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- The UK Competition and Markets Authority sets out its provisional approach to implement the new Digital Markets competition regime On 11 January 2024, the UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") set out its provisional approach to implement the new Digital Markets competition regime, which is expected to come into force in Autumn 2024. This provides welcome clarification about how the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the "DMCC Bill"), which is currently progressing through Parliament, is likely to work in practice. Zoe Bartlett Senior Associate 17 January 2024 Read more
- German Court Rules on Disclosure of Trade Secrets in Competition Law Investigations In a landmark decision, the German Federal Supreme Court has adjudicated on the balance between the need for transparency in competition investigations and the protection of a party's trade secrets. Johannes Lüer Senior Associate 22 February 2024 Read more
- Singapore passes the Significant Investments Review Act 2024 to regulate investments in critical entities Singapore passes new law to regulate significant investments into entities critical to Singapore's national security, including "calling-in" powers against persons who have acted against Singapore's national security interests. Ivan Chan Counsel 13 March 2024 Read more
- Antitrust fine of the German FCO for resale price maintenance On 13 March 2024, the German Federal Cartel Office ("German FCO") announced that it fined an Austrian manufacturer of protective clothing for vertical price-fixing. Arne Gayk Senior Associate 18 March 2024 Read more
- EU Court Advocate General recommends overturning the European Commission’s policy on Article 22 EU Merger Regulation referrals In his opinion in the Illumina / Grail case, the Advocate General expressed the view that Member States may not refer a merger to the EU Commission for review where they have no competence to review the merger under national law. Patricia Trapp Associate 8 April 2024 Read more
- The UK Government is considering national security screening of outbound investments The Government has announced that it is exploring how to mitigate national security risks that may arise from a "very small proportion" of outbound investments, including use of its powers under the National Security and Investment Act (NSIA). Separately, it has set out a series of intended reforms of the NSIA regime. Sue Hinchliffe Partner 19 April 2024 Read more
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission Approves Rule Banning Most Non-Competes On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") voted 3-2 to approve a rule that, with limited exceptions, prohibits employers from entering into or enforcing existing non-compete provisions with employees. Brian Concklin Partner 30 April 2024 Read more
- A new dawn for merger control in Australia: Major reforms confirmed The Australian Government has announced significant reforms to Australia's merger control laws that will introduce a single mandatory and suspensory administrative merger regime which are anticipated to commence on 1 January 2026. Elizabeth Richmond Partner 2 May 2024 Read more
- Australian Foreign investment review board (FIRB) policy focussed on a risk based approach The new FIRB policy seeks to streamline the screening process for 'lower-risk' investments, while increasing scrutiny of investments in sensitive sectors such as critical infrastructure, minerals and technology, and investments that have access to sensitive data. Mark Currell Partner 8 May 2024 Read more
- First in-depth investigation for M&A under FSR in Europe The European Commission has launched its first ever in-depth investigation into foreign subsidies for an M&A transaction. The probe is also the first Phase II review under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation regime not affecting a Chinese business. Anastasios Tomtsis Partner 12 June 2024 Read more
- The French Competition Authority assesses below-threshold mergers under rules on anti-competitive agreements for the first time In an unprecedented decision issued on 2 May 2024, the French Competition Authority ("FCA") examined, for the first time, whether a series of mergers that had fallen below the EU and national merger control notification thresholds and had thus not been subject to an ex-ante review by the European Commission ("EC") or the FCA, constituted anti-competitive agreements contrary to Article 101 TFEU. Katrin Schallenberg Partner 25 June 2024 Read more
- €15.9 million for deleting compromising WhatsApp messages during an antitrust inspection This is the first time the European Commission has imposed a fine for deleting messages exchanged via social media on a mobile device during a dawn raid. The Commission warns that it will not tolerate any action that could undermine the effectiveness of its investigations and will firmly punish any obstruction, including communications on mobile phones. Ana Latorre Abogado 28 June 2024 Read more
