The European Court of Justice (the ECJ), the EU’s highest court, has fully rejected the European Commission’s (the Commission) policy of interpreting Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR)[1] in a way that would allow...more
The UK Competition & Markets Authority (“CMA”) has published the first in a series of anticipated merger control decisions in the artificial intelligence (“AI”) space, providing insight on its approach to the application of...more
The UK government has issued an updated Open General Export Licence for the Export of Dual-Use items to EU Member States (which also previously covered exports to Iceland and the Channel Islands) (the “OGEL”) to allow export...more
The UK has expanded its export controls regime to include a number of key emerging technologies, including in relation to semiconductors and quantum technology. These changes take effect on 1 April 2024, following which an...more
M&A activity in 2023 was subdued, as dealmakers grappled with geopolitical tensions, inflation, rising interest rates, and increasing regulatory scrutiny, against a backdrop of general economic uncertainty. Challenges in the...more
1/4/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CFIUS ,
Data Security ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Shareholder Activism ,
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
On 13 November 2023, the UK government launched a Call for Evidence in relation to the operation of the UK National Security and Investment Act 2021 (the ‘NSIA’), inviting interested stakeholders to provide feedback on the...more
On July 11, 2023, the UK’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (“FIRS”) became law. As part of the National Security Act 2023, FIRS requires registration of arrangements intended to influence UK politics at the direction of...more
To help organizations stay on top of the main developments in European digital compliance, Morrison Foerster’s European Digital Regulatory Compliance team reports on some of the main topical digital regulatory and compliance...more
7/6/2023
/ Advertising Standards Authority ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
DATA Act ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Services ,
EU ,
European Parliament ,
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ,
FRAND ,
Greenwashing ,
Ministry of Justice ,
Online Platforms ,
Piracy ,
Popular ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Subscription Services ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Unfair Trade Practices Act
As the UK’s investment screening regime starts to bed down following over a year of being in effect, we have been tracking the developments in the last quarter relevant to the operation of the regime. It has been a tumultuous...more
5/1/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
BEIS ,
CFIUS ,
Collaboration ,
Cybersecurity ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investors ,
Minerals ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Telecommunications ,
UK
On 8 February 2023, the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced his government’s decision to restructure the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), splitting it into a number of separate departments....more
On 18 November 2022, the UK government announced a decision to require the divestment of an 86% stake in one of the UK’s largest semiconductor plants, Newport Wafer Fab (NWF), held by Dutch-incorporated, but ultimately...more
The UK government has proposed new registration requirements for foreign influence activities in the UK as part of its attempts to strengthen the resilience of the UK’s political system and democratic institutions against...more
To help organisations stay on top of the main developments in European digital compliance, Morrison Foerster’s European Digital Regulatory Compliance team reports on some of the main topical digital regulatory and compliance...more
10/12/2022
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Service Providers ,
Digital Services ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Germany ,
Net Neutrality ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
OFCOM ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Telecommunications ,
UK
It has now been just over six months since the UK’s national security regime came into effect under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA), enabling the UK Government to review and intervene in a variety of...more
Last week saw the first publicly disclosed uses by the UK Government of its new and expansive powers to investigate deals on national security grounds under the National Security and Investment Act (“NSIA”), which came into...more
5/31/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investigations ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Secretary of State ,
Strategic Planning ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The European Commission published the new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and related guidelines on May 10, 2022. The purpose of the block exemption is to generally exempt agreements between market players at different...more
5/13/2022
/ Distributors ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Goods or Services ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Online Marketplace ,
Resale Pricing ,
Retailers ,
Supply Chain ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER)
On March 29, 2022, global container handling equipment providers [Cargotec and Konecranes] abandoned their proposed $5 billion merger after the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the U.S. Department of...more
4/19/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The National Security Investment Act 2021 (the “Act”) came into effect on 4 January 2022 and introduced a new UK investment screening regime focused on national security risks (the “NSI Regime”). It is similar to the...more