This book addresses the question of how competition authorities assess mergers in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector so as to promote competition in innovation. A closer look at the question reveals that it is far more complex and difficult to answer for the ICT, telecommunications and multi-sided platform (MSP) economy than for more traditional sectors of the economy. This has led many scholars to re-think and question whether the current merger control framework is suitable for the ICT sector, which is often also referred to as the new economy. The book pursues an interdisciplinary approach combining insights from law, economics and corporate strategy. Further, it has a comparative dimension, as it discusses the practices of the US, the EU and, wherever relevant, of other competition authorities from around the globe. Considering that the research was conducted in the EU, the practices of the European Commission remain a key aspect of the content.Considering its normative dimension, the book concentrates on the substantive aspects of merger control. To facilitate a better understanding of the most important points, the book also offers a brief overview of the procedural aspects of merger control in the EU, the US and the UK, and discusses recent amendments to Austrian and German law regarding the notification threshold. Given its scope, the book offers an invaluable guide for competition law scholars, practitioners in the field, and competition authorities worldwide.

Originally written to wide acclaim in 2001, Ky Ewing's magisterial work on international competition law is here updated to take stock of the prodigious expansion of anti-cartel enforcement throughout the world in the intervening years, and of the extraordinary success of the International Competition Network of agencies, now encompassing 97 competition agencies from an initial beginning in the Fall of 2001 - as an outgrowth in part of the judgments and recommendations of this able practitioner, espoused at the 2001 Ditchley Park conference of which Ewing was a co-chair. Yet the work's fundamental thesis has not changed: that re-evaluation of competition policies in the light of empirical evidence is fundamental to assuring that competition law delivers what it promises: freer markets and greater economic growth. Although the book has been highly regarded as a major reconsideration of the foundations of competition law and policy, it has also proven enormously valuable for its wealth of information and practical guidance. Among its most useful features (some new to the second edition) are the following: a vast amount of statistical and other information about public competition law enforcement agencies and their resources around the world; in-depth analysis of the differences in competition law regimes and the various economic and legal theories from which they derive; detailed attention to jurisprudence and legal commentary over many decades; probing of the meaning of 'low' and 'fair' as applied to prices; suggestions for carrying out re-evaluation of policies on the basis of empirical evidence; formulation of a model new U.S. competition law preempting state laws; and guidelines on distinguishing useful collaboration from collusive activity. Nine new appendices have been added to this edition, covering such informative material as new statistical data about U.S. enforcement, details on the dramatic cooperation now taking place among nations in anti-cartel enforcement, and suggestions on how companies and practitioners should respond to multinational investigations. This new edition of a highly thoughtful and thought-provoking classic should be on the shelves of all competition lawyers and economists, irrespective of whether they are legislators, law enforcers, private attorneys or scholars, in developed, developing, or transition economies. Based on the distinguished author's half-century of outstanding experience in public and private competition law enforcement, it is an excellent guide for both newcomers and experts in the field. Conscientious use of this book will go a long way toward achieving the efficient and harmonious economies upon which many countries are staking their prosperity or even survival.

This book discusses the role of public policy in Article 81 of the EC Treaty. The Commission and (recently) the Court of First Instance have said that the sole objective of Article 81 EC is consumer welfare. Many competition lawyers and economists support this view. Writing in a crisp, plain style, author Christopher Townley demonstrates that public policy considerations are still relevant in that provision. He also examines how and where they are currently considered and then he suggests why, how, and where this might be changed. The book explains how some of the most complex competition law cases can be understood and it offers a framework for those fighting or deciding such cases in the future. As such, it will be of interest to European competition lawyers, both academics and practitioners (furnishing them with a framework for hard cases), as well as students seeking a deeper understanding of how the European competition rules work and how they interact both with European Union and Member State public policy goals. The book will also help competition economists by revealing the mechanisms through which public policy considerations impact the consumer welfare test in European law.

