In late June 2023, Europe’s highest court confirmed in a hotly anticipated judgment involving leading Portuguese beer and beverage producer Super Bock Bebidas that resale price maintenance (RPM)—namely the vertical fixing of...more
While government enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act (the Act) was all but forgotten for nearly two decades, the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC) announced a second investigation over potential price discrimination in...more
European antitrust regulators have shown a continued focus on scrutinizing manufacturers’ engagement with their distributors. The anticompetitive practices that have attracted the highest financial penalties primarily relate...more
On 27 January 2021, the French competition authority (Autorité de la concurrence or ADC) adopted a decision accepting commitments from the building block producer Lego France (Lego) to amend its discount policy. The ADC...more
The events of 2020 have caused many brands to re-evaluate whether they are fully utilizing the internet as a tool to reach out to consumers with many enhancing and upgrading their own brand websites. Some brands are now also...more
Two recent developments in the European competition enforcement sphere provide a warning for brands when engaging with their retailers with whom they compete and when using price monitoring tools to monitor the third party...more
It is increasingly common for brands to track the prices of their products online using electronic price monitoring tools. While the practice itself is unlikely to attract antitrust risk, as we have previously reported, in...more
Recent years have seen a surge in enforcement activity with national and supra-national antitrust regulators investigating and fining suppliers and manufacturers for the practice of imposing fixed or minimum resale prices and...more
Only days after the announcement by the Swedish competition authority that it was launching a sector inquiry into Digital Platforms, the European Commission has published an online questionnaire seeking feedback on the...more
The Swedish Competition Authority has launched a sector inquiry into Digital Platforms.
Interested parties have until the 30th of November to submit their views. ...more
In an ever-growing online retail environment, brand owners are increasingly becoming concerned with tracking their brand’s online presence and ensuring consumers' experience of their brand continues to be positive....more
Over 99 years ago, on June 2, 1919, the United States Supreme Court held in U.S. v. Colgate & Co. that the Sherman Act does not prevent a manufacturer from: 1) unilaterally announcing prices at which goods may be advertised...more
On 24 July 2018, in four separate decisions, the European Commission (“Commission”) levied fines totalling EUR 111 million on four well-known manufacturers of consumer electronic products for imposing fixed or minimum resale...more
8/8/2018
/ Anti-Monopoly ,
Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
CCA ,
China ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Resale Pricing ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Last month, the Singapore Parliament passed a bill expanding the Competition Commission of Singapore’s regulatory powers. In addition to administering and enforcing Singapore’s Competition Act, the regulatory body will now...more
The Australian and New Zealand markets present a dilemma for manufacturers. Both are highly developed economies with wealthy, well-educated consumers who are amongst the world's most enthusiastic adopters of new technologies....more