- Key Insights from the German FCO Annual Report for 2023/24 The German Federal Cartel Office ("German FCO") published its Annual Report for 2023/24. Lisa Rotterdam Associate 2 July 2024 Read more
- Second antitrust fine of the German FCO for resale price maintenance in 2024 On 2 July 2024, the German Federal Cartel Office ("German FCO") announced that it has imposed fines totalling nearly EUR16 million on AVM Computersysteme Vertriebs GmbH ("AVM") for vertical price fixing with six electronics retailers. Arne Gayk Senior Associate 3 July 2024 Read more
- Scrutinizing outbound investment: A closer look at treasury proposed rule on outbound U.S investments On June 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury ("Treasury") issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the "Proposed Rule" or "NPRM") to implement the August 9, 2023 Executive Order ("EO") and address "the national emergency declared by the President with respect to the national security threat posed by countries of concern developing technologies that are critical to the next generation of military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities."1 As the Treasury Press Release and Fact Sheet describe, the Proposed Rule lays out draft regulations to establish a national security program. This program would either prohibit or require notification of certain types of outbound investments by "U.S. persons" into certain industries in so-called "countries of concern," currently defined as the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), Hong Kong, and Macau or otherwise involving "Covered Foreign Persons." Comments on the Proposed Rule are due by August 4, 2024.2 Megan Gordon Office Managing Partner, Washington, DC 10 July 2024 Read more
- First appeal against FSR dawn raids: Nuctech's main arguments have been published The EU General Court has published the main arguments of Nuctech's actions against the European Commission's first ever dawn raid under the FSR, including inter alia the unlawful request to provide information located outside the EU and the infringement of Chinese law. Caroline Scholke Counsel 12 July 2024 Read more
- Sustainability as a guiding principle of competition law? The Advisory Board of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action says no According to the recent report of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, categorizing sustainability as a guiding principle of competition law would unduly politicise the work of national competition authorities. Instead, politics should focus on this issue. Current competition law instruments already available - such as the European Commission's Horizontal Guidelines - could additionally promote sustainability efforts, if needed. Anne Filzmoser Counsel 30 July 2024 Read more
- Exposed: details of Australia's new mandatory merger regime emerge from draft legislation The Australian Government has released the draft of Australia's new mandatory merger control regime – shedding light on the new regime which was announced by Treasury earlier this year. Elizabeth Richmond Partner 31 July 2024 Read more
- AG Medina's September 5, 2024 opinion in Android Auto: about access of apps to dominant digital platforms and the extent to which a dominant platform must actively enable support of third party apps On September 5, Advocate General ("AG") Laila Medina issued her opinion in an Alphabet/Google ("Google") case before the Court of Justice ("CJEU") by way of preliminary ruling request concerning litigation about the Italian competition authority's 2023 Android Auto decision. Bottom line: AG Medina proposes that the CJEU rule that limiting access of apps to a dominant platform conceived to be open to apps can be an abuse, without having to show that the existing EU case law criteria of a "refusal of access" abuse (such as indispensability and likelihood of elimination of all competition) are met. That position, if adopted by the Court, could make it easier for authorities to bring cases against digital platforms (including but not limited to Google) for inhibiting access to the platform, to the benefit of independent app providers. Separately, the CJEU also ruled on September 10 in another Google case before the CJEU (Google Shopping). Dieter Paemen Partner 11 September 2024 Read more
- The new UK regime for enforcement of consumer protection laws: how will it affect your business? A new UK law is set to raise the risk profile of consumer protection law compliance – for UK companies and for all businesses whose products or services are supplied to consumers in the UK. Michael Grenfell Partner 16 September 2024 Read more
- Learnings from the first FSR clearance subject to remedies: the e& / PPF case The European Commission ("Commission") has conditionally approved the acquisition by e& of control over parts of the PPF Group, following its first M&A related in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation ("FSR"). Georgios Yannouchos Counsel 26 September 2024 Read more
