The context for this book is the increasingly complex relationship between economic theory and competition law which gives rise to lively political and academic debate on the direction competition law should take in a more global and innovation-oriented market place. The authors adopt a comparative, research-orientated approach, taking into account different situations in the US, Europe, Japan and transition and developing countries. They investigate the impact of economics on the objectives of competition law in various fields - restrictive agreements, unilateral restraints and merger control - and on the effectiveness of enforcement in a given legal and judicial system. Economic Theory and Competition Law is an insightful resource for law and economics scholars. Legal practitioners in the field of competition law will also value this book.

Rapid technological innovations have challenged the conventional application of antitrust and competition law across the globe. Acknowledging these challenges, this original work analyses the roles of innovation in competition law analysis and reflects on how competition and antitrust law can be refined and tailored to innovation. With chapters from well-established and up-and-coming competition law and economics scholars - from the Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA) - this book reflects on the role innovation has played, and can continue to play, within competition and antitrust law. In addition to uncovering innovation concerns within their analysis, the authors also make important contributions to academic and policy debates on the relationship between these areas of law and other instruments of innovation regulation, such as data protection regulation, intellectual property law, the regulation of big data, platforms and artificial intelligence. Academics in competition and intellectual property law, economics and political science working on data protection or innovation more generally will find this book a useful insight into future challenges for constructing meaningful and effective laws within the area of innovation. Policymakers and practising lawyers will also find the example cases useful, especially for refining and restructuring perception about innovation in competition law. Contributors include: M. Botta, J.S. Frank, S. Hayashi, W. Kerber, P. Kuoppamaki, J. Kwoka, B. Lundqvist, M. Maggiolino, F. Marcos, M.L. Montagnani, P. Nihoul, V. Robertson, C. Seitz, B. Tangsatapornpan, P. Van Cleynenbreugel, J. Vesala, K. Wu, D. Zimmer, N. Zingales

Market driven healthcare is massively divisive. Opponents argue that a competition approach to medical treatment negatively impacts on quality, while advocates point to increased efficiencies. This book casts a critical eye over both positions to show that the concerns over quality are in fact real. Taking a two part approach, it unveils the fault lines along which healthcare provision and the pursuit of quality would in certain cases clash. It then shows how competition authorities can only effectively assess competition concerns when they ask the fundamental question of how the concept of healthcare quality should be defined and factored into their decisions. Drawing on UK, US and EU examples, it explores antitrust and merger cases in hospital, medical and health insurance markets to give an accurate depiction of the reality and challenges of regulating competition in healthcare provision.

With the European Union striving to become the world's most competitive economy, the developments in the two closely interconnected areas of European corporate law and European company tax law are of utmost importance. This book focuses on the crucial issues raised by these developments, on their far-reaching implications and on the key challenges to the future legislative choices. The book illustrates the key developments in EU corporate law and EU company tax law, the EU planned initiatives in these areas, and - at a time when member states increasingly tend to use company law and company tax provisions to attract businesses and investments - it suggests how future developments can contribute to the undistorted functioning of the internal market and to the strategic 'Lisbon-objective'. The explanation of these legislative and case-law developments is of use to students and indicates new opportunities for business expansion strategies throughout the European Community. The book concludes that new optional, but attractive, EU company law vehicles and company tax regimes would be, in these two areas, the only legal and effective means towards an undistorted functioning of the internal market and towards the Lisbon-objective. This ultimately gives rise to a far-reaching challenge for all debates on the future patterns of European integration. Luca Cerioni introduces new themes for academic research and discussion subjects for decision-makers and at the same time, uniquely, makes these accessible to a much wider international public of students, businesses and practitioners.

In modern markets innovation is at least as great a concern as price competition. The book discusses how antitrust policy and patent and copyright laws interact to create market dynamics that affect both competition and innovation. Antitrust and intellectual property policies for the most part are complementary, sharing common goals of promoting innovation and economic welfare. In some cases, however, their distinct approaches, one based on competition and the other on exclusion, come into conflict. As antitrust authorities focus increasingly on ensuring that firms do not interfere with innovation by rivals or impede the pace of technological progress in an industry, they necessarily must confront difficult questions about the strength and scope of intellectual property rights. When should private property rights give way to public competition objectives? When is it appropriate to remedy anticompetitive outcomes through access to protected intellectual property? How does antitrust enforcement or competition itself affect incentives to innovate? Leading economists and lawyers address these questions from both US and EU perspectives in discussing salient antitrust cases involving intellectual property rights such as Microsoft, Magill, Kodak, IMS and Intel. Offering a non-technical introduction to this major topic, this book will be of interest to those practitioners and legal and economic scholars who may only be aware of one side of the conflicting views on competition law and intellectual property law. It will also be of interest more generally to schools and universities of law in the EU and the US.