This book, co-written by a team of European competition law specialists, offers critical perspectives on the whole range of issues in EC competition law. The book has two distinctive features: the first is that unlike similar works which present the law from either an enforcement agency or practitioner perspective in a fairly conventional manner, this work offers fresh, critical reflections on the state of the law. The second is that the authors are young academics, practitioners and administrators who have worked in the relevant fields and who are relatively new "voices" in the competition law literature. Drawn from diverse jurisdictions and professional backgrounds the authors bring a distinctively "European" feel (for instance not drawing exclusively on English language literature), and manage to introduce debates that have been taking place in the non-English language world, thereby assisting a more comprehensive dialogue in this field. The diversity in their professional backgrounds means that each chapter adopts a different perspective, with some chapters focusing on practical solutions to problems, and others exploring more general theoretical questions. The textbook-like structure places the issues in their appropriate contexts and ensures that readers see how the discussion in each chapter links with the body of law as a whole. The book is aimed at academic lawyers and practitioners, complementing existing textbooks and allowing the reader to extend his or her understanding of the subject and provide a quick source of reference to the main doctrinal debates on the subject, and offer fresh perspectives on the topics covered. The impact of EC competition law beyond Europe also means that this book will appeal to lawyers in the US, Australia, Canada and beyond.

Dozens of cases worldwide continue to challenge Microsoft Corporation's superdominance of the global digital network economy, focusing in particular on the multi-tying practices that leverage Microsoft's market power into adjacent markets and reinforce its dominance. This is the first book to analyze this international line of cases, detailing both grounds for legal action (including unfair competition, restriction of consumers' freedom of choice, abusive pricing) as well as Microsoft's defenses and administrative settlements. The author also demonstrates the serious economic repercussions of Microsoft's monopoly, such as accumulation of inefficiency and stifling of innovation in this crucial sector of twenty-first century economy and society.Through an in-depth analysis of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) case - which led to a December 2005 decision, currently under appeal at the Seoul High Court, condemning three fundamental tying practices embedded in Microsoft's global business strategy - the author clearly establishes the precise nature of Microsoft's anticompetitive practices, complete with clear technical descriptions of the underlying applications and digital media systems. The discussion develops valuable guidelines on such core issues as the following: network effect, tipping effect, and lock-in effect; separability of Microsoft's tied and tying products; forced purchase by consumers of multiple tied products; Microsoft's reinforcement of market entry barriers; Microsoft's "normal business practice" defense; and cumulative damage to consumers' interests.The book's ultimate legal and economic assessment clarifies ways in which government competition authorities can select from globally available options on a case-by-case basis, enforce re-pricing measures, avoid belated remedies, and continuously monitor new types of anticompetitive conduct.In its analytic rigor, focus on important economic issues, and its unwavering commitment to fair competition, this book will be of immeasurable value to practitioners and policymakers at every level concerned with the digital network economy, now and in the years to come.

The assumption that competition law and consumer protection are mutually reinforcing is rarely challenged. The theory seems uncontroversial. However, because a positive interaction between the two is presumed to be self-evident, the frequent conflicts that do in fact arise are often dealt with on an ad hoc basis, with no overarching legal authority. There is a clear need for a detailed and coherent understanding of exactly where the complements and tensions between the two policy areas exist. Dr Cseres' in-depth analysis provides that understanding. Proceeding from the dual perspective of law and economics that is, of justice, fairness, and reasonableness on the one hand, and of efficiency of the other she fully considers such underlying issues as the following: the role of competition law and consumer law in a free market economy; the notion of consumer welfare; the effect of the modernisation of EC competition law for consumers; economics theories of information, bounded rationality, and transaction costs; the special significance of vertical agreements and merger control; and, how consumers are affected by information asymmetries. The ultimate focus of the book is on current and emerging EC law, in which a rapprochement between the two areas seems to be under way. Dr. Cseres provides a knowledgeable guide to the various strands of theory, policy, and jurisprudence that (she shows) ought to be taken into account in the process, including schools of thought and law and policy experience in both Europe and the United States. A special chapter on Hungary, where post-1989 law and practice reveal a fresh and distinctly forward-looking understanding of the matter, is one of the book's most extraordinary features. "Competition Law and Consumer Protection" stands alone as a committed contribution to bridging a gap in legal knowledge the significance of which grows daily. It will be of immeasurable value to a wide range of professionals from academics and researchers to officials, policymakers, and practitioners in competition law, consumer protection advocacy, economic theory and planning, business administration, and various pertinent government authorities.

The Institutional Structure of Antitrust Enforcement, by Daniel A. Crane provides a comprehensive and succinct treatment of the history, structure, and behavior of the various U.S. institutions that enforce antitrust laws, such as the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. It addresses the relationship between corporate regulation and antitrust, the uniquely American approach of having two federal antitrust agencies, antitrust federalism, and the predominance of private enforcement over public enforcement. It also draws comparisons with the structure of institutional enforcement outside the United States in the European Union and in other parts of the world, and it considers the possibility of creating international antitrust institutions through the World Trade Organization or other treaty mechanisms. The book derives its topics from historical, economic, political, and theoretical perspectives.

