Several antitrust authorities ended 2023 with a bang by imposing record fines. Resale price maintenance (RPM) and cartel conduct were particularly in the spotlight....more
The Office of the Maryland Attorney General recently announced that the state is actively investigating resale price maintenance (RPM) violations under Maryland’s state antitrust law. Maryland’s investigations are notable as...more
In late June 2023, Europe’s highest court confirmed in a hotly anticipated judgment involving leading Portuguese beer and beverage producer Super Bock Bebidas that resale price maintenance (RPM)—namely the vertical fixing of...more
With summer kicking in, it may be tempting to enjoy a Portuguese beer and relax far from competition law. Instead, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) choses to recall the basics of resale price maintenance (“RPM”) and...more
On 29 May 2023, China’s antitrust authority published on its webpage the decision against Zizhu Pharma. The company was fined by SAMR’s Beijing branch for engaging in resale price maintenance, the antitrust lingo for...more
On 24 March 2023, China’s antitrust authority – the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) – issued four regulations implementing the recently amended Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML”), which cover four areas...more
This newsletter is a summary of the antitrust developments we think are most interesting to your business. Vivian Cao, partner at Allen & Overy Lang Yue, is our editor this month....more
In Short - The Development: China's Supreme People's Court recently ruled for the plaintiff in Miao Chong v. SAIC-GM, which marked a rare triumph for a plaintiff in antitrust litigation as a follow-on to an administrative...more
For the first time since the Competition Ordinance came into effect, the Hong Kong Competition Commission (HKCC) has commenced court proceedings against a supplier for resale price maintenance as a contravention of the First...more
Join the Hogan Lovells Antitrust and Competition team on Thursday, September 29, 2022 for a discussion on the key recent changes to the vertical agreement block exemptions in both the EU and UK: - Highlighting the key...more
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
There are relatively few changes in the draft regulations implementing the revised Anti-Monopoly Law in the areas of abuse of dominance, abuse of IPRs, and abuse of administrative powers. While mainly platform operators are...more
The draft Regulation Prohibiting Monopoly Agreements is a key part of the Anti-Monopoly Law reform package. While the expansion of the cartel prohibition to include third parties may not come as a surprise, the introduction...more
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
The updated EU Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (the VBER) and the associated Vertical Guidelines (the VGL) are due to be published soon, just before their current counterparts expire at the end of May 2022. ...more
On 27 September 2021, just a few days before the week-long National Day break, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued its decision against Bull, a supplier of power connection and extension products from...more
The European Commission has now published its proposed draft of the new EU rules, which will govern distribution agreements until 2032. These are set to replace the current EU Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and...more
Let me begin by saying “I love New York!” But the recently proposed amendments to its antitrust laws? Not so much. Under the guise of placing New York antitrust enforcers on parity with their federal counterparts by giving...more
On November 2, 2020, the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") proposed amendments to relevant rules ("Drafts") in accordance with the Government of Japan's "Regulatory Reform Implementation Plan" ("Government's Plan")...more
The European Commission (Commission) has launched the impact assessment phase concerning its ongoing revision of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and the accompanying Vertical Guidelines, which set out the rules...more
A new ACCC resale price maintenance case provides a timely reminder that manufacturers and suppliers must tread carefully with distribution arrangements related to price in Australia. The Australian Competition and...more
The Development - ..The European Commission (EC) has published a 232-page Staff Working Document that summarises the findings of its evaluation of the EU Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and accompanying...more
EU, UK Competition, State Aid and Public Procurement Law During COVID-19 - While not the most important concern, it should be appreciated that antitrust/competition law, plus the state aid and public procurement rules,...more
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
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