In 2023, cartel fines in key jurisdictions increased by 7.7%—totaling $1.4 billion—compared to 2022. While the totals remain significantly below the peaks seen in the mid-2010s, 2023 saw record fines imposed in several...more
In two recent judgments, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) mandated information access rights by independent vehicle repairers to vehicle data under Regulation (EU) 2018/858. The judgments are likely to facilitate access to...more
The UK communications regulator and concurrent competition authority, Ofcom, announced on April 5 its proposal to refer the UK cloud services market to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for further investigation....more
While the global pandemic that began in 2020 continued throughout 2021, cartel enforcement activity increased among a number of leading enforcement jurisdictions. Overall, global fines in 2021 were up by 229 percent compared...more
1/5/2022
/ Anti-Monopoly ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Fines ,
Mergers
The development of connected automobiles crystallizes the tensions between intellectual property law and competition law that have existed for years, particularly in the area of standard essential patents (SEPs). ...more
3/2/2021
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Automotive Industry ,
Competition ,
Connected Cars ,
EU ,
FRAND ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Patents ,
Standard Essential Patents
In response to delayed EU shipments of certain COVID-19 vaccines to the European Union, the European Commission (Commission) passed on 29 January 2021 Regulation 2021/111 (Export Authorization Regulation) which is in force...more
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on 6 November published draft updates to two of its merger guidance documents (CMA2 and CMA56) in preparation for the end of the Brexit Transition Period on 31 December 2020....more
The UK government and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have announced the withdrawal of draft guidance on the CMA’s powers and procedures with respect to enforcing an EU regulation for screening foreign direct...more
In the span of two weeks in August, two different owners of allegedly standard essential patent (SEP) portfolios—asserted against the implementation of cellular standards including 4G/LTE—won cases in Germany and in the...more
9/11/2020
/ Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
DaimlerAG ,
ETSI ,
EU ,
FRAND ,
Germany ,
Huawei ,
IP Portfolio ,
Nokia ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Telecommunications ,
Threshold Requirements ,
UK ,
UK Supreme Court ,
Wireless Industry
The European Commission’s ability to block mergers in oligopolistic markets is likely to be more restricted as it faces greater evidential hurdles in meeting the higher standard of proof imposed by the EU General Court, which...more
The Council of the EU announced on March 30 that the European Union has suspended the airport slot requirements until October 24. The slot requirements require airlines to use at least 80% of their slots in order to be...more
Global cartel fine totals rebounded somewhat in 2019, approaching historical norms following two years of sharply lower fine levels.
The $6.1 billion total is the highest global fine level since 2016. Most of the increased...more
3/2/2020
/ Africa ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Asia ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Fines ,
South America
Challenges and recent developments regarding NPLs and the role of EU state aid rules.
More than one trillion euros’ worth of nonperforming loans (NPLs) are concentrated in the periphery of the European Union, with banking...more
A primer on avoiding procedural breaches in EU Merger Control.
The European Commission (Commission) is cracking down on parties that break procedural rules in transactions subject to European Union (EU) merger control. A...more
Fines significantly down, several enforcement firsts and a strong pipeline of new, mainly domestic cartel cases around the world....more
7/26/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
Brazil ,
Cartels ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Fines ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Dawn Raids ,
EU ,
Extradition ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fines ,
FTAIA ,
India ,
Peru ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Real Estate Market ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Whistleblowers
Authorities launched new criminal probes, obtained guilty pleas from companies and executives and imposed hefty fines as aggressive enforcement continued.
Several significant developments occurred in cartel enforcement...more
1/18/2017
/ Africa ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Asia ,
Australia ,
Benchmarks ,
Brazil ,
Canada ,
Cartels ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Fines ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Middle East ,
No-Poaching ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prison ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing
Cartel enforcement activity promises to remain busy In the coming months and into 2017
Cartel enforcement remains a priority for competition authorities around the world. Global cartel fines totaled more than $6...more
9/13/2016
/ Algorithms ,
Asia ,
Canada ,
Cartels ,
Colombia ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Authority ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Extradition ,
Fines ,
Foreclosure ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Germany ,
India ,
Italy ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Real Estate Market ,
Russia ,
Sherman Act ,
Shipping ,
Spain ,
Subpoenas ,
Yates Memorandum ,
Young Lawyers
Although no changes will affect competition law and enforcement in the immediate future, the long-term implications of Brexit depend on the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union....more