The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its widespread availability raises questions regarding how it might facilitate EU competition law violations. ...more
In its 18 September 2024 ruling, the General Court of the European Union annulled the €1.5 billion fine that the European Commission had imposed on Google in 2019 for allegedly abusing its dominant position in online search...more
The European Commission (EC) has launched a formal investigation under its abuse of dominance rules into US life sciences company Zoetis in the area of novel veterinary medicines. The EC alleges that the discontinuation of a...more
On 16 March 2023, the ECJ published its judgment in Towercast (C-449/21), confirming that Article 102 TFEU (which prohibits abuses of a dominant market position) may apply to transactions which fall below national and EU...more
The long-awaited European Court of Justice's judgment in Towercast confirmed that national competition authorities (and national courts) can apply abuse of dominance rules to mergers that did not trigger EU and national...more
The ruling may point to a trend that English courts are ever more willing to intervene in managing confidentiality rings. In Infederation Limited v Google LLC and others the English High Court considered the extent to...more
The European Court of Justice's ruling in Paroxetine, handed down in record time just before Brexit, confirms the narrow interpretation of restrictions by object given in other recent cases. It also clarified certain issues...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
For a second time in 18 months the EU Commission has slapped a large antitrust fine on Qualcomm, the world’s largest chip manufacturer. On 18 July 2019, the European Commission announced that it has imposed a fine of EUR 242...more
The Situation: The Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") has provided guidance in assessing the validity of discriminatory pricing practices under EU competition law. The Result: The CJEU followed its recent...more
The Court of Justice of the EU has confirmed that price discrimination by a dominant firm is not in itself illegal under competition law. However, it will infringe Article 102 TFEU if it is capable of distorting competition...more
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
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
The Ruling: A recent European General Court decision provided valuable guidance on applying abuse of dominance rules (Article 102 TFEU) in the context of software products and provided some welcome clarifications regarding...more
The Background: In September 2017, the European Court of Justice (Case C-413/14 P) reversed the ruling of the General Court, which had upheld the European Commission's €1.06 billion fine on Intel for abusing its dominant...more
Recent years have seen a significant increase in the number of private competition claims in the European Union. The Claimants' guide to Antitrust/Competition Litigation in the European Union provides an overview of the...more
A Portuguese Court has asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to provide guidance on when “discriminatory pricing applied to equivalent transactions” amounts to an abuse of a dominant positon under Article 102 (c) TFEU. ...more
January will bring some important changes in the internal composition and current leadership of the European Parliament (“EP”). Such changes are expected to shake the EP’s internal life, even without a shift in the general...more
EU: Regulatory Scrutiny of Online Hotel Booking Continues - The 13 July 2016 saw the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announce that it had sent a questionnaire to a large sample of hotels throughout the UK. As...more
BREXIT – BUSINESS AS USUAL...AT LEAST FOR NOW - What do you need to know? Despite the UK's vote to leave the European Union ("EU"), companies doing business in the UK can still continue to trade with the EU in...more
Welcome to March's edition of our EU & Competition Law Bulletin covering recent legal developments impacting upon you and your business: - ..United Kindgdom: Large pay for delay fine imposed by CMA. ..Germany and...more
On the 2nd March 2016, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) initiated proceedings against Facebook’s European and German entities, accusing the company of abusing its market power. The case follows a logical progression of...more
Latham lawyers provide an overview of recent developments in case law and practice in the field of abuse of dominance in Europe. ...more
Two recent German court decisions address requirements for obtaining injunctions based on standard essential patents (SEPs), applying the rules established by the European Court of Justice in its Huawei v. ZTE decision. The...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