Paul K Gorecki[1] The Economic and Social Research Institute & Trinity College Dublin 19 October 2016 Introduction The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), formed as a result of the merger between Ireland’s competition and consumer protection agencies, has issued its inaugural Annual Report.[2] It covers 31 October 2014, when the CCPC was established, to…
In two recent landmark judgements, Swiss Courts have provided important clarifications on the protection of business secrets and access to files in cartel cases. Harmful internal business communication subject to publication In 2011, the Swiss Competition Commission (“ComCo”) imposed a fine on Nikon for suspected violations of Swiss competition law[1]. Nikon appealed the decision[2] and…
Resale price maintenance (RPM) occurs when a manufacture or distributor and a wholesaler prevents a retail or distributor from selling below a specified price Since the US Federal Courts decided Leegin in 2007[1] there has been vigorous debate about whether and in what circumstances RPM should and might be permissible. A proposed new law in…
Following an extensive inquiry into Australia’s competition laws, the Australian government has released its proposed overhaul of the law. The amendments expand the law’s two most significant existing prohibitions, now designed to enable the Australian regulator to take action for information sharing between competitors and to take action against the anticompetitive effects of conduct undertaken…
On 20 September 2016, the European Commission (“Commission”) issued its first settlement decision under Article 102 TFEU following the introduction of Regulation 1/2003 and reduced the fine of Altstoff Recycling Austria (“ARA“) by 30% in exchange for its cooperation. ARA’s fine was thus reduced to €6 million. In addition to the press release, the Commission…
India’s competition authority (the CCI) imposed a record-breaking fine of US$750,000 (50 million rupees) on General Electric (GE) earlier this year for failing to notify its tie-up with Alstom S.A. within the deadline required by the country’s merger control rules. The CCI is increasingly active in enforcing its merger regime. Since GE’s case, the CCI…
By Falk Schöning, Partner, and Peter Citron, Counsel, Hogan Lovells Online sales are not only attracting the attention of consumers and tech businesses, but also increased review by antitrust regulators. On 15 September 2016, the European Commission published a detailed 290 page preliminary report on its e-commerce sector inquiry. While commenting on the release of the report, EU…
The OECD describes a JV as a situation where participating firms agree by contract or otherwise to combine, other than by merger, significant productive (tangible or intangible) assets, and to do this by going beyond ad hoc co-operation1. A JV can be formed by incorporation or by contract. Thus under competition law, JVs include a…
On 7 April 2016, the CNMC (Spain’s National Authority for Markets and Competition) Council imposed fines totalling €6.12 million on six Spanish nougat (“turrón”) producers for agreeing to share the market of the main distributors of white label nougat in Spain between 2011 and 2013[1]CNMC Council Decision of 7 April 2016, Nougat producers, S/DC/0503/14. See…
In a much-anticipated series of judgments, running to some 579 pages, the EU’s General Court on 8 September 2016 upheld a 2013 decision of the European Commission that imposed fines of almost €150 million on the innovative pharmaceutical manufacturer, Lundbeck, and a number of generic manufacturers with whom Lundbeck had entered into agreements to settle…