This book examines the treatment of joint ventures (JVs) in EU competition law, and, at the same time, provides a comparison with US law. It starts with an analysis of the rather elusive concept of JVs, encompassing both concentrative JVs (subject to merger control) and non-concentrative JVs. Although focused on possible definitions of JVs in terms of competition law, it also includes a broader perspective (going beyond competition law) on the different legal models of structuring cooperation links between undertakings. At the core of the book is an attempt to build an analytical model for the assessment of JVs in terms of antitrust law, especially as regards Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The analytical model used proposes a set of sequential analytical levels, taking into account structural factors and specific factors related to the main constituent elements of the functional programs of JVs. The model is applied to a substantive assessment of four main types of JVs, identified on the basis of their prevailing economic function: R&D JVs, production JVs, commercialization JVs, and purchasing JVs. Also covered are particular situations of joint ownership of undertakings falling short of joint control. In the concluding part of the book, recent developments in JV antitrust law are put into context, within the wider reform of EU competition law. The book is comprehensive and up-to-date in terms of the reform of the EU framework on horizontal cooperation between undertakings, which was introduced at the end of 2010. (Series: Hart Studies in Competition Law - Vol. 6)

Comparative Competition Law examines the key global issues facing competition law and policy. This volume's specially commissioned chapters by leading writers from the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia provide a synthesis of how these current issues are addressed by drawing on the approaches taken in different jurisdictions around the world. Expert contributors examine the regulation of core competitive conduct by comparing substantive law approaches in the US and the EU. The book then explores issues of enforcement - such as the regulator's powers, whether to criminalize anti-competitive conduct, the degree to which private enforcement ought to be encouraged, and the extraterritorial scope of domestic laws. Finally, the book discusses how competition law is being implemented in a variety of countries, including Japan, China, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. This scholarly analysis of the key substantive, procedural, and remedial challenges facing global competition law policymakers offers a comparative framework to facilitate a better understanding of relevant policies. This collection of global perspectives will be of great interest to scholars and students of competition law, microeconomics, and regulatory studies. Competition law regulators, policy makers, and law practitioners will also find this book an invaluable resource. Contributors include: R. Burgess, E. Buttigieg, M.A. Carrier, L. Cejnar, J. Clarke, D.A. Crane, A. Ditzel Faraco, A. Duke, J. Duns, G.A. Hay, K. Klovers, A. Merrett, N.H. Nesbitt, G.C. Shaffer, T. Shiraishi, R.L. Smith, A. Speegle, B. Sweeney, J. Tapia, S. Vande Walle, S.W. Waller, W. Zheng

This fully updated second edition of European Competition Law: A Case Commentary explains EU competition law by presenting the relevant legal provisions together with carefully selected case extracts pertaining to those provisions. The selection is based on the interpretative value of the extracts and is limited to the essentials in order to clearly demonstrate how competition rules have been interpreted by the European Commission and the courts. The extracts originate primarily from the decisions of the European Commission and judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. Key features include:? Updated extracts from newly arisen cases and documents on EU competition law? Article-by-article overview of EU competition law jurisprudence ? Unique structure enabling users to quickly locate decisions and judgments on all relevant procedural and substantive aspects of EU competition law? Concise and judiciously selected extracts from the judgments in the most important and most instructive cases? A nuanced view of competition law rules provided through the use of extracts rather than author analysis, giving practitioners a more contextual insight? Greater number of case extracts than other books, giving a more complete picture of the way rules translate into European jurisprudence. This unique book is designed for everyday use by practitioners and academics who wish to better understand how competition rules are interpreted in practice, and as a starting point for legal analysis. The book also serves as a handy resource on the exact wording of the essential elements of the most important cases. It will appeal not only to practitioners and academics, but also to all competition authorities in Europe. Contributors: J. Derenne, G. van Heezik, M. Johnsson, K. Metzlaff, E. Oude Elferink, A. Pliego Selie, H. Speyart, P.Stauber

