In the first episode of a three-part series on U.S. antitrust enforcement, host Nick Levy interviews Cleary Gottlieb colleagues George Cary and Elaine Ewing about U.S. merger control under President Biden.
Antitrust Review Episode 4: In Conversation With Professor Eleanor M. Fox
In the fourth episode of Cleary Gottlieb’s Antitrust Review podcast, host Nick Levy interviews Professor Eleanor M. Fox, who for 40 years has been one of the world’s most distinguished academic commentators on antitrust law and has played an instrumental role in bringing competition law to emerging markets. Nick and Eleanor discuss U.S. antitrust enforcement under President Biden, the EU’s new regulatory regime for Big Tech, strengths and weaknesses in current enforcement policy, how to inspire students, and much more.
Listen below, or select from the following links:
Qualcomm v. Commission (Case T-235/18): General Court Stresses the Importance of Procedural Rigor and a Careful Analysis of Anticompetitive Effects
On June 15, 2022, the General Court annulled the Commission’s decision and corresponding fine of €997 million in the Qualcomm case[1] due to procedural violations and a flawed substantive assessment. The General Court first found that the Commission had infringed Qualcomm’s rights of defense by failing to properly inform Qualcomm of meetings with third parties, and failing to hear Qualcomm on the consequences of substantial changes between the Statement of Objections (“SO”) and the final decision. Continue Reading Qualcomm v. Commission (Case T-235/18): General Court Stresses the Importance of Procedural Rigor and a Careful Analysis of Anticompetitive Effects
TAR Lazio Annuls ICA Decision Fining Telecom Italia €3.7 Million for Alleged Abuse of Dominance
On April 11, 2022,[1] the TAR Lazio annulled an ICA decision finding that Telecom Italia S.p.A. (“Tim”) had infringed Article 102 TFEU for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the market for Short Message Service (“SMS”) termination (the “Decision”).[2] The Court followed the same reasoning as that set out in its September 2021 judgment, in which it overturned the €5.7 million fine imposed by the ICA on Vodafone Italia S.p.A. (“Vodafone”) in a parallel decision. Continue Reading TAR Lazio Annuls ICA Decision Fining Telecom Italia €3.7 Million for Alleged Abuse of Dominance
Intel Corporation v Commission (Case T-286/09 RENV): General Court Quashes Intel’s €1.06 Billion Fine
On January 26, 2022, the General Court partially annulled the Commission’s decision imposing a €1.06 billion fine on Intel for abusing its dominant position through the granting of exclusivity- conditioned rebates.[1] The General Court found that the Commission had not established to the requisite legal standard that the rebates were capable of having, or were likely to have, anticompetitive effects.[2] Continue Reading Intel Corporation v Commission (Case T-286/09 RENV): General Court Quashes Intel’s €1.06 Billion Fine
U.S. DOJ and FTC Announce Plan to Revamp Merger Guidelines
On Tuesday, January 18th, FTC Chair Lina Khan and DOJ Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter held a joint press conference in which they announced ambitious plans to review and update the Merger Guidelines, targeting a release of new guidelines before the end of 2022. Continue Reading U.S. DOJ and FTC Announce Plan to Revamp Merger Guidelines
U.S. & EU Antitrust: Developments and Outlook in 2022
The following post was originally included as part of our recently published memorandum “Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2022”.
In the 2021 edition of this memo, we wrote that antitrust in 2020 received more political and media attention than at any recent time. 2021 beat that standard in multiple ways, and 2022 looks to continue that trend. In addition to continuing the major tech cases brought under the Trump administration, 2021 saw unprecedented levels of legislative activity in antitrust (both federal and state), competition policy taking a leading position across federal agencies and startling new approaches at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in particular – new approaches that, while they haven’t yet produced a wave of new enforcement actions, have required changes in thinking about and approaching antitrust issues. We expect these trends to accelerate in 2022. Continue Reading U.S. & EU Antitrust: Developments and Outlook in 2022
U.S. & UK Consult on Standard Essential Patents, Injunctions, FRAND Licensing, and Antitrust
The area of standards, and licensing of Standard Essential Patents (“SEPs”) on “fair reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (“FRAND”) is alive as ever. There are developments in three jurisdictions: Continue Reading U.S. & UK Consult on Standard Essential Patents, Injunctions, FRAND Licensing, and Antitrust
EU-U.S. Launch Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue to Foster Cooperation in Competition Policy and Enforcement in Technology Sector
On December 7, 2021, the Commission, the United States Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) published a Joint Statement establishing the EU-U.S. Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue (the “Policy Dialogue”). Continue Reading EU-U.S. Launch Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue to Foster Cooperation in Competition Policy and Enforcement in Technology Sector
Kelkoo.com (UK) Limited & Others v Google UK Limited & Others
On 30 November 2021, the CAT published an order of the High Court transferring a damages action brought by Kelkoo. com (UK) Limited and ten other group company claimants (together, Kelkoo) against Google from the High Court to the CAT. The claims are being brought under section 47A of the Competition Act 1998 (CA98) in respect of alleged infringements of Article 102 TFEU and/or the Chapter 2 CA98. Kelkoo operates online price comparison sites. It claims that Google unlawfully favoured its own shopping comparison service over Kelkoo’s site in Google search results.