Blog
Papers written by academics regarding current issues debated in competition law
The French Competition Authority publishes a new framework document on competition compliance programs
Resume: Almost 10 years after the publication of the initial version and following the public consultation conducted at the end of last year, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) published on May 24, 2022 a largely revised version of its...
Facebook VS FTC, a highly political case under the guise of a legal case
Resume: Politics is a tool of law, but should law be a political tool? Yet another antitrust case is aiming one of the GAFA’s. Judge Boasberg has finally agreed to hear the FTC's complaint against Facebook after a first temporary dismissal of the case. Accusing the...
The French competition authority identifies competition risks, but authorises the transaction, a first application of the failing firm exception
Resume: Competition objective or policy? What should be prioritised? This is the question that arose before the French Competition Authority here. What could have been a classic merger control between two large companies becomes a first for the French Competition...
The abuse of a dominant position on alterning current
To quote this paper: V. GIOVANNINI, “The abuse of a dominant position on alternating current”, Competition Forum, 2022, n° 0038, https://competition-forum.com.What future for the abuse of dominant position? The future of European competition law is not only written at...
The ‘Dutch clause’ of EUMR – An Overview
Resume: Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation allows EU member states to ask the Commission to examine a concentration not meeting the EU thresholds. Especially in the light of the Commission’s recent switch to expansive interpretation and use of the said Article 22,...
The refusal of the French courts to accept immediate appeals against decisions of the competition authority rejecting proposed commitments. (Paris Court of Appeal ruling of 21 April 2022)
Resume: The PlayStation face controller case dealt with by the French Competition Authority could only have been dealt with in the traditional way without the intervention of the courts. However, the procedural aspects of competition law can still sometimes leave some...
Will the DMA trigger competition in the Digital Advertising Market?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary: This paper considers one of the recent regulatory developments in the EU, the DMA and analyses the...
One for all, and all for one! The Sumal decision specifies the scope of the notion of undertaking to facilitate private actions
This paper was first published in French in: Contrats Concurrence Consommation, December 2021, no 12, comm. 186....
New chapter in the Google Shopping saga
Resume: It's the end of the second round in the Google Shopping case, and the company has lost this battle again. The Commission had already imposed a serious penalty during its record decision in 2017. But this time it is the court that does not hesitate to confirm...
Regulation “gatekeepers”: predictable “unintended consequences” of the DMA for users’ welfare
Abstract: In the December 2020, the European Commission has presented its proposal for a Digital Market Act (DMA) aiming at promoting competition and preventing unfair practices on digital markets. The DMA creates a new category of platforms, ``gatekeepers'', based on...
Tackling the digital economy from a fresh perspective: a comparison between the EU and the UK proposed sector regulation
Resume: Both the EU and UK have acknowledged the defects of traditional antitrust enforcement when tackling digital platforms. Hence both jurisdictions have proposed different models of sector regulation to supplement the conventional competition legislation. This...
The DMA and the EU’s French Presidency: The Road To Precaution and Tensions
To quote this paper: A. Portuese, “The DMA and the EU’s French Presidency: The Road To Precaution and Tensions”, Competition Forum, 2021, n° 0029, https://competition-forum.com.The Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposed by the European Commission in December 2020 appears...
Follow-on action in dairy products cartel: retailers granted damages by the Paris Court of Appeal
Summary: On November 24th, 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld claims by retailers in the follow-on action subsequent to the decision of the French Competition Authority on the dairy products cartel in 2015. This decision led to several dairy producers being fined...
An introspection on the FTC’s withdrawal of 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines
Resume: On the 15th of September 2021, 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines were withdrawn by the Federal Trade Commission only a short year after they were adopted in June 2020. It is possible to find two main points of focus in the Statement of the majority: (1) a...
The first decision under the « new » article 22 of the Merger Regulation in Illumina/Grail case
Resume: For the first time, a merger is analyzed under the new interpretation of article 22 of the Merger Regulation. Recently, the European Commission announced that the provision will be broadly interpreted with the goal to « catch » some operations which are under...