Following a considerable delay and a threat by the European Commission to initiate infringement proceedings, Bulgaria finally implemented in its national law the provisions of the European Directive 2014/104/EU on Antitrust Damages Actions dated 26 November 2014 (the “Private Damages Directive”). On 3 January 2018 in the Bulgarian State Gazette was promulgated the Act for…
The views expressed are exclusively the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of CADE. I. Introduction The Brazilian Competition Authority (known as “CADE” – Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica) is currently analyzing a landmark case regarding the interface between competition law and intellectual property (IP). The case is known as “Anfape” (acronym for…
More than a year has passed since the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) completed its first investigations into the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market. However, it has recently struck another blow yet again and, one should say, with renewed vigour. The first companies that fell under antitrust sanctions were Alcon and distributors (Alcon case). The AMCU passed…
The Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) has published a background paper “Innovation – Challenges for the Antitrust Law Practice” in October 2017. It covers possible innovation aspects across different antitrust law areas, with a focus on merger control. The paper is a valuable contribution to the debate on innovation. It is an agency paper, so it…
On 4 November 2017, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed the amendments to China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL). The amendments will take effect from 1 January 2018. This is the first time that the AUCL has been revised since its entry into force in 1993. As part of the amendments, the AUCL’s…
On November 22, 2017, the Chamber of Deputies approved the bill introducing a new Competition Law in Argentina (the “New Competition Law”). The bill will now go to the Senate for its approval, which may come as early as mid-December. The main changes that the New Competition Law contains are: Per se hard-core cartels –…
In late October 2017 the AMCU approved the Typical Requirements for Vertical Concerted Actions of Business Entities (hereinafter – the Typical Requirements). The development of the document was due to the commitments undertaken by Ukraine in accordance with the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. Prior to the adoption of the Typical Requirements the issues of the AMCU’s…
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (“the FCA”) has published the terms of reference for a market study into the wholesale insurance broker market. Its aim is to understand whether competition works well in that market. If the FCA identifies concerns, it could refer the sector to the Competition & Markets Authority (“CMA”) for an in-depth…
‘Product hopping’, or ‘evergreening’, are expressions used (by antitrust authorities and industry respectively) to describe strategies employed by pharmaceutical companies to protect sales of a successful drug on the verge of losing patent protection. For example, a pharmaceutical company might introduce a new formulation of the drug before it faces significant competition from a generic…
As 2018 and Father Christmas approach, it is important to remember that there will be those in Copenhagen next month more interested in dominant market presence than Christmas market presents. To the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), which will meet in Denmark’s capital on 7 December for their 33rd Ordinary Plenary Meeting,…
