On September 26, 2018, the EU General Court (the Court) upheld the European Commission’s refusal to reinvestigate GlaxoSmithKline SA’s (GSK) Spanish “dual-pricing” distribution arrangements, 20 years after the alleged conduct...more
10/5/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Competition Authorities ,
Dual-Pricing ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
General Court of the European Union (GCEU) ,
GlaxoSmithKline ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Spain ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
On August 20, 2018, the U.K. government published further details of its negotiation position with the European Union on state aid post-Brexit. Three days later, it published guidance on state aid in case the U.K. leaves the...more
On July 18, 2018, the European Commission (Commission) imposed a fine on Google LLC for the alleged abuse of a dominant market position pertaining to Android mobile devices. Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc....more
7/30/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Advertising ,
Android ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Cease and Desist ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Fines ,
Google ,
Illegal Tying Arranegements ,
Incentives ,
Mobile Devices ,
Product Exclusivity
The European Commission (EC or the Commission) announced on July 24, 2018, that it has imposed a total fine of €111 million on four consumer electronics manufacturers — Asus, Denon & Marantz, Philips and Pioneer — for...more
7/26/2018
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Electronics ,
Enforcement Actions ,
European Commission ,
Fines ,
Internet Retailers ,
Manufacturers ,
Price-Fixing ,
Raids ,
Resale Pricing
Global deal planning often overlooks merger control regimes in Southeast Asia. However, in recent months these regulators have become increasingly active and are enforcing failures to file relevant transactions for review....more
7/16/2018
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Asia ,
Competition Authorities ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Divestiture ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Indonesia ,
Malaysia ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
Philippines ,
Popular ,
Singapore ,
Uber ,
Vietnam
Skadden’s Antitrust and Competition Group and the economics firm Charles River Associates recently hosted the eighth annual “Antitrust in the Technology Sector: Policy Perspectives and Insights From the Enforcers” seminar in...more
3/8/2018
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Big Data ,
Cartels ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fines ,
FRAND ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Innovation ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Technology Sector
On November 23, 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (Court of Justice) dealt a blow to the European Commission’s (Commission) power to close antitrust investigations with commitment decisions, with its ruling in...more
11/29/2017
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Commitment Decisions ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Oil & Gas ,
Supply Contracts ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
Void and Unenforceable
Three years ago, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) introduced a simplified merger review procedure to reduce the review time for transactions that do not pose significant competitive or industrial policy concerns in...more
On 26 October 2017, the European Commission (the Commission) opened an in-depth investigation into UK statutory rules that exempt certain financing income earned by foreign subsidiaries of UK corporate taxpayers from UK tax....more
10/31/2017
/ Anti-Avoidance ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Business Income ,
Controlled Foreign Corporations ,
Corporate Taxes ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financing ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Multinationals ,
State Aid ,
Statutory Requirements ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
In recent years, the European Commission (EC) has been actively enforcing European Union state aid violations, an area of law that is unique to Europe but has wide-ranging implications for multinationals with investments in...more
9/20/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Investment ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Multinationals ,
State Aid ,
Tax Structuring
On September 6, 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) quashed the 2014 judgment of the General Court (GC) that upheld a fine of €1.06 billion ($1.5 billion) on Intel Corporation Inc. (Intel) for abusing a...more
9/8/2017
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Appeals ,
Competition ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
European Commission ,
Exclusive Dealing Agreements ,
Intel ,
Jurisdiction ,
Manufacturers ,
OEM ,
Pricing ,
Rebates ,
Set-Asides ,
Standard of Review ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
On 23 July 2017, the UK House of Lords’ EU Internal Market Sub-Committee launched an inquiry into the future of the enforcement of the UK’s competition rules once the UK leaves the European Union. Interested parties are...more
On 10 May 2017, two years after launching its e-commerce sector inquiry on 6 May 2015, the European Commission published its final report (Final Report) on the inquiry. The inquiry was opened in the framework of the...more
6/5/2017
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Digital Single Market ,
E-Commerce ,
Electronics ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Final Rules ,
Geo-Blocking ,
Holidays ,
Hotels ,
Member State ,
UK ,
Video Games
On May 10, 2016, the French Competition Authority and German Federal Cartel Office published “Competition Law and Data,” a joint report on big data and its implications for competition law. The paper identifies issues that...more
5/19/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Big Data ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Exclusivity Clauses ,
Federal Cartel Office (the FCO) ,
French Competition Authority ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Tying ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On January 20, 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment reaffirming the independence of the cartel immunity and leniency regimes of the EU and member states. The ruling reasserts the obligation of...more
US: Continuation of Aggressive Review and Enforcement -
In 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) further embraced their aggressive approach to merger...more
1/28/2015
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
AT&T ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DirectTV ,
Divestiture ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
SierraPine ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Threshold Requirements
On July 9, 2014, the European Commission published its proposal (White Paper) outlining the approach it intends to adopt with respect to the application of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) to the acquisition of minority...more
On April 17, 2014, the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved the European Commission’s proposal for a directive on private antitrust damages actions (the Directive). The Directive is intended to facilitate antitrust...more
The European Commission (Commission) has adopted important revisions to its merger control procedures under what it characterizes as a Merger Simplification Package that will enter into force on January 1, 2014. The new rules...more
On June 20, 2013, the European Commission (Commission) launched a public consultation on a number of significant proposed changes to the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR). The proposed amendments relate to (i) the possible review...more