Pricing

Ancillary, Digital competition, Digital economy, European Court of Justice, Market definition, Platforms, Pricing

(Leiden University)/ /Leave a comment

The recent judgment of the CJEU in Booking.com represents yet another development in the long series of cases concerning price parity clauses in the platform economy. In Booking.com’s case, the judgment represents the end of the line for its parity clauses. In its greater context of applying EU competition law in the digital economy, the…

Abuse of dominance, Algorithms, Pricing, Pricing algorithms, United Kingdom

(One Essex Court)/ /1 Comment

The UK Competition and Market Authority has launched an investigation into Ticketmaster over its dynamic pricing of concert tickets. This follows widespread complaints about Ticketmaster increasing ticket prices in response to large demand for band Oasis’s reunion tour. Dynamic pricing is not a new practice. Airlines and ride-hailing companies like Uber are particularly well-known for…

Advocate General, Ancillary, European Court of Justice, Exemptions, Market definition, Pricing

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /1 Comment

On June 6, 2024, AG Collins rendered his opinion in the referral request by the Amsterdam District Court (“ADC”) regarding price parity clauses and product market definition in the context of litigation involving Booking.com (“Booking”), the online platform acting as an intermediary between end customers and hotels, also called online travel agent (OTA).   Summary…

Abuse of dominance, Canada, Collusion, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Joint ventures, Merger control, Pricing

, , , (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /Leave a comment

On November 17, 2022, Canada’s federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry formally announced that the federal government is launching a comprehensive review of the Competition Act (Act) and Canadian competition policy. This announcement follows through on the Minister’s previous indications that significant reforms were in the works, and comes after the government enacted more…

Information exchange, Pricing, Standard of Proof, Türkiye

, , , (ACTECON)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction The automotive sector has been on the radar of the Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) for a long time. In this sense, the TCA conducted an investigation (“Investigation”) regarding the allegations that some undertakings operating in the first-hand and second-hand automotive markets violated Law. No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Competition Law”) via stockpiling…

Pricing, Switzerland, Vertical agreements, Vertical restraints

, (Lenz & Staehelin)/ /1 Comment

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Court”) found in its decision of February 4, 2021, 2C_149/2018 (the “Decision”) that Pfizer Ltd. (“Pfizer”) had entered into an unlawful vertical price agreement (concerted practice) with pharmacies and physicians limiting competition by issuing vertical price recommendations for Viagra. The decision raises questions as to whether and under what…

Algorithms, Pricing, United Kingdom

, (Baker McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment

The CMA’s recent “economic working paper” on the use of algorithms to facilitate collusion and personalised pricing follows on the heels of other work in this area (including by CMA) but is a bit different because it focuses on economic evidence and analysis. While there is nothing in it about the ‘lawfulness’ of a given…

Dual pricing, European Commission, Pricing

(Sidley Austin LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The General Court (GC) ruling of September 26 in Case T-574/14 constitutes an important (and possibly final) episode in the European Union’s (EU) review of the Spanish “dual pricing” and parallel trade saga. The GC found that the European Commission was not obliged to adopt a new decision as to whether an agreement GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) had put…

Enforcement, Europe, Pricing

, (Jones Day)/ /Leave a comment

In the European Union, Big Pharma has been operating with a target on its back for the best part of the last decade. Eight years after the conclusion of the 2008 pharmaceutical sector inquiry, it is clear that the Commission has largely been true to its stated enforcement priorities. However, the recent announcement of an…

India, Pricing

(Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, India)/ /Leave a comment

One of the most important issues which are being investigated by the CCI is the treatment of vertical agreements. In one of my earlier posts (http://kluwercompetitionlawblog.com/2015/06/28/competition-commission-of-india-initiates-investigation-in-relation-to-resale-price-maintenance-impact-on-business-operations/), it was shown how the CCI is referring certain cases for further investigation, the outcome of which will certain change the landscape in which business is run in India….