- Belgium publishes its first Annual Report on foreign direct investment (FDI) screening The Annual Report demonstrates that Belgium is playing an active role in analysing foreign investments: 68 notifications were filed and processed between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024 ("Relevant Period"). Jonathan Blondeel Lawyer 3 October 2024 Read more
- The UK's National Security and Investment Act 2021: Learnings from the Final Orders issued in the first 12 months In the first 12 months of the UK's new national security regime, 14 transactions have been subject to Final Orders, including 5 prohibitions, 9 conditional clearances and 8 deals with a connection to China. Aniko Adam Counsel 4 January 2023 Read more
- FTC Proposes Sweeping Ban on Noncompete Clauses The FTC proposed a rule that departs from decades of legal precedent and ignores procompetitive justifications by looking to ban noncompetes in almost every situation. Sung Shin Associate 11 January 2023 Read more
- Outbound Investment Among the Biden Administration's 2023 Priorities The Biden Administration has once again signalled to the creation of an outbound investment review mechanism and provided federal funding to the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Treasury to consider establishing the regime. 16 January 2023 Read more
- Imputation of liability and treatment of exclusivity under the EU prohibition on abuse of dominance In its January 2023 Unilever Italia judgment, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") ruled on two important practical aspects of the application of the EU prohibition on abuse of dominance under Article 102 TFEU. 1 February 2023 Read more
- 10 antitrust trends financial services firms should be watching in 2023 In 2023, competition authorities are set to continue to closely scrutinise the financial services sector. Daniel Schwarz Senior Associate 2 February 2023 Read more
- OECD sheds light on two years of EU FDI screening mechanism In its report published two years after the EU FDI screening mechanism came into force, the OECD identifies benefits of the mechanism but also lists 12 issues that any reform could addresses as a priority 7 February 2023 Read more
- The CMA cannot compel foreign parents with no UK connection to provide information The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has ruled that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has no power to compel responses to information requests from foreign parent companies with no connection to the UK, other than their UK-based subsidiaries. 9 February 2023 Read more
- French Court of Appeal overturns French Competition Authority decision on disparagement in the pharma sector The Court of Appeal quashed the French Competition Authority's decision fining Novartis, Roche and Genentech EUR 444 million for abusing their collective dominant position, providing welcome clarity on the legal test to assess communications by pharmaceutical companies to the public and to health authorities. 27 February 2023 Read more
- More clarity on competitors working together towards sustainability goals Sustainability is raising issues within competition law and various regulators in Europe are becoming increasingly vocal about enforcement policies in their own and other countries. Both in the daily press and in the recent Journal of Antitrust Enforcement, Martijn Snoep, the Chairman of The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) advocates far-reaching horizontal cooperation among competitors aimed at reaching sustainability goals. 9 March 2023 Read more
- Update from Brussels: New EU simplified procedure and filing forms The European Commission has adopted new rules for the simplified procedure under the EU Merger Regulation and revised its notification forms. As of 1 September 2023, the new mechanism will inter alia allow a limited range of additional transactions to benefit from the simplified procedure. Anne Filzmoser Counsel 9 May 2023 Read more
- US Department of Justice Faces Additional Setback in Criminal Antitrust Labour-Market Prosecutions A recent acquittal in a criminal antitrust case marks another setback to the US Department of Justice's effort to use criminal prosecutions to address alleged anticompetitive conduct in labour markets. Brian Concklin Partner 10 May 2023 Read more
- The French FDI Authority publishes its second edition report on the activity of foreign investments d Following a commitment of transparency, the French FDI Authority publishes the second edition of its annual report analysing foreign investment trends and policy in France over the last 12 months. 11 May 2023 Read more
- The UK's National Security and Investment Act 2021: UK Government publishes updated Market Guidance The UK Government has published updated Market Guidance which provides some useful additional information on how the Government will exercise its powers under the NSI Act. Jennifer Storey Partner 15 May 2023 Read more
- Clifford Chance responds to the CMA's consultation on its draft guidance on environmental sustainability agreements We broadly welcome the UK Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) proposed guidance on the application of the law on anticompetitive horizontal agreements to environmental sustainability agreements (Draft Guidance). In our response to the consultation, we highlighted some additional areas that the Draft Guidance could usefully cover to provide businesses with greater certainty. Nissim Massarano Senior Associate 16 May 2023 Read more
