Category: competition

Curtains for the French Blocking Statute? – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted November 5th, 2013 in appeals, competition, disclosure, foreign jurisdictions, news by sally

“Never the most celebrated actor on the stage of English litigation, the French Blocking Statute nonetheless has its fans, particularly among competition lawyers. The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Secretary of State for Health v Servier Laboratories [2013] EWCA Civ 1234, however, may prove the Statute’s final curtain call in this jurisdiction.”

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers,

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

LSB issues report outlining changes in competition in the legal services market – Legal Services Board

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in competition, legal services, Legal Services Board, press releases, reports by tracey

“LSB report outlining changes in competition in the legal services market since the Legal Services Act 2007 came into force.”

Full press release

Legal Services Board, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk

OFT to investigate competition between universities – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in competition, consumer protection, news, universities by tracey

“The Office of Fair Trading announced it would examine how universities in England compete for undergraduates and whether degree courses meet students’ expectations.”

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Daily Telegraph, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

High Court refuses to delay high street court battle with MasterCard – The Lawyer

Posted October 16th, 2013 in appeals, banking, competition, costs, damages, disclosure, EC law, fees, news, solicitors, stay of proceedings by sally

“An attempt by MasterCard to avoid a multi-billion damages claim from a dozen retailers because the monthly due diligence costs charged by its lawyers at Jones Day could be as much as £700,000 has been rejected by the High Court.”

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The Lawyer, 16th October 2013

Source: www.thelawyer.com

On the Tiles – the Court of Appeal’s Judgment in Spear and Others v Zynga – NIPC Law

Posted October 14th, 2013 in appeals, competition, EC law, news, trade marks by sally

“S.1 (1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, which implements art 2 of Directive 2008/95/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 22 October 2008 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks, defines a trade mark as ‘any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.’ If you are new to trade mark law or wish to be refreshed on the basics take a decko at ‘Introduction to Trade Marks’ in our IP South East blog of 9 Oct 2013.”

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NIPC Law, 13th October 2013

Source: www.nipclaw.blogspot.co.uk

Cats, bags, rings and rooms: the problem of confidentiality – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted October 11th, 2013 in competition, confidentiality, news, tribunals by sally

“Dealing with confidential information in competition cases can be tricky. The CAT’s recent judgment in BMI Healthcare and others v Competition Commission [2013] CAT 241 provides some help.”

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 11th October 2013

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

The Dow Chemical Co v Commission of the European Union – WLR Daily

Posted October 7th, 2013 in appeals, competition, EC law, joint ventures, law reports, subsidiary companies by sally

The Dow Chemical Co v Commission of the European Union (Case C-179/12P); [2013] WLR (D) 363

“For the purposes of establishing liability for participation in an infringement of article 101FEU of the FEU Treaty, where two parent companies each had a 50% shareholding in a joint venture company which had committed an infringement, and only in so far as the commission had demonstrated that both parent companies did in fact exercise decisive influence over the joint venture, those three entities could be considered to form a single economic unit and therefore form a single undertaking for the purposes of article 101FEU.”

WLR Daily, 26th September 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Energy price cap – is it legal? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted September 30th, 2013 in competition, EC law, energy, news, parliament, price fixing by sally

“You would have to be living under a rock to avoid Mr Milliband’s recent announcement that energy costs would, if he were elected in 2015, be capped for 20 months. Unsurprisingly, this has caused uproar on a political level between energy companies warning of blackouts and company failures and the Labour party who maintain it is a viable option. The question which really needs to be asked here is whether or not the government is legally entitled to do this?”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 27th September 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Stores ‘fixed sports bra prices’ – BBC News

Posted September 23rd, 2013 in competition, consumer protection, news, ombudsmen, price fixing by sally

“The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has accused three major department stores of colluding with a manufacturer to fix the price of sports bras.”

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BBC News, 20th September 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Experts welcome OFT’s workplace pension reforms, but low contributions remain the real challenge – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 20th, 2013 in competition, employment, news, pensions, reports by sally

“Low contributions remain the ‘real obstacle’ to the success of the Government’s workplace pension scheme reforms following the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT’s) review of the defined contribution (DC) pensions market, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th September 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

The Bar Standards Board responds to new proposals for criminal legal aid – Bar Standards Board

Posted September 6th, 2013 in barristers, competition, consultations, criminal justice, legal aid, press releases by tracey

“The Bar Standards Board responds to new proposals for criminal legal aid.”

