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Competition Law "Leaves its Studs in" on UEFA and FIFA

Introduction - The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has issued two major decisions in separate cases concerning sporting organisations’ ability to regulate their: (i) competitions; and (ii) members’ activities...more

The European Commission's New Foreign Subsidies Regime - How to Best Prepare and What to Expect

Businesses intending to undertake substantial mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions or participate in major public procurement projects in the European Union (EU) will soon need to prepare for an additional layer of...more

Private Equity Deals in the Antitrust Spotlight

To date, private equity (PE) deals have seldom attracted serious scrutiny by the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and other antitrust regulators.  However, this looks set to change; in particular with...more

This Is Your (Antitrust) Captain Speaking: Fasten Your Seatbelts and Comply with Competition Law

An open letter was issued in January 2023 by the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in which the two watchdogs have reminded airport operators of their responsibilities...more

It's All About Context: CMA Imposes £1.5 Million on Lighting Brand for Creating an Unwelcoming Environment for Product Discounts

In March 2022, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fined the lighting products supplier, Dar Lighting Limited (Dar), £1.5 million for engaging in resale price maintenance (RPM), in breach of the UK prohibition...more

"Extra, Extra, Read All About It"—Final European and UK Brand Distribution Rules Published

On 10 May 2022, the European Commission (the Commission) finally published the official final version of the European Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and guidelines (Vertical Guidelines). The new rules will come...more

Recent Second Circuit 1-800 Contacts Decision Helps Brands See More Clearly How to Pay Less per Click

Introduction - Have you ever searched for a brand’s name online only to find that the first link leads to a competitor’s or reseller’s website? This can be a major problem for direct-to-consumer manufacturers and brands....more

Surge of Antitrust Enforcement Against Manufacturers of Branded Consumer Goods

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

Disapplying Competition Law - The New Fix?

Following the recent surge in consumer panic buying of fuel, the UK government announced on 27 September 2021 that it had suspended UK competition law to allow companies to share information so that fuel could continue to be...more

European Super League Skating by Competition Law

The announcement from twelve of Europe’s top football clubs of their plan to form a breakaway league (the so-called European 'Super League') sparked an impassioned response from many quarters. One of the threatened sanctions...more

Does the French Lego Case Threaten the Building Blocks of Your Pricing Policy for Online Sellers?

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 Enforcement of Abuse of Economic Dependence in the EU

INTRODUCTION - Behaviors such as excessive pricing and refusal to supply are often well understood to create potential issues if the company is dominant. However, under the national laws of some EU member states, such conduct...more

E-Concessions and Competition Law

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

Enforcement of Customer-Competitor Infringements and Price Monitoring Tools Intensifies

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

COVID-19: Beware Illegal Use of Price Monitoring Tools

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

Heightened Enforcement Against Brands’ Control of Resale Pricing by Competition Authorities Worldwide

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

The Pitfalls of Price Monitoring in the EU

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

Opportunity to Help Shape the Key Rules that Affect How You Sell Your Products in Europe

The European Commission ("Commission") has invited manufacturers and other interested market participants to provide their input on the laws that govern how products are sold in Europe, in particular the sorts of restrictions...more

Highest EU Court Confirms that Luxury Goods Manufacturers Can Stop Sales on Online Resale Platforms

In a judgment rendered on 6 December 2017, the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) stressed that selective distribution systems for luxury goods which are designed to preserve the luxury image of those goods are generally...more

The European Commission Announces Further Competition Enforcement Following its E-Commerce Inquiry: Considerations for Consumer...

On 10 May 2017, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published its final report (“Final Report”) concluding its wide-ranging, two-year long inquiry into e-commerce (“Inquiry”). The Final Report offers key insights into...more

Competition Commission stops short of requiring Mandatory Rotation of Auditors

As part of its ongoing investigation into the UK audit services market, the Competition Commission ("CC") has provisionally decided on a package of remedies that will require FTSE 350 companies to put auditing contracts out...more

Proposed Amendments to the EU Competition Assessment of Technology Transfers

The European Commission (the "Commission") is considering revisions to the rules governing the assessment of technology transfer agreements such as patent licences in advance of the expiry of the existing rules on 30 April...more

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