Investigations

On 27 November, Johan Ysewyn and Annemarie ter Heegde (DG COMP) presented the highlights of recent EU cartel enforcement in their annual presentation at the Advanced EU Competition Law Conference in Brussels. They covered the developments in the traditional three pillars of enforcement, policy and court review.
Continue Reading Advanced Competition Law Conference Brussels – Joint Presentation on Recent EU Cartel Enforcement

On 14 May, Johan Ysewyn and Dirk Van Erps (DG COMP) gave a presentation on recent EU cartel enforcement at the annual Advanced EU Competition Law Conference in London. Their presentation covered developments in enforcement, policy, and court review between May 2018 and May 2019.

There was not much cartel enforcement by the European Commission (“EC”) during the time period covered by the review. The EC issued only one settlement decision in Occupant Safety Systems II, which was triggered by an immunity application. The decision covered two separate cartels, which lasted from  2007 to 2011 and from 2008 to 2011, respectively. Both cartels involved the exchange of commercially sensitive information and price coordination for the supply of seatbelts, airbags, and steering wheels to Volkswagen and BMW, respectively.Continue Reading Advanced Competition Law Conference London – Joint Presentation on Recent EU Cartel Enforcement

The General Court dismissed the appeal by Groupe Canal + against the European Commission’s decision accepting Paramount’s commitments in the cross-border pay-TV investigation (T-873/16 Groupe Canal +). It held that territorial restrictions leading to a partitioning of the internal market could be considered as by-object infringements of competition law, thereby rejecting arguments of copyright law and cultural diversity as a justification under the facts in this particular case.
Continue Reading General Court dismisses appeal of the European Commission’s decision in cross-border pay-TV investigation (T-873/16 Groupe Canal +)

On 20 November, Johan Ysewyn and Maria Jaspers (DG COMP) presented the highlights of recent EU cartel enforcement in their annual presentation at the Advanced EU Competition Law Conference in Brussels.  Their presentation covered their now-traditional three pillars: enforcement, policy and court review.
Continue Reading Advanced Competition Law Conference Brussels – Joint Presentation on Recent EU Cartel Enforcement

In October, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) imposed a fine of 1.6 million GBP for a land agreement which it found to infringe competition law. This is the first time that the CMA has taken enforcement action and issued a fine in relation to a land agreement, despite such agreements having been covered by the Chapter 1 prohibition (the UK equivalent of Article 101 TFEU) since 2011. The imposition of the fine, together with increased activity by the CMA in this sector, suggests that undertakings with land agreements should carefully check their compliance with competition law. Whatever “grace to adapt” has been afforded to businesses by the CMA since the change in the law has clearly come to an end.
Continue Reading Land agreements rise up the CMA’s agenda

On 5 September 2018, the District Court for the Southern District of California ruled that private equity firm Lion Capital must face trial in class action litigation alongside its portfolio company Bumble Bee Seafoods, in a case alleging price-fixing in the market for canned tuna.  In the wake of the European Court’s judgment in the Power Cables cartel saga over the summer, the trend that a financial investor (be it a bank or a private equity company) may be held liable for the behaviour of its portfolio company now seems to be of transatlantic proportions.
Continue Reading Buying a Pig in a Poke: Financial Investor Antitrust Liability on the Rise

More than 20 years after the adoption of the first European Commission Leniency Notice, the detection and sanctioning of cartels remains a key feature of the enforcement agenda of the European Commission and – the currently still 28 – European Union national competition authorities. Leniency programmes are a crucial tool in uncovering cartels, with a …
Continue Reading Concurrences Article – Leniency and Competition Law: An Overview of EU and National Case Law

Introduction

Gun-jumping has been in the spotlight this year both at the European level and in the UK. At the EU level, first there was DG Competition’s record fining of Altice of € 124.5m (here) and then the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) ruled on the scope of the EU law standstill obligation in its EY/KPMG Denmark preliminary ruling (here). Now the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has fined Electro Rent Corporation (“Electro Rent”) £100,000 for breaching the UK standstill obligation. Although there are particular features of this example which mean that the scenario is far from the norm, it does provide a reminder that standstill obligations can arise even under the UK’s voluntary regime and sends a warning of the additional complexity that may arise post-Brexit.Continue Reading Jumping the gun: the CMA’s approach to breaches of the standstill obligation

The European Commission published its highly anticipated Communication Setting out the EU approach to Standard Essential Patents at the end of 2017, as part of a package to protect Europe’s know-how and innovation leadership (see Commission Press Release Intellectual property: Protecting Europe’s know-how and innovation leadership).

The first section proposes concrete measures to improve the transparency of standard essential patents (SEPs) exposure.  Whether or not the proposed measures are useful, it is not clear what impact they will have on the market as there is no legislative force behind them.

The second section, eagerly awaited by competition SEP specialists, deals with the interaction of SEP holders and licensees, and in particular the persistently hot topic of FRAND licensing and SEP enforcement. This section may be disappointing for those who were hoping for guidance on some of the more difficult aspects of SEP licensing terms.  While widely debated and lobbied between patent holders and users in the run up to its release, the Communication is silent on two key issues – “use-based licensing” and “licensing to all”.Continue Reading The EU Commission Communication on SEPs: a workable resolution to patent wars in the EU, or more competition litigation battles ahead?

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (the “CMA”) published its proposed “Annual Plan 2018 to 2019” for public consultation last month. Respondents have until January 14 2018, to respond as to whether they agree with the overall direction of the proposed Annual Plan, whether they believe there is anything more that the CMA should be doing or whether there is anything that the CMA should de-prioritise in 2018/19.

We note below some interesting take-away points from the proposed Annual Plan.Continue Reading The UK’s CMA Consults on its Proposed Annual Plan 2018/19