On 21 July 2020, the CAT published a ruling refusing to grant Strident Publishing Limited (Strident) permission
Churchill Gowns Ltd and Student Gowns Ltd v Ede & Ravenscroft Ltd and Ors
On 26 June 2020, the CAT published a summary of a claim brought by Churchill Gowns and Student Gowns seeking
German Federal Court of Justice Provisionally Finds Facebook’s Data Collection Practices Abusive
On June 23, 2020, the Federal Court of Justice (“FCJ”) overturned the Düsseldorf Court of Appeals’ (“DCA”) interim decision and rejected Facebook Inc.’s (“Facebook”) request to suspend the enforceability of the Federal Cartel Office’s (“FCO”) prohibition decision.[1] The FCJ disagreed with the FCO’s determination of an abuse based on a violation of data protection law, but instead examined Facebook’s data usage exclusively under competition law.
The Commission Investigates Apple’s Rules Governing the Distribution of Third-party Apps and Services on iOS Devices
On June 16, 2020, the Commission launched four formal investigations into Apple’s business practices. Three of the investigations seem to follow the same theory of harm and zero in on contract terms that Apple imposes on developers wishing to distribute apps through the App Store on Apple devices, and whether Apple has been using those terms to disadvantage app developers that compete against Apple’s own apps.[1]
The Commission Publishes Its Decision to Fine Qualcomm for Abuse of Dominant Position
On June 8, 2020, the Commission published its decision to fine U.S. based chipset producer Qualcomm a total of €997 million for abusing its dominant position by offering payments to Apple under the condition that Apple purchases from Qualcomm all LTE chipsets for iPhones and iPads.[1] This is the first time the Commission issued a decision on exclusivity payments since the Court of Justice’s ground-breaking Intel judgment in 2017.[2] Qualcomm’s appeal against the decision is pending before the General Court.[3]
The ICA Opens Investigation Into Italgas for Alleged Abuse of Dominance
On May 27, 2020, the ICA opened an investigation pursuant to Article 102 TFEU into the conduct of Italgas Reti S.p.A. (“Italgas”), a fully-owned subsidiary of Italgas S.p.A.[1] The supply of gas distribution services in Italy is organized by areas comprising small groups of municipalities, called ‘minimum territorial areas’ (“ATEM”s).[2] In the ICA’s view, Italgas abused the dominant position it holds in the Venice ATEM market, comprising eight municipalities, in which it is currently the exclusive licensee of the gas distribution services in four municipalities (including Venice).
Flynn Pharma Ltd and Flynn Pharma Holdings Ltd V Cma
On 12 May 2020, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in an appeal against the CAT’s cost ruling in the successful appeals by Pfizer and Flynn against the CMA’s abuse of dominance decision relating to the anti-epilepsy drug, phenytoin sodium. In its costs ruling, the CAT considered that the relevant starting point was that the unsuccessful party should pay the successful party’s costs.
FCJ Rules on FRAND Defense
On May 5, 2020, the Federal Court of Justice (“FCJ”)[1] granted Sisvel International S.A (“Sisvel”) an injunction against the Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Haier Group Corporation (“Haier”) to stop infringing one of Sisvel’s standard essential patents (“SEP”). In its first application of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) Huawei/ZTE judgment,[2] the FCJ clarified the requirement of the patent user’s willingness to license.
The French Competition Authority (“FCA”) Dismisses Molotov’s Complaint Against TF1 and M6
On April 30, 2020, the FCA dismissed Molotov’s complaint of alleged abuse of collective dominance, abuse of economic dependency and anticompetitive agreements against TF1 and M6.