Over the last ten years, nearly 300 class actions have been filed against retailers across the country, alleging that they deceived customers by advertising illusory sales or unsubstantiated reference prices. Our team is...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
2022 was an intensive year in competition law. Material issues to the competition agenda were addressed in precedential determinations and rulings by the Competition Authority and by Israeli courts. These issues include...more
This practice guide discusses generally the Michigan sales tax obligations of Michigan public schools under the Michigan General Sales Tax Act, Act 167, Public Acts of Michigan, 1933, as amended (MCL §205.51 et.seq.) The Act...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
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
The European Commission published the new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and related guidelines on May 10, 2022. The purpose of the block exemption is to generally exempt agreements between market players at different...more
Chinese antitrust is going through what are likely the most important changes since its inception: an amendment of the Anti-Monopoly Law and the establishment of a new enforcement body. ...more
ANTITRUST AND COMPETITION - The French Competition Authority (FCA) Fined a Watchmaker for Obstruction of an Antitrust Investigation - On 9 July 2021, the FCA fined a watchmaker for failing to respond to a request for...more
In a decision made public on 4 May, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the Court) determined that an asserted conspiracy claim concerning a price maintenance dispute should proceed to trial, despite Canada’s Competition...more
The European Commission has taken a significant step toward the revision of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and the Vertical Guidelines. With its evaluation phase ending, the Commission has recently presented...more
Part 1: Expected Policy Changes in a Rapidly Changing World – and What this Means for Business - The European Commission has taken a significant step towards the revision of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER)...more
In Brief - The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced proceedings against cycling wholesaler B & K Holdings (QLD) Pty Ltd, trading as FE Sports (FE Sports), alleging that it engaged in resale...more
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
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
Read the latest news on antitrust, competition and economic regulation (ACER) in this Summer's edition of our quarterly ACER newsletter. ...more
In the last week of June 2019 a copy of a groundbreaking court ruling emerged on social media in China – the order by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) in the Yutai case. ...more
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
“It’s the economy, stupid” was coined in 1992 by Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign strategist, James Carville, to capture the issue that mattered the most to people. ...more
Antitrust enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Europe were once again busy in 2018, particularly in the area of merger review. In the U.S., despite new leadership at both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade...more
Despite a Change in Name and Business Model, Priceline is Back - ("Remember Priceline? After a Comeback and a Name Change, It’s Betting Big on China," Wall Street Journal - Business, December 28, 2018) Booking Holdings...more
Today, product manufacturers doing business in China face uncertainty with regard to resale price maintenance (“RPM”). For more than five years, the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) and Chinese courts have...more