- FAQs on the Pre-Consultation Procedures under the Chinese National Security Review Regime Foreign investments into China are increasingly subject to China’s national security review (NSR) regime. In this blog, we share FAQs regarding NDRC pre-consultation procedures for NSR purposes. 5 June 2023 Read more
- EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation: Insights from the European Commission's Q&A The European Commission has published a Q&A document for the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) clarifying, among other points, that a filing is required for any qualifying transaction which signs on or after 12 July 2023, but which has not closed by 12 October 2023. María Begoña Barrantes Counsel 7 June 2023 Read more
- The Broad Scope of the Romanian FDI Screening Regime The scope of the Romanian FDI law is quite extensive as a large number of activities may be considered to relate to relevant sectors for FDI screening. Eleonora Udroiu Of Counsel 13 June 2023 Read more
- JFTC publishes Green Guidelines In line with Japan's greenhouse gas emissions goals, the Green Guidelines provide more than 70 case examples and explain whether various activities to achieve a green society raise any antitrust issues. Machiko Ishii Qualified Lawyer 26 June 2023 Read more
- The UK's National Security and Investment Regime: Key insights from the Annual Report 2022-23 On 11 July 2023, the UK's Investment Security Unit ("ISU") released its annual report on the operation of the UK National Security and Investment ("NSIA") regime for the period covering 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023 (here). The Annual Report provides aggregated data on the operation of the regime, including insights into the sectors that are potentially subject to greater scrutiny. Jennifer Storey Partner 17 July 2023 Read more
- Senate Passed Amendment to the 2024 NDAA to Increase Oversight of Outbound Investment The United States continues to take increasing measures to monitor outbound US investment. Renee Latour Partner 2 August 2023 Read more
- UK Tribunal's first Subsidy Control judgment refuses to recycle State aid jurisprudence In the first case heard by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (SCA), the CAT has thrown into doubt the notion of "cross-subsidisation" and has shown itself willing to take its own UK-focussed approach to subsidy control law. Nissim Massarano Senior Associate 21 August 2023 Read more
- Revealed: Possible thresholds for proposed mandatory merger filing regime in Australia Transactions involving companies with turnover of AUD$400 million or a transaction value of more than AUD$35 million would trigger a mandatory ACCC merger filing under proposed ACCC reforms to the Australian merger notification regime. Elizabeth Richmond Partner 22 August 2023 Read more
- First gatekeepers designated under the EU Digital Markets Act and required to comply with Digital Services Act The European Commission (Commission) has designated six businesses as "gatekeepers" under the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), in respect of 22 different "core platform services" that they provide. This follows the earlier designation of the same businesses, plus a number of others, under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), which is now fully applicable to those businesses. Ana Hergouth Lawyer 13 September 2023 Read more
- Geo-blocking practices for video gaming clearly regarded as restricting competition in the EU In January 2021, the European Commission ("EC") fined Valve and five video game publishers EUR 7.8 million for geo-blocking practices. Last week, the General Court upheld the EC's characterisation of geo-blocking practices restricting cross-border sales of certain PC games based on the geographical location of users in the EEA as being a "by object" restriction of competition violating Article 101(1) TFEU. Carmen Puscas Lawyer 6 October 2023 Read more
- UK Government Launches a Review of the Scope of the National Security and Investment Regime On 13 November 2023, the UK Government launched a "Call for Evidence" on whether there should be updates to the UK National Security and Investment Act ("NSIA") regime (the press release is here). For the most part, the Call for Evidence indicates a desire to reduce the scope of the regime, as well as to add clarity and certainty. However, it appears likely that the scope of certain sectors will widen, and the filing forms may be lengthened. Nissim Massarano Senior Associate 28 November 2023 Read more
