Nach einem langen Gesetzgebungsverfahren ist am 2. Juli das Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz (HinSchG) in Deutschland in Kraft getreten. Damit setzt die Bundesrepublik (wenn auch verspätet) die EU-Whistleblower-Richtlinie um; Hogan...more
After a long legislative process, the German Whistleblower Protection Act (“the Act” or HinSchG) came into force on July 2. As Hogan Lovells reported several months ago (see article in German here), Germany has, albeit...more
The German government on 5 April 2023 adopted a draft bill on the 11th Amendment to the German Competition Act, which introduces, under certain circumstances, new far-reaching interventional powers for the German Federal...more
Nach monatelangen Querelen hat die Bundesregierung kurz vor Ostern den Regierungsentwurf für die 11. GWB-Novelle veröffentlicht. Der Entstehungsprozess war konfliktreich und durch abweichende Positionen innerhalb der...more
Bereits letzte Woche hatten wir zur Fallpraxis des Bundeskartellamts („BKartA“) im Bereich des „grünen Kartellrechts“ berichtet. Diese Woche hat die Behörde gleich nachgelegt. Dabei gab es nun aber (erstmals) Gegenwind für...more
Am 11. Oktober 2021 hat das Bundeskartellamt („BKartA“) zentrale Dokumente für seine Kartellverfolgung aktualisiert und eine Neufassung sowohl seiner Bonusregelung vom 07.03.2006 als auch seiner Bußgeldleitlinien vom...more
Both the French and German authorities are particularly active in merger control at the member state level within the EU. Companies should keep these jurisdictions on their radar in planning their next transaction, using...more
The Development: The Bundestag, the German legislature, amended Germany's antitrust laws to include special competition rules for digital platform "companies with overwhelming importance for competition across multiple...more
The 10th amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC) entered into force on January 19 (ARC Digitization Act); the act seeks to modernize German antitrust rules and address challenges associated with...more
This newsletter is our take on the antitrust developments we think are most interesting to your business. Börries Ahrens, partner based in Hamburg, is our editor this month....more
The Situation: An investigation launched in 2016 by the German competition authority was meant to determine if Facebook was abusing its market position with its imposition of "misleading" data protection policies. The...more
The e-commerce sector inquiry and inconsistent national case law and enforcement practice have illustrated the need for clarifications and/or reform regarding e-commerce restrictions. Even after the ECJ's Coty judgment, a...more
The German antitrust authority (FCO) has ordered Facebook to stop collecting data outside Facebook’s platform without the user’s “voluntary consent.” The decision breaks new ground because it links data protection and...more
On 13 July 2017 the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) announced the imposition of fines amounting up to €9.6M on three European heat shield manufacturers for the automotive industry. A fourth company involved in the...more