competitionlaw

By the decision of 21 June 2017 handed down in the case no. 2017-C-02 Amazon Services Europe , the Luxembourg Competition Authority (LCA) has cleared Amazon Services Europe Sarl (Amazon) from the allegation that it had infringed Article 102 TFEU and the corresponding national provision, Article 5 of the Luxembourg Competition Law (LCL).  The LCA took the view that the decision of Amazon to terminate the contract with a retailer giving the latter access to the on-line platforms owned by Amazon was justified and, accordingly, did not constitute an anti-competitive abusive conduct. The facts of the case X was a Germany-based retailer trading both through ‘click & mortar’ shops and in an on-line environment, being active in many e-commerce platforms including www.amazon.de . Amazon managed the on-line platform Amazon Marketplace that facilitated the matching retailers and purchasers. Typically, Amazon and retailers concluded a contract, named ‘Amazon Services Europe Busines...

By a decision made on 14 June 2017, the Italian Competition Authority has opened an Article 102 TFEU investigation against the manager of the airport of Bergamo, Sacbo, and a firm operating in the jet fueling sector, Levorato Marcevaggi (LM) in the Sacbo- - LM/On plane jet refuelingservices case. The ICA started the investigation upon the receipt of a complaint lodged by a competitor, reporting allegedly foreclosing conducts in the market for ground handling services at the airport of Bergamo-Orio al Serio (BGY airport). The facts of the case By a concession contract signed in 2003, Sacbo entrusted JV Orio, in which it had a stake, with the task of tanking and jet refuelling at BGY. Later, Sacbo sold to JV Orio the only tank for jet fuel within the perimeter of BGY. The terms of the concession contracts were such that third parties had no access to the above jet fuel tank. Though in 2004 BGY reached the traffic volume thresholds triggering the obligation in the relevant regul...

Upon the receipt of a complaint filed by an online dealer, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has opened an Article 101 TFEU investigation against Cadel which is part of group that is a European major producer of biomass heaters (Decision no. 26616 of 17 May 2017, Case I813, Restrizioni alle vendite online di stufe ). The target of the ICA investigation is the commercial policy that Cadel has adopted at least since 2006 for its online distribution channels with the apparent strategic aim to preserve a proper margin and prevent online dealers from selling Cadel trademarked products at absurdly low prices. The relevant product market affected by under scrutiny business practices of Cadel is the market for the manufacture and commercialization of pellet stoves and kitchens. The ICA had concerns that some of the rules and terms included in the Cadel online commercial policy would constitute anti-competitive vertical restraints as they would limit to a relevant extent the marketing...

Following suit of other national competition authorities, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) together with two other authorities, AGCOM (the Communications Authority) and the Data Protection Authority, has opened an investigation into the problems associated with the use of the so-called Big Data (decision no. 26620, I C 53 Big Data ). The acting authorities will assess whether reliance on Big Data might facilitate anticompetitive practices, hindering development and technological progress. The investigation will deal with the following factors: -         impact of online platforms and the associated algorithms on the competitive dynamics of digital markets; -         data protection; -         the ability of consumers to choose; -         the promotion of information pluralism. In doing so, the acting authorities will also try t...