- The French Competition Authority fines Rolex EUR 91 million for prohibiting its authorised retailers from selling its watches online The French Competition Authority (the "FCA") has fined Rolex France (jointly and severally with Rolex Holding SA, the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, and Rolex SA) for prohibiting its distributors from selling Rolex watches online for over ten years. The FCA deems this restriction on online sales as a vertical agreement limiting competition and rejects Rolex's argument that it was necessary to combat counterfeiting and parallel trade. The FCA imposed a fine of EUR 91.6 million on Rolex France and ordered Rolex to publish a summary of the decision on various digital and print channels, as well as to share it with authorised retailers. This fine is the highest imposed to date by the FCA in relation to online sales restrictions in vertical agreements. Sabra Ferhat Counsel 22 December 2023 Read more
- CFIUS Scuppers Another Semiconductor Transaction The abandonment of the Wise Road Capital - Magnachip merger on CFIUS grounds sends a message that parties should not underestimate the scope of CFIUS jurisdiction or the depth of due diligence in the US FDI mechanism. 11 January 2022 Read more
- CMA updates penalty setting guidance for competition investigations The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued revised guidance on penalty setting in Competition Act cases. The revised guidance suggests an appetite to issue larger fines going forward. Nissim Massarano Senior Associate 3 January 2022 Read more
- EU Whistleblower Protection Directive: safeguarding effective access to leniency The increased protection of employees who report antitrust infringements may impact companies' ability to identify antitrust breaches and successfully apply for immunity from fines. Aleksander Tombiński Counsel 13 January 2022 Read more
- Extension of Australia's national security investment protections An expansion to Australia's critical infrastructure legislation sees an extension to the scope of the foreign investment restrictions applying to national security businesses. Alexander Duffy Senior Associate 17 January 2022 Read more
- New trends and consolidated practice in the protection and promotion of competition in Italy The Italian Competition Authority ("ICA") published its annual report for 2020/2021. Data show a significant increase in alternative enforcement tools as well as a special focus on digital markets. 17 January 2022 Read more
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission Announces Updated HSR Act Thresholds And Maximum Civil Penalty Amounts The revised thresholds affect which transactions are required to file pre-merger notifications with the U.S. antitrust authorities and determining the filing fees parties to a transaction must pay. 14 February 2022 Read more
- U.S. DOJ, FBI to Focus on Collusive Conduct Related to Supply Chain Disruptionsd The Department of Justice has announced that it would be working with domestic and international partners to further scrutinize collusive conduct relating to the ongoing pandemic-related supply chain issues. Brian Concklin Partner 21 February 2022 Read more
- Should foreign investors be concerned about the new National Security Review measures in China? In this note, we intend to share our practical experience over the past year in helping clients navigate through the new Chinese National Security Review (NSR) regime. Yong Bai Partner 8 March 2022 Read more
- Japan Fair Trade Commission issued a report on potential antitrust issues relating to IPOs in Japan The JFTC indicates that it may be anti-competitive if a lead manager suggests issuers a very low offering price without enough explanation to the issuers. Masafumi Shikakura Partner 16 March 2022 Read more
- Digital Markets Act: European Parliament and Council seal the deal The EU has reached agreement on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the new EU legislation regulating online services. Companies designated as "gatekeepers" will likely need to comply with the DMA's prohibitions and obligations in the second half of 2023. Ana Hergouth Lawyer 25 March 2022 Read more
- Antitrust class actions: UK Tribunal's judgment in first opt-out class carriage dispute On 31 March 2022, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) handed down an important judgment regarding antitrust collective proceedings in the UK. The Tribunal considered three issues: (1) whether the Tribunal should permit the collective proceedings to proceed (the “Certification Issue”); (2) if so, whether they should proceed on an opt-in or an opt-out basis (the “Opt-in vs Opt-out Issue”); and (3) which proposed class representative (“PCR”) should be permitted to take the collective proceedings forward (the “Carriage Issue”). Ben Jasper Senior Associate 7 April 2022 Read more
- Dutch cross-sector FDI-regime proposal passed with widespread political support in House of Representatives On the 19th of April 2022, the cross-sector foreign direct investment screening act ("Act", Wet veiligheidstoets investeringen, fusies en overnames) was passed in the Dutch House of Representatives (in Dutch: Tweede Kamer) without a dissenting vote and therefore with widespread political backing. The original proposal has already been discussed in detail here. 26 April 2022 Read more
