Following the Canadian Competition Bureau’s 2023 Retail Grocery Market Study in which it recommended that provincial and territorial governments take measures to limit property controls in the grocery industry, including...more
The European Commission (EC) has launched a formal investigation under its abuse of dominance rules into US life sciences company Zoetis in the area of novel veterinary medicines. The EC alleges that the discontinuation of a...more
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into whether Zoetis, a US animal health company, has acted in breach of the abuse of dominance rules by terminating development of a pipeline drug: when does...more
In a significant step, Federal Decree-Law No. 36/2023 has assumed control, replacing the previous competition regulation law (Federal Law No. 4/2012) in the UAE. This new legislation represents a remarkable development,...more
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) recently issued its first-ever precertification ruling addressing a “carriage dispute” in the cases Hunter v. Amazon.com and Hammond v. Amazon.com. A carriage dispute arises where...more
On January 25, 2024 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a Technology Summit focused on generative artificial intelligence (AI) and other innovative technologies to address how control over key inputs—like data, chips,...more
Canada’s Competition Act was amended effective December 15, 2023 to both (i) establish a new, more expansive framework for challenging anti-competitive conduct by dominant firms and (ii) specifically provide that it is an...more
With royal assent to Bill C-56, The Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, occurring on December 15, 2023, important changes to Canada’s competition law framework came into force. The amendments that came into effect...more
With the passing of Bill C-56, the most recent in an ongoing series of amendments to the Competition Act have now been enacted (with more expected to follow). The Commissioner of Competition has been pushing for amendments to...more
The government announced significant additional amendments to Canada’s Competition Act in late November 2023, building on those already under consideration by Parliament in Bill C-56 and others enacted in 2022. More...more
On November 28, 2023 the Canadian government unveiled another round of amendments to the Competition Act that had been previewed in its Fall Economic Statement the previous week. These changes, together with several...more
Canada’s Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, delivered the federal government’s Fall Economic Statement (FES) on November 21, 2023, in which she announced the government’s intention to introduce “generational changes to...more
The Competition Bureau’s new guidance on and the amendments to the abuse of dominance provisions in the Competition Act significantly expand the scope of these provisions. These developments, coupled with private access to...more
A Q&A guide to competition law in Canada. The Q&A provides a high-level overview of the antitrust and competition law rules for restraints of trade and dominance, merger control and the legal approach to joint ventures. ...more
The Minister of Finance recently introduced Bill C-56 to implement certain proposals announced by the Prime Minister designed to lower prices and “make life more affordable” for Canadians. The bill provides details of the...more
The U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (and together, the “Agencies”) have released long-anticipated draft merger guidelines (the “2023 Draft Guidelines”) that...more
At this mid-point of 2023, and now several months on from the ABA’s Spring Antitrust conference, there have been several notable developments concerning cartel enforcement, as new leadership settles in at the U.S. Department...more
In Short - The Situation: On 27 March 2023, the European Commission ("Commission") published a Communication amending its 2008 Guidance on enforcement priorities concerning exclusionary abuses ("amended 2008 Guidance...more
On 16 March 2023, the ECJ published its judgment in Towercast (C-449/21), confirming that Article 102 TFEU (which prohibits abuses of a dominant market position) may apply to transactions which fall below national and EU...more
On March 16, in a preliminary ruling requested by the Paris Court of Appeal regarding Towercast’s appeal of the French Competition Authority’s decision in the TDF case, the Court of Justice of the European Union decided ...more
In Short - The Development: The Court of Justice of the European Union ("ECJ") held that national competition authorities ("NCA") may investigate and block an M&A transaction that violates Article 102 of the Treaty on the...more
The long-awaited European Court of Justice's judgment in Towercast confirmed that national competition authorities (and national courts) can apply abuse of dominance rules to mergers that did not trigger EU and national...more
As we enter 2023, the European Commission is redoubling its efforts to scrutinise transactions on a variety of bases. The focus has been on the digital sector for some time, but the impact of the Commission’s expanding...more
Canada’s federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry formally announced on November 17, 2022 that the federal government is launching a comprehensive review of the Competition Act (Act) and Canadian competition...more
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued a judgment on June 22, 2022 (C-267/20), regarding an action for damages, based on Directive 2014/104/EU (Directive), seeking compensation for the damage caused by the truck cartel....more