Despite great strides in enforcement of the cartel prohibition of article 81 EC and major merger control reform, EC competition law still lacks clear standards for anti-competitive abuses under article 82 EC. In a masterful engagement with this issue, the thoughtful and original analysis in this book focuses on tying and bundling. Although these ubiquitous business practices are primarily addressed under article 82 EC as constituting abusive behavior, a wealth of economics literature emphasizes their strategic and efficiency motivations. However, there is a balance to be found, as this book ably demonstrates. In the course of the analysis, the author zeroes in on such central questions as the following: What tests are available to determine whether two products are distinct or not? Under which circumstances is anti-competitive leveraging feasible? Which efficiency motivations should be accepted? How does one valuate the possible efficiencies in the short run and the risk of leveraging effects in the long run? What factors should be considered when answering the separate product issue? What are the implications for the burden of proof under article 82 EC? Does the application of a more effects-based approach under article 82 also affect the dominance analysis? In his examination of the various responses to these probing questions, the author is able to formulate a very useful diagnosis of what factors determine whether a tied or bundled entity is likely to engender anti-competitive effects. The presentation is supported throughout by detailed reference to relevant legal-economic doctrine, laws, and judicial interpretation by European and U.S. courts, the European Commission, and antitrust agencies. In its development of effects-based tests for assessing tying and bundling practices, this important book will be of special value to policymakers and regulatory officials involved in enforcement of EC or Member State competition law. It will also be welcomed by academics in both law and economics as a truly cogent and workable approach to the solution of one of the most vital and intriguing debates in the antitrust field.

In this timely book, Beata Maihaniemi analyses and evaluates how the characteristics of information as a good, as well as the characteristics of digital platforms, affect the application of competition law in both theory and practice. Chapters offer a full evaluation and in-depth analysis of several key case studies in which information such as big data has been obtained, made use of, sold, or biased in an uncompetitive way. Such critical case studies include the European Commission's 2017 judgement against Google for granting illegal advantage to their own comparison shopping service, as well as the Bundeskartellamt's decision regarding Facebook's unfair trading terms under which it was gathering users' data without their voluntary consent. Reacting to these cases, the book offers guidance on how competition law can evolve to accommodate digital markets, such as classifying information as 'commons' or 'commodity', in order to realise social goals such as fairness. Compelling and insightful, this book will prove an important companion for students and scholars studying digital markets, as well as competition law more widely. It will also appeal to practitioners working on cases involving the regulation and usage of big data.

Bargaining, negotiation and civil penalty sanctions together constitute central techniques used by regulators in securing compliance with the law. This book is a timely exploration of these practices, constructing a principled framework for evaluating their legitimacy and thereby drawing into sharper focus the importance of the constitutional principles in regulatory compliance. Although Australian competition law provides the focal point of the book, its analysis and critique is equally applicable to other competition law regimes and to other areas of business regulation. While there are numerous empirical studies of regulatory enforcement, this book introduces a normative dimension to the debate by seeking to identify whether there are certain principled and ethical limits that inform and circumscribe the limits of legitimate enforcement practice. It is likely to be of interest to scholars in the fields of public law, criminology, economics, and regulation, and may also be of considerable assistance to legal practitioners in providing a principled, legal foundation from which to draw in their dealings with regulators.

European competition law has been increasingly subject to two complementary forces: decentralisation and harmonisation. In the course of this process, certain procedural elements have come to the fore as constituting impediments to the enforcement of Articles 81 and 82 EC in terms of actions for damages. While ECJ case law appears to establish a type of 'minimum' enforcement in this area, the far-reaching analysis presented in this book shows how an 'adequate' or even 'optimal' degree of enforcement may be achieved by effecting a choice between competing procedural solutions. Focusing on rules of civil procedure used by the ordinary courts of England, France, and Germany, the authors show how basic principles - such as protection of the rights of the defence, legal certainty, and proper conduct of the procedure - facilitate the application of the doctrines of effectiveness and non-discrimination to those elements of the national procedure which impede in some manner the effective enforcement of Articles 81 and 82 EC. Their in-depth analysis ranges over procedural aspects of such elements as rules of evidence, costs, expert testimony, injunctions, burden of proof, limitations, and forms of compensation, ultimately leading them to propose clear modifications of certain rules of national procedure that go a long way toward ensuring adequately effective enforcement. This remarkable book breaks through an impasse in European competition law. It serves to steady the balance which has been sought between the different actors of the procedure in each of the national systems studied. For practitioners and jurists it offers a particularly useful approach to the handling of cases involving European competition law, and also serves as a guide by reason of its clear presentation, its clarification of doctrine, and its analysis of national and European case law.