In recent times, commercial activities of companies exercising market power through their intellectual property rights have increasingly come under the scrutiny of the EU competition authorities. Intellectual Property and Competition Law: New Frontiers looks at how the leveraging strategies of Microsoft, the patent enhancement strategies of Astra Zeneca and Rambus, and the reverse payment settlements in the pharmaceutical sector have all attracted competition intervention, and how the courts have been forced to decide whether intellectual property issues are the primary subject matter of the case, or peripheral to that.
Drawing on these judgments, and others, this timely book brings together leading figures from practice and from academia who examine the increasingly complex and often strained relationship between intellectual property and competition law. Focusing primarily on EU law, but with valuable insight into US law, they highlight areas where new frontiers are emerging in the interface between the two, including; refusal to grant access to trade secrets; the new product test in consumer welfare; competition law in the pharmaceutical sector; standard setting; and FRAND (Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory terms) commitments. The book also considers the way in which the Commission's proposed changes to the application of Article 102 EC may impact on the protection of intellectual property rights.
In the post-Microsoft litigation era, this timely book captures the range of current thinking on the subject. The impressive list of contributors brings together leading figures from academia and practice, from intellectual property and competition law, and from law and economics, offering unrivalled expert analysis of this complex area.

In this fresh examination of the Microsoft antitrust case, Richard Gordon critically examines the economics of the US government's arguments. The conclusion is that the government presented a sketchy, incoherent, invalid economic case and relied upon creating the impression of misdeeds to persuade the courts. The primary charge is that Microsoft possessed an impregnable monopoly in operating systems for personal computers. According to the government, Microsoft created, included in its operating system, and vigorously promoted its internet browser solely to prevent the development of the Java/Netscape alternative. The promotion of this browser was considered predatory. Microsoft allegedly undertook similar acts against other companies. According to Gordon, the government failed to present even a clear statement of its charges and failed to substantiate the critical allegations. In this book, he concentrates on the underlying economics of the case and reviews the germane theory. He presents and evaluates implicit government arguments as well as Microsoft's refutations. Readers in economics, law and public policy will find this well researched analysis enlightening.

Emissions trading systems have come to the fore as the most economically efficient mechanisms that can be employed to bring about an optimal greenhouse gas reduction goal. Even though much has been written about the advantages and disadvantages of these systems, one element of crucial importance - emission allowance allocation - has not been considered in adequate depth until the present study. Such an analysis takes on increased importance as it seems likely that market-based auctioning will become the default allocation method throughout the EU under a proposed amendment to the Emissions Trading System (ETS) established by Directive 2003/87/EC. Taking a law and economics approach - that is, using a combined perspective of industrial economics and legal analysis - this important book examines the potential for anticompetitive distortion that may result from auctioning emission allowances. Among the issues investigated in depth are the following: * whether the current setup of the EU ETS fosters allocative efficiency or whether this allocative efficiency is hindered by legal impediments or constraints; * whether EU competition law can serve to remedy anticompetitive effects stemming from Member State actions taken pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC; * which allocation formats are most desirable from an allocative efficiency and environmental effectiveness point of view; * the importance of initial allocation and adjustment of out-of-equilibrium situations under the amended ETS; * whether auctioning allowances serves the attainment of market equilibrium even in the continuing presence of 'polluter havens'; * the effect of the ECJ's so-called 'joint application jurisprudence' on the ETS; and * the allocation of allowances from a state aid perspective. The book provides both a coherent typology of emission allowance allocation mechanisms and the main characteristics of the present emissions trading system, setting the gained insights into a broader perspective. It examines how various assignment mechanisms deal with issues such as price determination, allocative efficiency and environmental effectiveness. It considers how market-based allocation mechanisms compare with administrative allocation mechanisms, particularly those based on the widely applied grandfathering method. And perhaps most important - and of especial value to practitioners and policymakers - it identifies the auction design challenges that must be addressed by the Commission in its implementing regulation due by 30 June 2010.

This book results from a conference held in Singapore in September 2009 that brought together distinguished lawyers and economists to examine the differences and similarities in the intersection between intellectual property and competition laws in Asia. The prime focus was how best to balance these laws to improve economic welfare. Countries in Asia have different levels of development and experience with intellectual property and competition laws. Japan has the longest experience and now vigorously enforces both competition and intellectual property laws. Most other countries in Asia have only recently introduced intellectual property laws (due to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement) and competition laws (sometimes due to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund or free trade agreements). It would be naive to think that laws, even if similar on the surface, have the same goals or can be enforced similarly. Countries have differing degrees of acceptance of these laws, different economic circumstances and differing legal and political institutions. To set the scene, Judge Doug Ginsburg, Greg Sidak, David Teece and Bill Kovacic look at the intersection of intellectual property and competition laws in the United States. Next are country chapters on Asia, each jointly authored by a lawyer and an economist. The country chapters outline the institutional background to the intersection in each country, discuss the policy underpinnings (theoretically as well as describing actual policy initiatives), analyse the case law in the area, and make policy prescriptions.

