With reports of excessive pricing on the rise around the globe, it is critical that companies understand the price gouging rules and regulations and their enforcement in each country where they do business. Our team has compiled a global price gouging resource guide to help our clients navigate the differing approaches taken by governments and regulatory … Continue Reading
Continuing our podcast series on price gouging laws, members of our global antitrust lawyers focus on the situation around price gouging (excessive pricing) in the EU, France, Germany and the UK in our latest instalment. The COVID-19 crisis has cast new light on excessive pricing practices in Europe, our team explains the impact the pandemic … Continue Reading
As the Amsterdam Court of Appeal recently confirmed in Action Sport v Nike (decision of 14 July 2020, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2020:2004), the prohibition of sales on third-party platforms contained in selective distribution agreements of brand manufacturers in the EU can be in line with EU competition law irrespective of whether or not the relevant products are luxurious. The … Continue Reading
On 18 June 2020, the German Parliament agreed to further rules on tightening foreign investment control by adopting the First Act on the amendment to the Foreign Trade and Payment Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz – AWG). The first amendment to the AWG was published in the Federal Gazette on 16 July 2020 and entered into force on … Continue Reading
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy implemented further amendments to the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung – AWV) due to the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent the buyout of German companies active in the health care and infection protection sectors by investors from outside the EU (or EFTA). The amendment entered into … Continue Reading
On 14 May 2020, the German Parliament adopted temporary amendments to the Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC) to mitigate consequences resulting from COVID-19 in the field of competition law. See BT-Drucksache 19/18963. In order to enable the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) to continue investigating mergers and their impact on the market concerned under the … Continue Reading
The German government’s decision to tighten regulation around foreign investment control in Germany means that acquisitions by foreign companies are facing much greater scrutiny. The government’s amendments to the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung) means that the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy will be able to inspect, and potentially prohibit, an acquisition … Continue Reading
Facebook has a unique positioning in the digital market, which is based entirely on the collecting of user data. Currently, users have only one option: accepting the terms and conditions imposed by Facebook or being excluded from the social network entirely. After almost three years of investigation, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) found that … Continue Reading
By way of an EU regulation adopted by the Council and European Parliament, the European Commission, European Parliament, and Council of the European Union reached an agreement on February 14, 2019 to implement new rules designed to ensure a fair, transparent and predictable business environment to both end consumers and entrepreneurs using third party online … Continue Reading
On 11 April 2019, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) released the final report on its sector inquiry into comparison websites. The FCO’s report identifies areas of concern in various industries, including energy, telecommunications, insurance, finance and travel, which are particularly relevant for consumers. The findings indicate that in some cases consumers are being misled, … Continue Reading
