Less bark, more bite – competition to the fore as tougher enforcement arrives

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New legislation and a tougher outlook from regulators has competition partners salivating, but the old guard maintain their dominance in the City. Can the rise of US players extend to antitrust practices?

Having long been viewed as stable, the UK’s competition law agenda has been shaken up significantly over the last 12 months, with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)’s public attack on the proposed merger of mobile networks O2 and Three last month the clearest example yet. In an unprecedented move CMA chief executive Alex Chisholm published a letter to the European Commission, which is assessing the deal, stating that the £10.25bn purchase of O2 by Three owner Hutchison would cause ‘long-term damage to the UK telecoms market’.

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Legal training provider launches competition claim against Law Society

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The Law Society, already fighting to recapture full control of education standards for lawyers from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), is facing a claim at the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) over ‘an abuse of its dominant position’ that is allegedly ‘restricting competition’ of financial crime training in the UK.

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Freshfields and Linklaters advise as competition issues threaten stock exchange merger

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Börse/LSE tie-up raises regulatory concerns

As Europe’s two largest financial market operators, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Börse, begin their third attempt at a tie-up, concerns have been raised over antitrust issues.

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‘A watershed moment for enforcement’ – Cleary’s Gadhia sizes up class action competition reforms

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We have begun a journey into the unknown. The new collective action regime for competition litigation, which came into effect on 1 October, has set the market abuzz with speculation. For example, in the wake of the recent benchmark manipulation scandals, what impact will the new regime have for banks?

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‘A watershed moment for enforcement’ – sizing up class action competition reforms

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Cleary’s Sunil Gadhia and Paul Gilbert on the much-touted reforms of competition disputes

We have begun a journey into the unknown. The new collective action regime for competition litigation, which came into effect on 1 October, has set the market abuzz with speculation. For example, in the wake of the recent benchmark manipulation scandals, what impact will the new regime have for banks?

Continue reading “‘A watershed moment for enforcement’ – sizing up class action competition reforms”

Opting in: Consumer Rights Act ushers in class action model in much touted competition reforms

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The Consumer Rights Act 2015, which comes into force today (1 October), will for the first time establish a procedure for class actions for competition claims, giving consumers and small businesses an easier route to success for claims made over anti-competitive behaviour, including price fixing and market sharing.

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Landmark European court ruling to open floodgates for EU competition teams

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In what will inevitably bring more work for competition lawyers acting for Asian clients in Europe, the EU’s highest court has upheld the European Commission’s €288m fine handed to Taiwanese electronics company Innolux in a ruling that puts the reach of EU competition law at odds with other antitrust regulators worldwide.

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10 weeks to respond: Cleary Gottlieb called in to handle EU competition claims against Google

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Google’s lawyers at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton have been given 10 weeks to respond to the European Commission’s charges that the search engine abused its dominant position to favour its own price comparison service.

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Guest post: What can IP offer Africa – and what can Africa offer IP?

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A handsome book recently arrived on my crowded desk, demanding attention: it’s Innovation & Intellectual Property: Collaborative Dynamics in Africa, edited by scholars Jeremy de Beer, Chris Armstrong, Chidi Oguamanam and Tobia Schonwetter. Published by the UCT Press in association with the IP Unit of the Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town (that’s what ‘UCT’ stands for) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), it’s one of those lovely books that you don’t have to buy since you can read it online or download it in its entirety – all 431 pages of it – by accessing its website here.

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