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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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

On 13 September 2021, the CAT published an application to commence collective proceedings under section 47B of the CA98 against Google alleging that it has abused dominant positions in breach of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the Chapter 2 Prohibition of the Competition Act. Continue Reading Elizabeth Helen Coll v Alphabet Inc. and Others

On September 15, 2021, the TAR Lazio annulled the ICA decision finding telecom operator Vodafone Italia S.p.A. (“Vodafone”) in breach of Article 102 TFEU for allegedly abusing its dominance in the market for Short Message Service (“SMS”) termination.[1] Continue Reading TAR Lazio Annuls ICA Decision Fining Vodafone in the Amount of €5.8 Million for Abuse of Dominance

On 4 June 2021 the CAT published an application to commence collective proceedings under section 47B of the Competition Act 1998 against Apple Inc. and Apple Distribution International Ltd (Apple). The application alleges that Apple has abused a dominant position in breach of Article 102 of the TFEU and the Chapter II prohibition of the Competition Act. Continue Reading Dr. Rachael Kent v Apple Inc. and Apple Distribution International Ltd