Cleary Gottlieb partners Nicholas Levy, Paul Gilbert, and Jackie Holland and associate Courtney Olden co-authored the “UK” chapter of the
Thank You for the Music – CMA Publishes Update in Music and Streaming Study
On 26 July the CMA published an Update Paper in its music and streaming market study (launched 27 January).[1] The Update Paper sets out the CMA’s preliminary findings halfway through its study into how well competition works in music streaming.
Unfair Play: UK CMA Fines Pharmaceutical Companies for Excessive Prices
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last week fined pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Flynn £63 million and £6.7 million for engaging in excessive pricing. In the CMA’s view, the companies charged unfairly high prices for Phenytoin capsules, a genericised anti-epilepsy drug, in violation of competition law.
The Dominance and Monopolies Review – 10th Edition
Cleary Gottlieb partners Matteo Beretta, Frédéric de Bure, Maurits Dolmans, Paul Gilbert, Francisco Enrique González-Díaz, Thomas Graf, Henry Mostyn, Romina
Antitrust Review Episode 1: In Conversation With Andrea Coscelli
Welcome to Cleary Gottlieb’s Antitrust Review – a podcast focused on antitrust enforcement, policy and practice.
In a complex and
China’s Delegated Review of Certain Merger Control Filings
On July 15, 2022, China’s antitrust authority SAMR announced a three-year pilot program beginning August 1, 2022 to delegate the review of certain simplified-procedure merger filings that the agency currently handles on its own, to five of its local branches (“AMRs”) in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Chongqing, and Shaanxi. Each of the five local AMRs will be responsible for a specific geographic area (“Territory”) within China. This is the first step to implement China’s “categorized and classified” merger control review regime under the new Anti-Monopoly Law.[1]
Illumina/Grail: General Court Upholds EC’s Merger Referral Policy, Expanding EC Jurisdiction Over Non-reportable Transactions
In a significant judgment rendered on July 13, 2022 (“Judgment”), the EU’s General Court validated the position taken by the European Commission (“EC”) in a March 2021 Guidance Paper encouraging national competition authorities (“NCAs”) to use Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (“EUMR”) to refer transactions to the EC that do not meet national merger control thresholds, but which they believe may threaten to significantly affect competition within the EU.
Digital Markets Act Final Text Approved in European Parliament and European Council
On July 18, the European Council approved the final text of the DMA, marking the final step before the DMA enters into force. This followed the European Parliament approving, on July 5, the final text of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), by 588 votes to 11. The DMA is likely to enter the EU’s Official Journal in October, which means the behavioural rules will kick in early-to-mid 2024.
Advocate General Rantos (Case C-680/20 Unilever): “Intel” Principle Applies to All Article 102 Abuses
On July 14, 2022, Advocate General Rantos delivered his opinion in Unilever on two important questions referred to the Court of Justice:[1] (i) whether companies linked by contractual ties could constitute a “single economic unit”; and (ii) whether the Court of Justice’s ruling in Intel, that antitrust agencies must examine evidence put forward by the defendant that conduct is not capable of foreclosing equally efficient competitors, applies to practices beyond the exclusivity rebates considered in Intel.[2]