Cleary Gottlieb partners Romano Subiotto QC and Robbert Snelders, in collaboration with our Antitrust practice, are thrilled to present
The FCO’s Enforcement Actions In 2021 In Relation To Resale Price Maintenance
In 2021, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) concluded three major proceedings on resale price maintenance and vertical price fixing. It fined five musical instrument companies a total of € 21 million for resale price maintenance and horizontal price-fixing, a backpack maker € 2 million for setting minimum retail prices, and consumer electronics manufacturer € 7 million for resale price maintenance. These cases illustrate that the FCO considers resale price maintenance a serious infringement for which it imposes significant fines.
Kelkoo.com (UK) Limited & Others v Google UK Limited & Others
The Court Of Justice Urges Latvian Court To Think Twice Before Finding A “By Object” Infringement In The Sector Of Software Distribution
On November 18, 2021, the Court of Justice clarified the framework for assessing anticompetitive agreements between a software developer and its distributors, and ordered a Latvian court to revisit its analysis before adjudicating on the case.[1]
COVID-19, Green And Digital Transition, European Single Market: The Commission Outlines The New Challenges Facing EU Competition Policy
On November 18, 2021, the Commission published its communication entitled “a competition policy fit for new challenges” (the “Communication”).[1] The Communication identifies several areas where an adjusted competition policy could help overcome new challenges the European economy is facing. In particular, the Communication discusses competition policy’s role in Europe’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, in supporting the European green[2] and digital transition,[3] and in strengthening the Single market’s resilience.
The ICA Fines Amazon and Apple for Restricting Competition in the Sales of Apple and Beats Products on Amazon Marketplace
On November 16, 2021, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA” or the “Authority”) imposed a fine of €134.5 million on Apple Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (“Apple”) and a fine of €68.7 million on Amazon.com Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (“Amazon”; together with Apple, the “Parties”) for restricting certain resellers of Apple products, including those of the Apple-owned brand Beats, from accessing the online marketplace of Amazon (“Amazon Marketplace”).[1]
The Supreme Court Fully Dismisses the Appeals Against the Council of State Judgment in the Roche-Novartis Case as Inadmissible
In a judgment delivered on October 5, 2021 (the “Judgment”),[1] the Italian Supreme Court held that the appeals filed by F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Roche S.p.A. (“Roche”), as well as Novartis Farma S.p.A. and Novartis AG (“Novartis” and, together with Roche, the “Parties”), against a ruling issued in 2019 by the Council of State,[2] were inadmissible.
The ICA Fines a Milan Radio Taxi Company for Non-compliance With a Previous Infringement Decision
In a decision issued on September 21, 2021,[1] the ICA fined Yellow Tax Multiservice S.r.l. (“Yellow Tax”) for non-compliance with a previous decision finding an infringement of Article 101 TFEU.
CMA Publishes Consultation To Replace the Retained Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation
On 17 June 2021, the CMA published a consultation document on its provisional recommendation to replace the retained EU Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation (VABER) with a UK-specific Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order (VABEO) (the CMA Consultation). Currently, agreements benefit from automatic exemption from the UK Chapter 1 Prohibition[1] (the equivalent of Article 101 TFEU) if they meet the criteria set out in the VABER.
ICA Accepts Commitments Offered by Parties To Alleged Anticompetitive Agreement in Scrap Automotive and Industrial Lead-acid Batteries Sector
On June 15, 2021, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) adopted a decision that made legally binding the commitments offered by certain companies active in the scrap lead-acid batteries sector, in the context of an investigation regarding the alleged coordination of their pricing behavior.[1] These commitments were found to adequately address the ICA’s concern that the companies and the collecting organizations they belonged to may have coordinated their behavior in violation of Article 101 TFEU.