Not too long ago, the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation celebrated its first “100 days” since coming into force (see our previous post). With the European Commission’s first unannounced inspection under the regulation, this week marks another “milestone”. Just the right time to recapitulate the past – equally exiting – weeks of enforcement and to dare a look into the crystal ball on how things might develop further. As a quick recap: The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (the FSR) is meant to tackle the (perceived) issue of companies receiving subsidies from non-EU countries and thereby gaining an ..read more

The Trucks-cartel with its record-setting fines, one of the very rare hybrid-settlement decisions and damages litigation across Europe, has been keeping hordes of lawyers busy for quite some while. With its recent decision, the European Court of Justice finally also confirmed the fine imposed on Scania, the only company which was not part of the settlement decision. The judgment reconfirms the legality of hybrid settlement decisions and includes interesting details on the determination of the geographic scope of cartels as well as on the single continuous infringement doctrine. A quick recap ..read more

We have already reported on meetings within the antitrust community (see here). Perhaps the most renowned and significantly largest gathering is the ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C., which is currently underway. A bit off topic, we have summarized the six golden rules to survive enjoy the Spring Meeting (in particular for non-US lawyers). Rule 1 – Arrival Ensure that your luggage arrives along with you, because if it doesn’t — even if you manage to escape the immigration queue — you’ll find yourself either dashing around in joggers or purchasing new business attire (though sho ..read more

Competing at the Olympic Games is the hight of every professional athlete´s career. Using this event for self-marketing purposes would be the natural consequence. The International Olympic Committee sees this differently and is limiting the use of social media and other advertising options for participating athletes. The German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has stepped in (again) and strengthened the self-marketing options for German athletes and their sponsors. Pathing the way for Team Germany As our regulars probably know, the intersection between antitrust and sports can be quite delicate (a ..read more

At all of the major antitrust conferences and events I attended lately, the mood seemed to be (not unexpectedly) so pro-regulation and pro-enforcement that even some heads of regulators speaking in favour of a balanced approach appeared as dinosaurs. A sign of times in which antitrust has become super political. This inspired me to be a bit silly and to come up with a poem. Regulation and enforcement Regulation and enforcement, oh, give us regulation and enforcement No side dish this shall be Less of the annoying court scrutiny Reverse the burden of proof Difficulties go “poof!” Who cares a ..read more

We have blogged about the Illumina/Grail case and Art. 22 EUMR referrals a few times (here, here and here). Today, the case was in the spotlight again. Advocate General Emiliou delivered his non-binding opinion, finding that the European Commission did not have jurisdiction to block Illumina’s acquisition of Grail. In the following, we will take a look at the opinion and a non-related case from a country which is not known for its merger control decisions – Luxembourg. A short recap Traditionally, the European Commission only reviewed transactions that were notifiable under the European Merge ..read more

When bringing private cartel damage claims to court, there are many aspects to consider (for an overview, check out our previous post). One that should be particularly well thought about in advance is which court in which country a damage claim should be put to. Obviously, claimants are not completely free to decide, but in most cases, there is a certain leeway that one may take advantage of. The basics In addition to the statutory provisions that govern local jurisdiction of courts, the parties to the proceeding and the respective characteristics of the anti-competitive conduct have decisive ..read more

When asked about current trends and industries in the focus of antitrust regulators worldwide, no expert’s shortlist is complete these days without a reference to the pharma industry. The Commission and other EU regulators apparently share that view and recently published a report on what has happened in this sector in the previous years. The findings and statistics published in that report indicate that more is yet to come. The European Commission (Commission) just released a report on competition enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector (Report), giving an overview of how the Commission and ..read more

Yesterday, the European Commission published a so-called “FSR brief” on the first 100 days since the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation’s filing requirements started to apply. Here is an overview of the most important numbers and practical learnings from the Commission’s update. We have blogged about the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (the FSR) a few times already (inter alia on complaints and clarifications), but as a quick recap: The FSR is meant to tackle the (perceived) issue of companies receiving subsidies from non-EU countries and thereby gaining an unfair competitive advantage over other ..read more

To companies either being sued as cartelists or claiming compensation as allegedly injured parties, private cartel damage claims are of major economic relevance. While certain steps and processes on the way to claiming damages are prominently on companies’ radars, various other aspects are less known – even though they are just as important. Here is a summary and chronological overview of the various steps that claimants and defendants typically go through and need to consider when bringing or defending against private cartel damage claims. What gets the ball rolling Generally, courts are bou ..read more