- Polish FDI control - Status Quo. Although almost two years have passed since the introduction of the general foreign direct investment ("FDI") control regime in Poland, there have only been a handful of cases and no comprehensive practice has been established yet. Iwona Terlecka Counsel 26 April 2022 Read more
- CMA not immune from costs orders says Supreme Court On 25 May 2022, the Supreme Court handed down an important judgment relating to appeals against decisions by public authorities (Pfizer and Flynn v CMA [2022] UKSC 14) (here). Luke Tolaini Partner 27 May 2022 Read more
- Failure to notify and gun jumping: the French Competition Authority fines both infringements in one decision for the first time In a decision 22-D-10 from 12 April 2022, the French Competition Authority ("FCA") fined Cofepp €7 million (approx. 1% of its turnover generated in France in 2020), for both failing to notify its acquisition of Marie Bizard Wine & Spirits ("MBWS") and completing the merger ahead of clearance. Salome Haddou Avocat 30 May 2022 Read more
- The UK's national security and investment regime: Key insights from the first quarter On 16 June 2022, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng published the government's first annual report on the UK's national security and investment regime. Josh Kennion Lawyer 20 June 2022 Read more
- Belgium: Agreement on a new cross-sector foreign investment screening mechanism The Belgian governments have reached a cooperation agreement to put in place a foreign investment screening mechanism to safeguard Belgium's critical infrastructure. Jonathan Blondeel Lawyer 21 June 2022 Read more
- EU General Court annulled the EC's decision imposing a near-billion euro fine on Qualcomm The judgment is a rare full annulment in an abuse of dominance case, and the first of an Article 102 TFEU decision adopted by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager Sabra Ferhat Counsel 14 July 2022 Read more
- New market guidance on UK national security filings On 19 July 2022, the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy ("BEIS") published new market guidance notes in relation to the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (the "NSIA"). Aniko Adam Counsel 25 July 2022 Read more
- Important clarification on what constitutes 'sensitive technology' to be captured by the forthcoming Dutch cross-sector FDI-regime On 18 July 2022, two proposed ministerial decrees that will supplement the cross-sector foreign direct investment screening act ("Act", Wet veiligheidstoets investeringen, fusies en overnames) have been published for consultation. Importantly, the scope of 'sensitive technology' captured in the Act is clarified. Stakeholders had the chance to share their opinion on the proposals until 22 August 2022. The Act itself has already been discussed in detail here and its latest amendments here. 17 August 2022 Read more
- U.S. Lawmakers Seek to Establish Outbound Investment Review Regime Recent legislative developments indicate that an investment review mechanism similar to CFIUS may soon apply to U.S. outbound investments. If adopted, U.S. persons and entities interested in investing overseas may need to go through a "reverse CFIUS" process before engaging the outbound transactions. Renee Latour Partner 30 August 2022 Read more
- CMA's 'Wide Most Favoured Nation' Decision Overturned in the Compare the Market Case The UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) overturned the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) "most favoured nation clauses" decision in the Compare the Market (CTM) case (Decision). Nissim Massarano Senior Associate 1 September 2022 Read more
- Fortifying Existing Measures: A New Executive Order for CFIUS Reviews President Biden's new Executive Order strengthens existing CFIUS review standards and highlights the focus on US national security. Renee Latour Partner 28 September 2022 Read more
- The CNMC imposes gun jumping fines for failure to notify transactions meeting the Spanish market share threshold Companies should be cautious and carry out reasonable assessments prior to disregarding the need to notify a transaction based on the Spanish market share threshold María Begoña Barrantes Counsel 21 September 2022 Read more
- Recent amendments to the Italian Golden Power regime: the pre-notification procedure The Italian government has (finally) introduced a prenotification procedure in the Italian investment screening mechanism, which allows companies to obtain a preliminary assessment on the applicability of the Italian Golden Power regulation to proposed transactions. Luciano Di Via Partner 23 September 2022 Read more
- The Digital Markets Act has been published in the Official Journal The Digital Markets Act (DMA), the novel regulatory regime for large digital companies - the so-called gatekeepers - has been published in the Official Journal (OJ) of the European Union today. Ana Hergouth Lawyer 12 October 2022 Read more