Full press release

Bar Standards Board, 5th September 2013

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Grayling announces U-turn on legal aid competition plan – The Guardian

Posted September 5th, 2013 in competition, legal aid, news, solicitors, tenders by sally

“Plans to award legal aid contracts to the lowest bidders following criticisms it would reduce justice to a ‘factory mentality’ have been scrapped.”

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The Guardian, 5th September 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Google’s acquisition of Waze under scrutiny by OFT – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 29th, 2013 in competition, mergers, news by sally

“Google’s acquisition of an Israeli-based mapping technology company is being scrutinised by the UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT).’

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

New flood insurance tax ‘could breach EU law’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 27th, 2013 in competition, EC law, insurance, news, taxation by tracey

“Plans to charge every household in the country £10.50 to cover the cost of insuring properties in flood risk areas amount to a ‘tax’ and represent poor value for money for the economy, government analysts have concluded. The new system, intended to help up to 500,000 housholders afford home insurance despite living in fear of floods, is also likely to breach European laws, officials have said.”

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Daily Telegraph, 26th August 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The economics of margin squeeze – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted August 19th, 2013 in competition, damages, news by tracey

“The Competition Bulletin is pleased to welcome the second in our series of blogs by Oxera Consulting on key economic concepts for competition lawyers. In this blog, Tuomas Haanperä, a Senior Consultant, discusses the economic issues surrounding follow-on damages claims in margin squeeze cases (where a dominant firm has charged a combination of retail and wholesale prices that prevents other, ‘squeezed’, rivals from competing). This topic was recently discussed at the Oxera Economics Council, a forum of prominent European economic thinkers and academics that meets twice a year to discuss current economic policy topics.”

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 16th August 2013

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Local authorities and fracking – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted July 31st, 2013 in competition, compulsory purchase, energy, fracking, local government, news, trespass by sally

“To its supporters fracking is a revolutionary method of extracting gas and oil which will help drive down fuel prices in the UK, lower CO2 emissions and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign energy supplies. To its opponents it is a dangerous distraction from investment in renewable fuels, which can lead to the escape of carcinogenic chemicals into water supplies and which can cause minor earthquakes.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 24th July 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Competition Commission backs away from mandatory rotation in preliminary report on audit market – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 25th, 2013 in auditors, competition, news, reports by tracey

“The Competition Commission (CC) has decided against forcing companies to rotate their statutory auditors regularly and has signalled that they should instead put their auditing needs out to tender at least every five years.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th July 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Competition Commission urges shakeup of accountancy market – The Guardian

Posted July 22nd, 2013 in accountants, auditors, competition, news by sally

“Britain’s largest companies should put their accounting business up for tender every five years, the Competition Commission has said, as part of an investigation into the dominance of the big four accountancy groups.”

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The Guardian, 22nd July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

DL v EL (Abduction: Effect of Court Order) – WLR Daily

Posted July 18th, 2013 in appeals, child abduction, competition, law reports, treaties by tracey

DL v EL (Abduction: Effect of Court Order): [2013] EWCA Civ 865;   [2013] WLR (D)  285

“The lawful removal of a child from the United States to the United Kingdom pursuant to the order of a court in Texas did not become unlawful when that order was subsequently reversed by the Texan appellate court.”

WLR Daily, 16th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Commission of the European Union v Stichting Administratiekantoor Portielje and another – WLR Daily

Posted July 18th, 2013 in competition, EC law, law reports, subsidiary companies, undertakings by tracey

Commission of the European Union v Stichting Administratiekantoor Portielje and another: (Case C-440/11P);   [2013] WLR (D)  284

“The presumption of actual influence by a parent entity holding a controlling shareholding in its subsidiary arose even where that entity was constituted in the legal form of an economically inactive foundation for the purposes of imputing liability to the parent for a subsidiary’s infringing behaviour under article 101FEU of the FEU Treaty.”

WLR Daily, 11th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk