Brexit will impact competition (or antitrust) law in the UK. There will likely be material changes in procedural law in particular. Changes to substantive law will probably be less significant, at least for most companies,...more
On 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum in which the British people voted for the UK to leave the European Union. But what does this mean in practical terms?
Who will BREXIT affect?
Any business or financial...more
On 23 June 2016, the UK will hold a referendum in which the British people will vote on whether the UK should remain part of the European Union or leave. This important decision will be determined by a simple majority of...more
Resale Price Maintenance is Just as Bad Online -
Two recent UK cases have demonstrated once again that any form of resale price maintenance (RPM) in relation to online sales will be treated just as harshly as RPM...more
Only a few weeks ago, EU Competition Commissioner Vestager said in a speech, “We continue to look carefully at this issue, but we haven’t found a competition [antitrust] problem yet”. She was referring to antitrust issues...more
3/9/2016
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Big Data ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Facebook ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Young Lawyers
On 16 February 2016, the European Commission (EC) took the next step in its antitrust investigation into the use of price increase letters by 15 container liner shipping companies (carriers). The concern identified by the...more
3/2/2016
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Google ,
Patent Litigation ,
Pay-For-Delay ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Settlement Agreements ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
First Fast-Track Competition Claim at UK Competition Appeal Tribunal
- On 17 December 2015, the first fast-track competition claim was filed before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) under new rules brought into...more
Last week I posted on the European Commission’s (EC) latest report into patent settlement agreements between originator and generic companies in the European Union (EU). The EC says each time it produces these reports that...more
1/22/2016
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Pay-For-Delay ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Popular ,
Reverse Payment Settlement Agreements ,
Settlement
Ever since the publication in July 2009 of the report on its antitrust inquiry into the pharmaceutical sector, the European Commission (EC) has been monitoring patent settlement agreements between originator and generic...more
On 16 December 2015, the UK Supreme Court handed down a judgment on the definition of a merger for the purposes of UK merger control law. This issue is crucial for determining when the regulator may intervene under UK law and...more
A company that helps with or facilitates a cartel is at just as much risk of sanctions and penalties as are the actual cartelists. This was confirmed by the EU’s highest court (the European Court of Justice (ECJ)) on 22...more
11/13/2015
/ Cartels ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Fiat ,
Rebates ,
Starbucks ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On Oct. 5, 2015, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a set of final reports on its 15 point action plan to address Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). In an accompanying explanatory...more
10/14/2015
/ Arms Length Transactions ,
BEPS ,
Cross-Border ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EBITDA ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Institutions ,
G20 ,
International Tax Issues ,
OECD ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Reform ,
Transfer Pricing ,
U.S. Treasury
On 14 September 2015, an individual (Nigel Snee) was sentenced by a UK court to six months of imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, for committing the criminal “cartel offence”. He was also ordered to do 120 hours of...more
10/2/2015
/ Antitrust Conspiracies ,
Bid Rigging ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Cartels ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Dawn Raids ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Price-Fixing ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)
A self-described “small business” recently succeeded in obtaining an interim injunction (restraining an alleged abuse of dominance) in a UK court against the giant telecom provider Telefónica (trading in the UK under the name...more
9/1/2015
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Capital Markets Act (CMA) ,
Compensation Schemes ,
Competition Authorities ,
CRA ,
EU ,
Excessive Pricing ,
Injunctions ,
Small Business ,
UK ,
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)
The EU food supply chain continues to be the subject of significant political and regulatory focus. Players in the sector at any level should carefully monitor the evolving situation, since there are plenty of opportunities...more
Continuing an EU-wide trend, yet another trade association has been fined in the UK for cartel activities. This time it was a medical professionals’ association. The message is clear; trade associations of all types need to...more
On 24 June 2015, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was defeated in its first attempt at convincing a jury to convict individuals for the UK criminal “cartel offence”. The jury was not persuaded that the two...more
On 10 June 2015, the European Union (EU) Council (comprised of the member states) approved a final compromise text on new EU rules for novel foods. Novel foods are foods not consumed in the EU to a significant degree before...more
On 15 April 2015, the European Commission (EC) sent a Statement of Objections (preliminary statement of case) to Google alleging the company has abused its dominant position in the markets for general internet search services...more
A recent European Commission (EC) fining decision against UK-based broker ICAP confirms that companies which merely facilitate a cartel will be tarred with the same brush as those which actually engage in the cartel. The...more
For 2015, the food and beverage industry will experience governmental attention on a number of fronts. Given the Department of Justice’s recent success in prosecuting food manufacturing executives on criminal charges, the...more
3/2/2015
/ Barack Obama ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Immigration Reform ,
Popular ,
Restaurant Industry
On 26 November 2014, the EU General Court (GC) (the EU’s second-highest court) upheld a EUR2.5 million fine imposed by the European Commission (EC) for obstructing an EC dawn raid. The case shows the crucial importance of...more