On 18 May 2022, the European General Court rejected Canon’s appeal against a €28 million fine imposed by the European Commission in 2019 for its breach of EU gun-jumping rules, just a few months after a similar judgment,...more
On 26 January 2022 the General Court (GC) issued its latest judgment in the Intel case, faulting fundamental aspects of the Commission’s original decision almost 13 years prior. The judgment’s findings are promising for...more
Although the EU’s introduction of a Temporary Framework has enabled governments to offer extensive State-backed loans, the airline industry needs more than just credit—it will need equity. However, State aid to the aviation...more
How will European Competition Enforcers Respond?
The COVID-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented challenge to the economy and competition enforcement is no exception. Authorities at EU and national level may need to...more
3/21/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition Authorities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
State Aid ,
State of Emergency ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
Welcome to the 2019 Shearman & Sterling Antitrust Annual Report.
Our seventh edition focuses on the contrasting use by regulators of antitrust laws with respect to the FANGs, and how antitrust is being enforced in the U.S....more
7/24/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Media ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Leniency Programs ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Recruitment Policies ,
State Aid ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit
The European Commission (EC) and other national competition authorities (NCAs) have traditionally shied away from investigating allegations of excessive pricing and appearing as price regulators. Commissioner Vestager warned...more
4/26/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Actavis Inc. ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
Excessive Pricing ,
Hoffman LaRoche ,
Merck ,
Pay-For-Delay ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Pricing ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK ,
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)
In perhaps the most hotly anticipated judgment in the European competition law world this year, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its landmark ruling on September 6, 2017 in Intel’s appeal against...more
4/26/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Appeals ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Intel ,
Rebates ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Rules of Civil Procedure
Large online platforms such as Amazon, Facebook and Google have a strong presence in Europe. Although general competition law principles apply to them, cases concerning online platforms give rise to a lot of novel questions...more
4/24/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
AirBnB ,
Amazon ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Google ,
Online Platforms ,
Social Networks ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
It has been a year since Article 50 was triggered on March 29, 2017, and if no extension is given, the U.K. will leave the European Union (EU) on March 29, 2019. This means that negotiations are now at the half-way point, but...more
4/18/2018
/ Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EFTA ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Member State ,
Merger Agreements ,
Mergers ,
State Aid ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
WTO
Algorithms and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have become commonplace in a vast number of markets, and this has drawn the attention not only of competition law academics and practitioners, but also of competition...more
The EU and U.S. competition authorities have been and remain active in enforcing gun-jumping cases, while in recent years other competition authorities across the world, including in China, have also become increasingly...more
4/12/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
China ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Japan ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Mergers ,
MOFCOM
In China, where foreign investments used to be subject to a case-by-case evaluation, the screening process for acquisitions of local businesses by foreign investors is being simplified and becoming more industry-focused. This...more
4/12/2018
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Germany ,
Italy ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
MOFCOM ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
UK
Is this perception well-founded? And does it represent a new policy trend towards ‘social justice’ objectives or simply a continuation of a policy driver that has underpinned EU competition enforcement for some time?...more
4/11/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Multinationals ,
R&D ,
State Aid ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The European Commission has routinely considered potential harm to innovation as part of its merger assessments, particularly in R&D driven sectors such as pharmaceuticals and technology. In recent years, however, the...more
3/22/2018
/ Bayer ,
Dow Chemical ,
DuPont ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Innovation ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto ,
Popular ,
Research and Development
On 10 November 2017, the European Union General Court (GC) handed down its judgment in Icap v Commission. The judgment serves as a reminder of the Commission’s ability to impose liability for cartel infringements on...more
On 4 October 2017, the High Court gave a judgment on a preliminary issue significantly restricting the temporal scope of the claimants’ claims in four air cargo cartel damages actions....more