Dear Readers,
In this combined CPI Issue, we look at mélange of competition issues from across the world. We look at several pressing antitrust questions from around the world, such as – how the two recent decisions taken by the European Commission on April 29, 2014, the Motorola and the Samsung decisions relating to standard essential patents, sit with the civil rights regime of the EU that protects a petitioner from prosecution or punishment from bringing in the claim; what are the different theories of harm that have been used by the U.S. & EU competition authorities when assessing matters relating to IPRs; how the most favored nation / price matching clause can have anti-competitive effects; what is the best way to implement FRAND obligations and what be the benchmarks for implementing the non-discriminatory provision, how to deal with patent hold ups; what has been the track record of criminal anti-cartel competition law enforcement in Canada from 2009 to present and what have been the significant changes in the law and policy that have shaped that landscape; what steps has the Hellenic Competition Commission taken to diversify and expand its advocacy efforts and overall outreach activities, in response to the ongoing financial crisis and in context of the sustained role of the HCC in promoting structural reforms in the context of Greece’s Economic Adjustment Programme, how is the Swedish Competition Authority dealing with its project of providing guidance for companies wishing to collaborate in procurement issues, how is Pakistan’s Competition Act, 2010 faring and how it is designed to tackle competition concerns, how is the ICN trying to help competition agencies by issuing recommended guidelines, and leading advocacy efforts, how to develop & promote a more pro-competitive culture by considering different constituencies, recognizing importance of communication, personal relationships, cultural differences and quantitative estimates, how do the Chinese antitrust authorities view Minimum Resale Price Maintenance Behavior.
In context of the tech markets, what is the correct way to assess dominance, how to assess the adverse effect on consumer welfare, how to deal with super competitive performance of a firm over the rivals, how to ensure that competition law does not end up scuttling innovation.
As always, thank you to our great panel of authors.
Sincerely,
CPI Team
