competitionlaw

The opinion of the AG Wahl in Coty Germany: is the end of luxury brands on sale on on-line marketplaces? On 26 th July 2017, the AG Wahl has handed down his long-awaited opinion on the Coty Germany-Parfumerie Akzente case (C-230/16), which may have a serious impact on e-commerce, especially with regard to the sale of branded luxury products through online platform.  The facts of the case Coty Germany (CG) sells certain luxury cosmetic brands via a selective distribution network. Parfümerie Akzente (PA) is long-standing authorised retailer admitted to the selective distribution network of CG. PA sells the CG’s both at brick and mortar locations and over the internet. Internet sales are made partly through its own online store and partly via the platform ‘amazon.de’.   In March 2012, CG revised the contracts governing its selective distribution network contracts. The new contractual provisions entitle the authorised retailer to offer and sell the products on the i...

The European Commission has approved the Microsoft acquisition of LinkedIn under the condition of the implementation of two sets of behavioral remedies. By its decision in Microsoft/LinkedIn the Commission dealt with many issues concerning the competition review of merger operations in digital markets. It defined for the first time the relevant market for professional social networking services. It clarified in which circumstances the concentration of datasets in the hands of the merging parties may conduce to the finding that a notified merger ma significantly impede competition. It acknowledged that when privacy protection is an important competition parameter it should be taken into account in the competition assessment of mergers. It also found that the merger might cause anti-competitive conglomerate effects which were addressed by the remedies offered by the merging parties tabled suitable remedies. Lastly, the article compares Microsoft/LinkedIn with the previous decisions made...

Under EU law a cross-border conversion is a process by which a company incorporated in a EU Member State, relying on the freedom of establishment enshrined by the EU Treaties, converts into a type of company governed by the law of another EU Member State, the country of destination. The Opinion recently delivered by the Advocate General (AG) Kokott in Polbud (Case C-106/16, ECLI:EU:C:2017:351) has considered a peculiar form of cross-border conversion whereby the moving company transferred its statutory seat abroad but it retained the centre of its commercial activities in the Member State of origin. What the AG was asked was whether a company that puts in place this form of cross-border conversion can enjoy the freedom of establishment. The AG concluded that the freedom of establishment applies to such transactions provided that the company transferred its seat to pursue a genuine economic activity in the country of destination. The legal background In essence, the AG had to...

The Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has recently opened an Article 102 TFEU investigation against a major TLC operator, Telecom Italia (TI), which was alleged to have put in place a complex foreclosing strategy to preserve its strong market position from the entry of new operators ( Case A514,Condotte Fibra Telecom Italia ). The relevant product markets targeted by the ICA investigation were the wholesale market for the provision of access services to the fixed wide band and ultra-wide band networks (the wholesale market) and the retail market for the provision of telecommunication services on the fixed wide band and ultra-wide band networks (the retail market). In the ICA’s view, TI had a dominant position in both of the above markets, also considering the vertical integration between its wholesale and retail activities. The TI allegedly abusive conduct in the wholesale market concerned the competitive tender procedures organized by the contracting authority, Infratel Italia...