- UK Government announces Subsidy Control Act will come into force on 4 January 2023 From 4 January 2023, certain subsidies must be notified to the Competition and Market Authority's Subsidy Advice Unit, and subsidy decisions by public authorities can be appealed to the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal. Nissim Massarano Senior Associate 21 October 2022 Read more
- The unusual features of the European Commission's Decision in the video game geo-blocking case The Decision illustrates the Commission's renewed determination to encourage cross-border trade of digital sector products and services and copyrighted works. Sabra Ferhat Counsel 27 October 2022 Read more
- Gaming under the competition spotlight The expansion of the video gaming industry has drawn increased scrutiny by competition authorities. In this article, we summarise recent competition law developments in the gaming industry Daniel Schwarz Senior Associate 23 November 2022 Read more
- Algorithms breach the Anti-Monopoly Act – court decision in Japan Tokyo District Court decided in a recent case that manipulating rankings using an algorithm constituted an abuse of a superior bargaining position and a breach of the Anti-Monopoly Act. Machiko Ishii Qualified Lawyer 7 December 2022 Read more
- The UK National Security & Investment Act: Application to foreign transactions Acquisitions of overseas entities and assets could be caught by the new UK national security regime which is due to come into force fully on 4 January 2022. Aniko Adam Counsel 9 September 2021 Read more
- German FDI: Exemption from the closing prohibition for transactions via a stock exchange The German government introduced a new exemption from the closing prohibition for transactions which are conducted via a stock exchange. Dimitri Slobodenjuk Partner 9 September 2021 Read more
- FDI screening mechanism – heading to transatlantic stronger integration The EU Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation allowed for greater communication between EU Member States and with the European Commission. Following the launch in June 2021 of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC), integration will also be increased with the United States. 9 September 2021 Read more
- Secretary of State intervenes in the acquisition of UK graphene firm on national security grounds The acquisition by Taurus of Welsh advanced materials firm Perpetuus is the latest in a flurry of on-going formal and informal national security reviews in the UK. Aniko Adam Counsel 22 September 2021 Read more
- French Competition Authority launches a public consultation on its new compliance programme framework document The French Competition Authority recently launched a public consultation on its new Framework Document on competition compliance programmes. The FCA recalls that a compliance programme will help companies prevent the risk of anticompetitive conducts but also detect possible infringements as early as possible, and effectively react. It then provides some concrete guidance on key elements of a robust compliance programme. 29 October 2021 Read more
- New Luxembourg draft bill introducing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments Luxembourg is adopting a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments in a Luxembourg entity exercising a critical activity in Luxembourg likely to affect security or public order. Ada Schmitt Partner 19 October 2021 Read more
- Some statistics from the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) The FCO published its annual report for 2020/2021. Key takeaways: A further decline of merger control cases, fewer leniency applications and a focus on the digital economy. Anne Filzmoser Counsel 4 October 2021 Read more
- Merger control and FDI interplay: Article 21 as a potential tool towards further convergence in FDI rules The European Commission opened an investigation against Hungary for a potential breach of Article 21 of the EU Merger Regulation following Hungary's veto of VIG's acquisition of AEGON's Hungarian subsidiaries under its Foreign Direct Investment ("FDI") screening regime. Georgios Yannouchos Counsel 22 November 2021 Read more
- Netherlands: Introduction of new cross-sector FDI-regime On the 30th of June 2021, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate ("Minister") submitted a proposal for a cross-sector foreign direct investment screening act ("Act"). The proposed Act will serve as a review mechanism for investments that could pose a risk to the national security of the Netherlands. 8 November 2021 Read more
- Germany - The new coalition agreement: More progress in competition law? The coalition agreement of the new government in Germany has the title "Daring more progress. Alliance for freedom, justice and sustainability". What does it mean for the future of competition law in Germany? Arne Gayk Senior Associate 20 December 2021 Read more
- Spain extends the suspension of liberalisation of investments by EU/EFTA investors to 2022 year end. Spain extends the suspension of liberalisation of certain investments by EU/EFTA investors to 2022 year end, considering the measure justified due to the economic context created by the Covid-19 crisis. Carme Briera Senior Counsel 13 December 2021 Read more