2 million fines that the CMA imposed on Pfizer…
In July 2005, Germany adopted a new law providing that the limitation period for damage claims is suspended during the investigation of a competition authority (“Suspension Provision”). Ever since, it was unclear whether the Suspension Provision applies only to infringements committed after the new provision came into force, or whether it has retroactive effect. In…
On 16 May 2018, the General Court annulled the Commission’s decision rejecting Lufthansa’s request for a waiver of commitments it had given when it acquired Swiss in 2005. The Court faulted the Commission for not carrying out a careful examination of Lufthansa’s arguments that significant market changes justified a waiver of the commitments. The Commission…
Consistent with recent trends in the United States, the European Union (EU) and many national governments in Europe are expressing renewed interest in greater scrutiny of acquisitions by foreign investors. Government ministers in Germany recently opposed a takeover in the robotics industry by a Chinese bidder, while government ministers in the Netherlands recently opposed a…
Speed read On 31 May 2018, the EU’s Court of Justice (ECJ) gave judgment in the EY / KPMG case on whether the EU suspension obligation was violated when KPMG’s Danish unit terminated a material contract prior to receiving competition clearance for its merger with Ernst & Young (EY). The ECJ concluded that the measure…
On 26 April 2018, the High People’s Court of Guangdong Province – home to many Chinese high-tech companies – issued the Working Guidelines on the Trial of Standard Essential Patent Disputes (Trial Implementation) (“Guidelines”). The Guidelines propose a holistic set of rules that consolidate some international practices on litigation issues related to the licensing of…