The success of computer programs often depends on their ability to interoperate A- or communicate A- with other systems. In proprietary software development, however, the need to protect access to source code, including the interface information necessary for interoperability, is of vital importance. This apparent conflict gives rise to a complex interaction between copyright law and competition law, as the strong need for interoperability in computer programs affects both innovation and competition. This important book offers the first in-depth analysis of the current respective copyright and competition law approaches to interoperability. With respect to copyright law, the book offers an in-depth analysis of how copyright law has been applied to computer programs, how this form of protection affects interoperability, and how the European Software Directive A- including its interpretation by courts in Member States A- aims to facilitate interoperability. With respect to competition law, the author critically analyzes the application of Article 102 of the TFEU to refusals to supply interface information, including a discussion on the tension between copyright and competition law. The author also examines the substantial body of U.S. case law and accompanying literature on the interplay between copyright law, software and interoperability. Based further on a comparison with relevant ex-ante interconnection rules in European design protection law and telecommunications law, the author advances several recommendations aimed at facilitating interoperability in software copyright law. Three interrelated approaches combine to convey an integrated and immediately accessible understanding of the subject: A { how interoperability affects the balance between innovation and free competition in software; A { which of two regimes A- copyright law or competition law A- should primarily be concerned with striking this balance as affected by interoperability; and A { which particular instruments are suitable to approach this problem within these respective regimes. Because of the in-depth analysis of the software interoperability problem with related legal disciplines in both Europe and the United States, and due to the clarity of the presentation, this will be welcomed as a valuable resource by practitioners, jurists, and academics concerned with copyright protection of computer software, interoperability and the interaction between copyright and competition law.

This monograph examines how European Union law and regulation address concentrations of private economic power which impede free information flows on the Internet to the detriment of Internet users' autonomy. In particular, competition law, sector specific regulation (if it exists), data protection and human rights law are considered and assessed to the extent they can tackle such concentrations of power for the benefit of users. Using a series of illustrative case studies, of Internet provision, search, mobile devices and app stores, and the cloud, the work demonstrates the gaps that currently exist in EU law and regulation. It is argued that these gaps exist due, in part, to current overarching trends guiding the regulation of economic power, namely neoliberalism, by which only the situation of market failure can invite ex ante rules, buoyed by the lobbying of regulators and legislators by those in possession of such economic power to achieve outcomes which favour their businesses. Given this systemic, and extra-legal, nature of the reasons as to why the gaps exist, solutions from outside the system are proposed at the end of each case study. This study will appeal to EU competition lawyers and media lawyers.

An established authority in the field, this is the core reference work for practitioners on electronic communications in the European Union. Giving insight into the regulations, the work provides a thorough analysis of the competition rules and regulatory framework applicable to electronic communications networks and services within the European Union. Electronic communications encompass all forms of electronic transmission of information, including telecommunications, broadcasting, and the internet. This second edition is updated to reflect the new regulatory package which has made changes to some of the fundamental mechanisms. A brand new section on data protection also features, giving an authoritative account of the legislation in the important new area of privacy protection in electronic networks. Detailed coverage of the recent case law of the Europan courts is provided including the European Commission's cases on the coordination mechanism for the relations between national regulatory authorities. The author team provides a wealth of expert knowledge on both regulation and general competition law, combining the first hand experience of Peter Rodford and rigorous academic analysis from Paul Nihoul. Peter Rodford is a former Head of the European Commission unit responsible for regulatory policy in electronic communications and took part on behalf of the Commission in the recent negotiation with the European Parliament and Council on the amendments to the EU regulatory framework.

One of the major shortcomings of the current drug discovery and development process is the inability to bridge the gap between early stage discoveries and pre-clinical research to advance innovations beyond the discovery phase. This book examines a novel drug discovery and development model where the respective expertise of academia and industry are brought together to take promising discoveries through to proof of concept as a way to de-risk the drug discovery and development process. Expert author Helen Yu explores integrated drug discovery by analyzing the intersection of intellectual property law and competition law and discusses the role of stakeholders in efficient translation and commercialization of publically funded research. Considering the transactional risks associated with drug discovery and development, this book advocates for a greater emphasis on contractual freedom and economic efficiency when assessing collaborative partnerships between industry and public research organizations. This standout book bridges the gap between theoretical research and legal practice by providing a research-based applied perspective on university-industry collaborations in drug discovery and development. Achieving Proof of Concept in Drug Discovery and Development has an international appeal, especially in countries actively involved in drug discovery and development, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, India and China. Organizations and associations in the drug discovery and development field would likely be interested in reading a book that provides a research-based applied perspective as well.