CMA challenges call for new UK merger laws – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 27th, 2019 in competition, enforcement, internet, mergers, news by sally

‘Changes in legislation are not necessary to “prevent mergers in digital markets which could harm existing or potential future competition or innovation”, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 27th March 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

A warning before bringing an appeal to the CAT? Costs after the BCMR decision – Blackstone Chambers

Posted March 15th, 2019 in appeals, competition, costs, news, telecommunications, tribunals by sally

‘The Court of Appeal’s judgment in the recent BCMR costs case is a stark warning to all those considering challenging a regulatory decision in the Competition Appeal Tribunal: even if you win, you may still face a big costs bill. See British Telecommunications plc v Office of Communications [2018] EWCA Civ 2542.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 5th March 2019

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Retrospective interpretation: DSG v MasterCard – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted February 20th, 2019 in competition, EC law, limitations, news, tribunals by sally

‘The latest battle over limitation in Competition damages claims was a victory for the claimants – see DSG Retail Ltd v MasterCard Inc [2019] CAT 5. In some ways it is a surprising decision, because the Competition Appeal Tribunal has decided that when s.47A of the Competition Act was enacted in 2003, certain claims which were time-barred prior to its enactment were revived. The Tribunal frankly acknowledged that it did not find the matter straightforward, and looking at the rules it is easy to see why.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 19th February 2019

Source: competitionbulletin.com

Parliamentary report set to savage ‘duplicitous’ Facebook – The Guardian

Posted February 18th, 2019 in competition, data protection, elections, internet, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘Facebook cannot be trusted to regulate itself and must be subject to sweeping new legislation, a parliamentary report will announce on Monday.’

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The Guardian, 17th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Digital ad market under fresh scrutiny amid competition concerns – The Guardian

Posted February 13th, 2019 in advertising, competition, inquiries, internet, media, news, public interest by sally

‘Facebook and Google could be forced to open up their businesses and share details of how their advertising model works, after the government backed an investigation into concerns that their dominance of the online advertising business is hurting news publishers.’

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The Guardian, 12th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Government sued over no-deal ferry contracts – BBC News

Posted February 12th, 2019 in brexit, competition, contracts, news, public procurement, ships, transport by tracey

‘The government is being sued for its decision to charter firms to run extra ferries, including one with no ships, in the event of a no-deal Brexit.’

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BbC News, 12th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Accountancy watchdog criticised over legal services procurement – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 19th, 2018 in accountants, auditors, competition, legal services, news, ombudsmen, public procurement by sally

‘The accountancy regulator should adopt a more open procurement policy when tendering for legal and professional services, a review assessing its clout has found.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 18th December 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Faraday Development Ltd v West Berkshire Council: Court of Appeal gives important guidance on development agreements and options, and declares contract ineffective – 11 KBW

Posted December 11th, 2018 in appeals, competition, drafting, local government, news, public procurement by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has given judgment in Faraday Development Ltd v West Berkshire Council [2018] EWCA Civ 2532 . The main judgment was given by Lindblom LJ. The claimant’s appeal against the first instance judgment of Holgate J was allowed, and the Court made the first declaration of ineffectiveness seen in an English public procurement case since the remedy was introduced in 2009 (there has previously been one such declaration in Scotland).’

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11 KBW, 15th November 2018

Source: www.11kbw.com

British Telecommunications plc v Office of Communications – Blackstone Chambers

Posted December 11th, 2018 in appeals, competition, costs, news, ombudsmen, telecommunications, tribunals by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has overturned the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s approach to awarding costs against Ofcom in telecommunications appeals.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 15th November 2018

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Legal Technology – the future of legal services – Legal Futures

‘One way of viewing the current legal services market is that the legal profession is locked in a race to the death with non-qualified providers, tempted by the lucrative chunk of legal work that is not reserved to qualified lawyers and which forms a big part of their income.’

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Legal Futures, 5th December 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Watchdog to launch investigation into UK funerals over ‘unjustified’ price hikes – The Independent

Posted November 29th, 2018 in bereavement, budgets, burials and cremation, competition, news, statistics by tracey

‘The UK funeral market could be the subject of the competition watchdog’s next investigation, after the regulator said it had “serious concerns” with the sector due to “unjustified” price hikes of more than 66 per cent over the last 10 years.’

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The Independent, 29th November 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Council decides to block new cafe from opening in empty shop because it has too many coffee shops – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 15th, 2018 in competition, complaints, local government, news, planning by tracey

‘Coffee shop fatigue in a coastal town has resulted in a council blocking a new cafe from opening in a store left empty for a year.’

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Daily Telegraph, 14th November 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Litigation trends: The Brexit zeitgeist – New Law Journal

‘The ongoing uncertainty around the post-Brexit landscape, a vital appeal decision over legal professional privilege and disclosure reforms have been dominating the headlines for litigators.’

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New Law Journal, 1st November 2018

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

The Court of Appeal considers FRAND: Unwired Planet v Huawei – NIPC Law

Posted October 30th, 2018 in appeals, competition, EC law, injunctions, licensing, news, patents by sally

‘FRAND stands for “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory”. It is an acronym to describe the terms upon which licences should be granted for standard essential patents (“SEPs”). SEPs are patents for inventions that are crucial for compliance with a technical standard. I attempted an introduction to FRAND terms and SEPs in FRAND on 8 Oct 2017. Lord Kitchin gave a much better one in the first five paragraphs of his judgment in Unwired Planet International Ltd and Another v Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Another [2018] EWCA Civ 2344 (23 Oct 2018).’

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NIPC Law, 28th October 2018

Source: nipclaw.blogspot.com

Patents: multiple FRAND terms possible, says UK court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 24th, 2018 in appeals, competition, EC law, injunctions, licensing, news, patents, telecommunications by tracey

‘It is possible for more than one set of proposed licensing terms for standard-essential patents (SEPs) to be fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND), the Court of Appeal in London has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th October 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Neuberger and Grieve join legal regulation review – Legal Futures

Posted October 3rd, 2018 in competition, legal services, news, regulations by sally

‘The former president of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger, and former Attorney General Dominic Grieve are on the advisory panel for an independent review of the regulatory framework for legal services.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd October 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Consumer loyalty ‘rip off’ faces probe – BBC News

Posted September 28th, 2018 in competition, consumer protection, insurance, mortgages, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘The accusation that loyal customers are being “ripped off” for mobile, broadband, savings, home insurance and mortgage deals is to be investigated by the competition body.’

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BBC News, 28th September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Markets watchdog investigates rise of DIY funeral directors – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 12th, 2018 in burials and cremation, competition, news by tracey

‘The rise of DIY funeral directors is being investigated by the Competitions and Markets Authority, as traditional parlours have been hit by the growth of online competitors.’

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Daily Telegraph, 11th September 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Anchoring claims to a UK subsidiary – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

‘The recent decision of the High Court in Vattenfall AB v Prysmian SpA [2018] EWHC 1694 (Ch) is another example of claimants being allowed to use non-addressee English subsidiaries as anchor defendants for their competition damages claims. It is also another example of the court considering but not actually having to decide the interesting legal points around attribution of liability which potentially arise in such cases.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 7th September 2018

Source: competitionbulletin.com

Exclusive: “Competition in law is fierce but not working for consumers” – Legal Futures

Posted September 3rd, 2018 in competition, legal services, news by sally

‘The fact that there is a lot of competition in the legal market does not mean it is working well for consumers, the chair of the Legal Services Consumers Panel says in her first interview.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk