The following post was originally included as part of our recently published memorandum “Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2023”.
Last year we noted that U.S. antitrust enforcement was in a period of nearly unprecedented public attention and policy debate, and also that the Biden Administration seemed likely to launch significant new policy initiatives as the year progressed.
Continue Reading 2023 Update: U.S. Antitrust Sets Sail into Uncharted Seas
In the third episode of a three-part series on U.S. antitrust enforcement, host Nick Levy interviews Cleary Gottlieb colleagues Bruce Hoffman and Leah Brannon about the U.S. enforcement environment for Big Tech, the agencies’ application of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, and the prospects for legislative change. Continue Reading Antitrust Review U.S. Edition, Episode 3: The Spectre of Enforcement
In the second episode of a three-part series on U.S. antitrust enforcement, host Nick Levy interviews Cleary Gottlieb colleagues Dave Gelfand and Heather Nyongo’o about U.S. antitrust and merger litigation, the prospects for legislative change in the U.S., and their practical experiences of handling major litigation at the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and in private practice. Continue Reading Antitrust Review U.S. Edition, Episode 2: Litigation and Merger Control Enforcement in the U.S.
In the fourth episode of Cleary Gottlieb’s Antitrust Review podcast, host Nick Levy interviews Professor Eleanor M. Fox, who for 40 years has been one of the world’s most distinguished academic commentators on antitrust law and has played an instrumental role in bringing competition law to emerging markets. Nick and Eleanor discuss U.S. antitrust enforcement under President Biden, the EU’s new regulatory regime for Big Tech, strengths and weaknesses in current enforcement policy, how to inspire students, and much more.
Listen below, or select from the following links:
On July 12, 2022, the Commission fined metal packaging producers Crown and Silgan €31.5m for breaching Article 101 TFEU by exchanging sensitive information and coordinating their commercial strategies for the sale of metal cans and closures in Germany over a three-year period.[1] The products concerned were metal lids for glass jars, coated with lacquers containing bisphenol A (“BPA”) or BPA-free lacquers and metal cans coated with BPA-free lacquers. These products were predominantly used to package foods, such as vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish. Continue Reading The Commission Fines Crown and Silgan €31.5 Million for Metal Cans Cartel
On June 21, 2022, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) closed its investigation pursuant to Article 102 TFEU into the conduct of the incumbent providers of the local public transport service by road in the Tuscany Region (the “Region”), which jointly formed the ONE Scarl consortium (“ONE”). Continue Reading ICA imposes fine in excess of € 3.6 million on the outgoing providers of local public transport service by road in Tuscany
On June 15, 2022, the General Court annulled the Commission’s decision and corresponding fine of €997 million in the Qualcomm case[1] due to procedural violations and a flawed substantive assessment. The General Court first found that the Commission had infringed Qualcomm’s rights of defense by failing to properly inform Qualcomm of meetings with third parties, and failing to hear Qualcomm on the consequences of substantial changes between the Statement of Objections (“SO”) and the final decision. Continue Reading Qualcomm v. Commission (Case T-235/18): General Court Stresses the Importance of Procedural Rigor and a Careful Analysis of Anticompetitive Effects
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 February 1, 2022, the ICA imposed a fine of approximately €10 million on G2 Misuratori S.r.l., Maddalena S.p.A., Itron Italia S.p.A., Sensus Italia S.r.l. and WaterTech S.p.A. (the “Companies”) for having participated, between December 2011 and September 2019, in an agreement restricting competition in at least 161 public tenders launched by national integrated water service operators for the procurement of meters for the legal measurement of water consumption. Continue Reading The ICA Fines Water Meter Suppliers €10.4 Million for Bid-rigging