The Briefing: The Supreme Court Limits the Reach of The Lanham Act [PODCAST]
Emerging Strategies for Protecting Global IP Rights
Patent Series: Protecting inventions
Video Game Lawsuit Highlights Intellectual Property Issues with Internet Memes
Harlem Shake's Copyright Issues
Apple Loses First 'Big' Case to MobileMedia, Lawyer Says
Copyright Safe Harbors: Establishing Protection Against Infringement Claims
Trucks, trucks, trucks – unless you’ve been living under a rock in the antitrust world, you’ve probably heard about, or even worked on, one of the many follow-on litigation claims related to the Commission’s 2016 cartel...more
In previous decisions the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") had ruled that cartel infringements continue as long as they have economic effects. This was partly interpreted to mean that a bid-rigging cartel only ends with the...more
McDermott’s Annual European Competition Review summarizes key developments in European competition rules. During the previous year, several new regulations, notices and guidelines were issued by the European Commission. There...more
In BritNed v ABB, the English Court of Appeal substantially reduced the UK's first award of damages in a so-called cartel damages claim brought for breach of European competition law. In so doing, the Court rejected calls for...more
On 24 September 2019, the EU General Court (GC) handed down its judgment in HSBC v. Commission. Consistent with recent precedent, the GC reaffirmed the European Commission (“Commission”)’s duty to provide sufficient reasons...more
The EC published guidelines for national courts to estimate the share of overcharge that is passed on. These non-binding guidelines explain the factors impacting the existence and magnitude of passing-on effects and methods...more
On 17 May 2019, the Hong Kong Competition Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) passed an important milestone when it issued its first two findings of infringement of the city’s competition law regime. The judgments serve as a...more
With the amendments to the cartel fine procedure introduced by the 9th amendment of the GWB the legislator intends a harmonization with EU-law and significantly extends the liability for cartel fines....more
At first glance, not a stone seems to be left standing. The new sec. 33h ARC hardly bears any resemblance with the old sec. 33 para. 5 ARC, the to date only special limitation rule applicable to cartel damages claims in the...more
Where is no plaintiff, there is also no judge: Private enforcement of competition law presupposes that there are plaintiffs who take a cartel to court. Plaintiffs exist where actions are worth it. Cartel victims may obtain...more
One of the primary aspects covered by the 9th reform of the German Competition Act that has just entered into effect is the transposition of the EU Cartel Damages Directive into German law. The preparatory works in the draft...more
Key changes triggered by the amendment relate to a company’s liability for cartel infringements, the introduction of a transaction value test into merger control, private enforcement through the implementation of the EU...more
The case follows on from the Commission’s Animal Feed Phosphates cartel decision pursuant to which fines totalling €176 million were imposed on a number of producers of animal feed for price fixing and market sharing...more
It is difficult for General Counsel and their teams to monitor all new developments adequately. With the growth of the Internet and the daily updates to EU competition rules, everyone receives and has access to masses of...more
The Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (Urzad Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów, “UOKiK”) has recently published its 2015 annual report presenting its first experiences with the recent amendments to Polish...more
On 19 July 2016, the European Commission (Commission) imposed fines totaling €2,926,499,000 on four truck producers (39824 – Trucks). The fine is the highest ever imposed on members of a cartel by the EU competition...more
On March 10, 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered its judgment in the so-called Cement case, (C-247/14 P HeidelbergCement v Commission, C-248/14 P Schwenk Zement v Commission, C-267/14 P Buzzi...more
With a judgment handed down on 12 May 2016 (Case T-669/14, Trioplast Industrier AB v. European Commission), the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) dismissed an action brought by Trioplast Industrier AB (Trioplast...more
The Court of Justice of the European Union (Court),the EU’s highest court, recently issued a judgment in case C-603/13 P, Galp Energía España SA and others v Commission, reducing the fine imposed on certain companies that...more
EU and national leniency applications independent rules ECJ - On the 20 January 2016, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down its ruling on a preliminary reference made by the Italian Council of State on the...more
Smartphone chip manufacturer accused of an abuse of dominance - On the 8th December 2015, Qualcomm, the world’s largest supplier of smartphone chipsets, was publicly accused by the European Commission of abusing its...more
On December 16, 2015, the General Court (GC) sent a message of unprecedented magnitude in the field of European cartels by annulling a decision from the European Commission (EC) that imposed fines of approximately €790...more
On 9 July 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its judgment in InnoLux Corp. v Commission C-231/14P, confirming the existence of a new concept in cartel fining: “direct European Economic Area [EEA]...more
In a recent judgment, a District Court in the Netherlands (the DCA) handed down a judgment in what is the first substantive damages judgment in the Netherlands for a breach of competition law. In issuing the declaration of...more