On 19 April 2021, the CAT dismissed Roland’s appeal against a £4 million fine imposed by the CMA (see UK Competition Newsletter, August – September 2020). Roland appealed, alleging that the CMA’s fine overstated the seriousness of the infringement and that the CMA’s leniency discount had been too low.
OTC Computers Limited (In Liquidation) v Infineon Technologies AG and Micron Europe Limited
On 14 April 2021, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Infineon and Micron against a High Court judgment
Consumer’ Association v Qualcomm Incorporated
On 18 March 2020, the CAT published an application by the UK Consumers’ Association (Which?) to commence collective
CMA publishes new Merger Assessment Guidelines
On 18 March, the CMA published new Merger Assessment Guidelines (the New Guidelines). Under the New Guidelines, the CMA will adopt a more flexible approach to the substantive assessment of mergers, particularly in digital markets. The New Guidelines also suggest the CMA will look to intervene in mergers where market shares are low or where the evidence of anticompetitive effects is slim.
Paccar Inc. and Others v Road Haulage Association and Others
On 5 March 2021, the Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by truck manufacturers in Paccar Inc. and others v Road Haulage Association and others against the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)’s preliminary ruling of 18 October 2019. The preliminary ruling concerned the funding arrangements of two related applications by UK Trucks Claim Ltd and the Road Haulage Association for collective proceeding orders on behalf of trucks purchasers.
Lexon (UK) Limited v Competition and Markets Authority
On 25 February 2021, the CAT dismissed Lexon (UK) Limited’s (Lexon) appeal against a decision by the CMA
Epic Games v. Apple and Epic Games v. Google
On 22 February 2021, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled that Epic Games (Epic) could not pursue a claim against Apple in the UK. It allowed some aspects of a similar claim brought by Epic against Google to be heard in the UK on the ground that permission is not required to serve claims in the CAT against the Irish anchor defendants.
Preventx v. Royal Mail Group
On 11 February 2021, the High Court issued a consent order dismissing Preventx’s abuse of dominance claim against Royal Mail
CMA Digital Markets Strategy Refresh
The CMA published a “refresh” of its Digital Markets Strategy (DMS II) on 9 February 2021. The first iteration (DMS I) was published in June 2019 but the CMA explains that “much has changed” in the interim, not least “significant developments in the political and regulatory landscape for digital markets.”
Phones4U (In Administration) v. EE, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone, Telefonica and Telefonica O2
On 2 February 2021, the Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by several mobile network operators (MNOs) to overturn disclosure orders that the MNOs’ executives’ personal devices and communications be examined by independent IT experts. Phones4U entered administration in 2014, following the termination of its contracts with several important commercial partners, including the defendant MNOs, from January 2013 onwards.