The obligations of international trade law hinge upon the question of what constitutes 'like products'. Trade disputes will often involve an examination of whether the products in question are in competition with one another. The most common term used for this test is to ask whether they are 'like products' - that is to ask whether products are sufficiently similar for consumers to see them as substitutable - and thus whether they are subject to the rules of the WTO and GATT. This book seeks to develop consistent principles and an effective definition for this central issue of world trade law.

The Review of the CISG is published once yearly and features articles written by prominent legal scholars in the field of international sale of goods from around the world. In addition to scholarly writings analyzing the various articles of the CISG, the book seeks to compile translations of recent decisions as well as commentaries of notable cases relating to the CISG. The Review of the CISG provides both a forum for legal discussion within the international legal community in the area of international sales law and as an authoritative source of reference for international scholars.

Although the question posed by the title of this book has generated considerable debate, the essential issue remains open and largely blurred. While some believe that there is no so-called 'small market problem', others discern discrimination against small market companies (i.e., companies with a strong position in their home markets but a modest position in the European and global markets) and a consequent need for changes in competition law. The author of this enormously helpful work here sets the stage for meaningful discussion by analysing the EC Merger Regulation's objectives, economic foundations, and application practice to present a reasoned view of the issues that can be considered relevant for such a discussion. Considering their effect on the 'small market problem', the author scrutinizes such factors as the following: - the Commission's methodology for delineating relevant markets in merger assessments; - unnecessary prohibition caused by overestimation of the market power of small market mergers; ‒ erroneous approval of cases that should actually be prohibited; ‒ impact of the so-called 'Harvard' and 'Chicago' schools of competition theory and their key policy implications; ‒ process-related alternative views of competition and new synthesizing approaches; ‒ relevant criteria for a proper analysis of market power; ‒ concentration measures and market shares; ‒ barriers to entry; ‒ price and profitability analyses; and ‒ product definition vs. geographic definition of markets. In a final chapter, the author presents some tentative conclusions, normative in nature, concerning the problem and the relevant issues relating to it. As the first in-depth analysis of the issues that are actually involved - with its particular diagnosis of the assessment of market power in considering the relevant issues for the problem - this study brings into salience the terms of the debate on the 'problem', and thus takes a giant step forward towards defining what needs to be done. Competition lawyers, policymakers, and academics in in Europe and elsewhere will find the discussion of great value.

This work gives an overview of the current state of the law of unfair competition for the protection of the intellectual creations and industrial assets in the EU, the USA and other major Anglo-American jurisdictions. Despite the growing interest in this area of law in recent years, little attention has been given to the varying legal and economic paradigms that underlie and shape it. This need for a comparative, theoretical examination is heightened by the advent of the information age, coupled with the desire to integrate markets. These developments pose a challenge to the current regimes of intellectual property protection since these are increasingly becoming out of step with the paradigms that shaped the traditional patent, copyright and trademark regimes. In this work, the author explores the alternative to a protective regime based on unfair competition doctrines, and examines the themes of economic justification, shaping legal boundaries, finding a legal justification, practical application, and harmonization of national laws.

Protecting economic competition has become a major objective of government in Western Europe, and competition law has become a central part of economic and legal experience. National competition laws have long helped shape the relationship between government and the economy, and their influence has grown dramatically during the last decade. Competition law has also played a key role in the process of European integration, and is likely to do so in the future. Yet, despite its importance, images of European experience with competition law often remain vague and are sometimes dangerously distorted. This book examines that experience, analysing the dynamics of European competition law systems, revealing their impacts and assessing the political and economic issues they raise.

