In late May 2025, the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network and the European Commission (EC) concluded a joint investigation into online marketplace and e-retailer SHEIN. The result? A strong warning shot: Several of...more
On 26 February 2025, the European Commission published the Omnibus Simplification Package, a set of proposals designed to streamline key EU sustainability regulations, eliminate redundancies, and reduce administrative burden...more
3/13/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices
Waste treatment, recycling and take back obligations in relation to electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and waste of such electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) have long been a focus area for EU regulators, and now...more
A new and powerful wave of “greenwashing” bans will sweep the European Union (EU) shortly. The EU’s Green Claims Directive and Greenwashing Directive (together, the Green Directives) are key legislative tools being introduced...more
8/5/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Greenwashing ,
Marketing ,
Member State ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Product Labels ,
Sustainability
Two decisions this year in the United Kingdom concerning Leicester City Football Club (Leicester City) and Newcastle United Football Club (Newcastle United) show that competition law may be becoming a more prevalent part of...more
With the ubiquitous “Black Friday”—and now “Black Week”—having taken hold in the European Union and the United Kingdom, consumers will currently be inundated with offers and shopping around for the best deal. Retailers should...more
11/22/2023
/ Advertising ,
Black Friday ,
EU ,
Holidays ,
Internet Retailers ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Sales ,
Sales Promotions ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
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
Labor Market Meets Competition Law - In a labor market where companies are competing to attract and retain talent, the rising shortage of highly-skilled employees, high mobility, and high salary demands in certain market...more
Businesses intending to undertake substantial mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions or participate in major public procurement projects in the European Union (EU) will soon need to prepare for an additional layer of...more
The start of 2023 marked six months since the new vertical distribution laws came into effect across the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) – see our earlier summary of the important changes here)....more
As “Holiday Season” is increasingly synonymous with “Sales Season”, and with many sales already in full swing (Black Friday in particular), brands and traders should make sure that their discounting campaigns are compliant...more
The European Commission’s (EC) decision to block Illumina’s acquisition of Grail marks the dawn of a new era for acquisitions of startups with innovation potential. This case involved many “firsts”: It is the first time that...more
OVERVIEW - On 6 May 2022, the European Commission (Commission) published the draft revised Implementing Regulation (Draft Implementing Regulation) and the Notice on Simplified Procedure (Draft Notice) for the EU Merger...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
European antitrust regulators have shown a continued focus on scrutinizing manufacturers’ engagement with their distributors. The anticompetitive practices that have attracted the highest financial penalties primarily relate...more
On 6 October 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU or the Court) issued a judgment in case C-882/19 following a request for a preliminary ruling by the Court of Appeal of Barcelona (the Referring Court). ...more
The German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof (BGH)) has recently published on 6 August 2021 the reasoning for its judgment of 18 May 2021 on best-price clauses, which overturned the previous decision of the...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
Introduction - There has been a proliferation of new laws concerning ethical sourcing and due diligence in supply chains in various territories in recent years. This trend is being taken to the next level in the European...more
The announcement from twelve of Europe’s top football clubs of their plan to form a breakaway league (the so-called European 'Super League') sparked an impassioned response from many quarters. One of the threatened sanctions...more
On 27 January 2021, the French competition authority (Autorité de la concurrence or ADC) adopted a decision accepting commitments from the building block producer Lego France (Lego) to amend its discount policy. The ADC...more
INTRODUCTION - Behaviors such as excessive pricing and refusal to supply are often well understood to create potential issues if the company is dominant. However, under the national laws of some EU member states, such conduct...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
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
Two recent developments in the European competition enforcement sphere provide a warning for brands when engaging with their retailers with whom they compete and when using price monitoring tools to monitor the third party...more