Competition Law in Canada – Top 10 Issues for 2013 This is a post of an article written by my partners Anita Banicevic, Richard Elliott, Charles Tingley and me **************************************** 2012 was a busy year for competition law and policy in Canada. Below we consider how some of the important developments in 2012 will shape…
At the end of 2012 the Slovak Antimonopoly Office presented its future plans for public discussion. Various aspects such as the announced prioritisation of antitrust enforcement, the incentives for settlement of antitrust cases, the establishment of a division of Chief Economist, the introduction of the leniency program into law, are all fully in line with…
In sport it used to be said that it is not the winning that counts but the taking part. That approach to professional sport would now seem rather quaint, but the debate has been recycled somewhat in relation to antitrust compliance programmes. The question currently being debated is whether companies that in good faith invest…
Introduction The smart phone wars have led to heated discussions over standard setting in technology markets. It seems only a question of time before the standard setting debate spills over into other areas. My personal candidate is the standard setting that underpins product quality, origin and safety certification. Certification – where invisible features matter An…
Introduction The European Commission has published its long-awaited proposals to overhaul the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation,[1]Regulation 772/2004 April 27 2004 on the application of Article 81(3) (now Article 101(3)) of the Treaty to Categories of Technology Transfer Agreements, OJ L 123, Pages 11-17. which provides a competition law safe harbour for agreements that license…
BIS Reform: Opt–out Collective Actions Regime On the 21st of January the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (“BIS”) released the results of its consultation on competition law private litigation, confirming the introduction of a limited opt-out collective actions regime for consumer competition claims. The UK has traditionally opposed the introduction of an ‘opt out’…
It will not come as a surprise to many that in the first few years of having competition law powers, the Competition Commission of India (the “CCI”) has targeted one of India’s most important industries: Cricket. The dust has not yet settled on last week’s decision in relation to the activities of the Board of…
The Polish competition authority (Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów, “PCA”) has recently addressed the issue of resale price maintenance clauses (“RPM”) (see PCA decision of 31 December 2012 in case no. DOK 9/2012). The matter merits some attention, what with interesting argumentation raised in defence of the challenged clause related to a launch of…
The Canadian Track Record in Punishing Cartel Conduct Canada has a long history of pursuing and prosecuting cartels (more commonly referred to in Canadian competition law as “conspiracies”). The first criminal anti-cartel prohibition was enacted in Canada in 1889, one year prior to passage of the Sherman Act in the United States. Since that time,…
On 21st December 2012, the Supreme Court granted permission to Morgan Crucible to appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, delivered in July, concerning the time limits for bringing follow-on claims in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). Court of Appeal’s Judgment By its judgment the Court of Appeal shed light on the limitation…