This book brings together perspectives of development economics and law to tackle the relationship between competition law enforcement and economic development. It addresses the question of whether, and how, competition law enforcement helps to promote economic growth and development. This question is highly pertinent for developing countries largely because many developing countries have only adopted competition law in recent years: about thirty jurisdictions had in place a competition law in the early 1980s, and there are now more than 130 competition law regimes across the world, of which many are developing countries. The book proposes a customized approach to competition law enforcement for developing countries, set against the background of the academic and policy debate concerning convergence of competition law. The implicit premise of convergence is that there may exist one, or a few, correct approaches to competition law enforcement, which in most cases emanate from developed jurisdictions, that are applicable to all. This book rejects this assumption and argues that developing countries ought to tailor competition law enforcement to their own economic and political circumstances. In particular, it suggests how competition law enforcement can better incorporate development concerns without causing undue dilution of its traditional focus on protecting consumer welfare. It proposes ways in which approaches to competition law enforcement need to be adjusted to reflect the special economic characteristics of developing country economies and the more limited enforcement capacity of developing country competition authorities. Finally, it also addresses the long-running debate concerning the desirability and viability of industrial policy for developing countries. The author would like to acknowledge the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong for its generous support. The work in this book was fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (Project No. HKU 742412H).

Approaching the theme from an antitrust perspective and focusing on telecommunications and television broadcasting, this volume examines how traditional European competition law doctrines and principles can be applied to this converging sector. The application of antitrust rules to the communications sector is often one of the most controversial areas of law and policy. The shift towards a more competition law oriented form of regulation is one of the main principles inspiring the recent reform of European sectorial regulation enshrined in the 2002 Electronic Communication Package. The Package was adopted in 2002 and is in the process of being implemented throughout the Union. This monograph provides a detailed description of the new regulatory package and highlights the interplay between regulatory provisions and EC competition law. It then follows the pattern of a typical antitrust analysis containing chapters on the definition of relevant market in the sector and various forms of abuses of market power. The book also critically examines the Commission's practice and policy in the field of merger control and considers its relationship with wider regulatory policies. Finally it analyses the sector from the perspective of the "European" public interest and the changed nature of communications as a public service.

The increasing importance attached to the economic and social cohesion of the European Union since the 1980s, and the role of competition policy in achieving this objective, has special significance for the control of regional aids, given the general ban on State aid. Regional aids are considered to have the potential to contribute to economic and social cohesion and to undermine its attainment. The notion of competition policy as an instrument of economic and social cohesion has become a standard part of Commission rhetoric in defence of its actions. This book is concerned with the influence of EU competition policy on the regional policies of the Member States. It focuses on how the European Commission has interpreted the derogations from the State aid ban to enable the conduct of regional aid policies. The book takes both a historical perspective, tracing the evolution of policy, and a thematic one, examining in particular the relationship between EU competition and cohesion policies and the treatment of aid to very large projects. The author clearly demonstrates that, in reality, the competition policy control of regional aids is of much longer standing than the community's explicit regional aid policy and, in many respects, of arguably greater influence. She shows how competition policy has for almost thirty years shaped the design, scope and implementation of national regional aid policies; in no EU country has regional policy been unaffected by Commission intervention in the name of competition policy. Moreover, the policy principles developed for the EU now apply extraterritorially to members of the European Economic Area and to the current applicant countries. The study'soverall perspective is policy-oriented. It considers both the impact of Commission intervention in the past and the implications of policy for the future, especially in the context of enlargement and a wider Europe. It will be an invaluable resource for all policymakers and practitioners active in the fields of economic development, regional policy and State aid law at European, national and subnational levels.

Antitrust laws and proceedings in Europe, both at the Community and national levels, shape the European and international business landscape profoundly. It is therefore essential that business leaders and legal practitioners remain informed of the most important antitrust law developments and their effect on the business world. "Antitrust Developments in Europe, 2005" provides a comprehensive and practical commentary on the past year's major developments in EC and national antitrust law. Topics covered include: vertical restraints; horizontal agreements; abuse of market power; mergers & acquisitions; joint ventures; state aid; and policy and procedures. The insightful and concise analysis of major antitrust actions contained in this yearbook will be invaluable to antitrust legal practitioners, in-house counsel, businesspeople and others with an interest in the field. Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, with one of the most sophisticated and highly-respected European antitrust law practices, has systematically and meticulously monitored antitrust developments in Europe since the early 1970s. This volume represents the combined efforts and expertise of Cleary Gottlieb's antitrust practitioners in this rapidly-changing field.