Category: competition

Criminal law barristers urged to embrace new business structures to survive – Legal Futures

Posted December 19th, 2013 in alternative business structures, barristers, competition, legal services, news by tracey

‘Criminal law barristers need to consider significant changes to their business models if they are to remain competitive, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has argued. In its submission to the Ministry of Justice-commissioned Jeffrey review of the provision of independent criminal advocacy, the LSB identified continued market liberalisation as one of the reasons the government did not need to intervene.’

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Legal Futures, 18th December 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Copyright Licensing BBC v EOS – NIPC Law

Posted December 18th, 2013 in artistic works, BBC, competition, consumer protection, copyright, licensing, news, Welsh language by sally

‘As everyone knows, copyright restricts the acts listed in s.16 (1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (“CDPA”) in relation to a work in which copyright subsists (“a copyright work”). Those acts include copying, issuing copies, renting, lending or communicating the work to the public etc. Anyone who does any of those acts without the owner’s licence infringes that copyright. He or she may be sued or in an extreme case prosecuted.’

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NIPC Law, 17th December 2013

Source: www.nipclaw.blogspot.co.uk

Car insurance too high, says Competition Commission – The Guardian

Posted December 17th, 2013 in competition, consumer protection, insurance, news, road traffic by sally

‘Car insurance premiums are too high and should be reduced through far-reaching reforms, the competition watchdog has said.’

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The Guardian, 17th December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

TalkTalk v Ofcom – the Court of Appeal stresses that market definition is a tool not an end – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted December 9th, 2013 in appeals, competition, news, telecommunications by sally

‘The Court of Appeal, in TalkTalk v Ofcom [2013] EWCA Civ 1318, recently gave an important reminder to all competition practitioners that market definitions are a tool rather than an end: what matters is substance not form.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 9th December 2013

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Sitting in the garden may be pleasant but it’s no holiday – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 3rd, 2013 in competition, constructive dismissal, contract of employment, employment, injunctions, news by sally

‘For a case about garden leave, the apparently aptly named (the irony comes later) employee was a Mr Holliday. He is a stockbroker. On 5 July 2013 he gave notice to his employers that he was intending to leave to join a competitor. On 10 July 2013 he was placed on garden leave. The contract under which he worked had been amended in 2008. It provided for 12 months garden leave on notice to terminate being given. At the same time, his salary was tripled from £40,000 to £120,000 per year. He had an exit interview on 29 July 2013, the purpose of which was to ensure he understood the conditions of his garden leave.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 22nd November 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

The Court of Appeal on Cartels and Conflicts – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted November 25th, 2013 in appeals, competition, conflict of laws, damages, jurisdiction, news by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal handed down two important decisions last week on the application of conflict of law principles to cartel follow-on damages claims: Deutsche Bahn AG & Ors v Morgan Advanced Materials plc & Ors [2013] EWCA Civ 1484 and Ryanair Limited v Esso Italiana Srl [2013] EWCA Civ 1450. The defendants in each case challenged the jurisdiction of the English courts to hear damages claims arising from their cartel activities.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 24th November 2013

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Restrictions placed on supply of drugs were not anti-competitive, rules Court of Appeal – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 15th, 2013 in appeals, competition, injunctions, medicines, news by tracey

“A pharmaceuticals company did not act in breach of UK competition rules when it placed restrictions on its supply of a drug to one of its customers, the Court of Appeal has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 14th November 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

W H Newson Holding Ltd and others v IMI plc and others – WLR Daily

Posted November 14th, 2013 in appeals, competition, conspiracy, jurisdiction, law reports, striking out, tribunals by tracey

W H Newson Holding Ltd and others v IMI plc and others [2013] EWCA Civ 1377:   [2013] WLR (D)  432

“On its true interpretation, section 47A of the Competition Act 1998, which permitted a claimant to bring a follow-on claim to recover damages based on a finding of an infringement of competition law by the Commission of the European Union, permitted a claimant to bring a conspiracy claim provided that all the ingredients of the cause of action could be established by infringement findings in the Commission’s decision.”

WLR Daily, 12th November 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Conspiracy, the CAT, and the Court of Appeal: “Here is a case unprecedented” (The Gondoliers, Act 2) – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted November 13th, 2013 in appeals, competition, conspiracy, news by tracey

“In W.H. Newson Holding Limited & ors v IMI plc & ors [2013] EWCA Civ 1377, the Court of Appeal has made some important new law regarding the scope of section 47A of the Competition Act 1998 and the tort of common law conspiracy.”

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 13th November 2013

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

OFT clears Google’s takeover of Waze – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 13th, 2013 in competition, internet, mergers, news, ombudsmen, takeovers by tracey

“The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has cleared Google’s takeover of Israeli-based mapping technology company Waze Mobile after finding it does not raise competition concerns.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 12th November 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

UK firms cleared of gas price manipulation – BBC News

Posted November 7th, 2013 in competition, energy, financial regulation, news, price fixing, select committees by tracey

“Regulators have found no evidence of price manipulation in the UK wholesale gas market after an investigation.”

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BBC News, 7th November 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Curtains for the French Blocking Statute? – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted November 5th, 2013 in appeals, competition, disclosure, foreign jurisdictions, news by sally

“Never the most celebrated actor on the stage of English litigation, the French Blocking Statute nonetheless has its fans, particularly among competition lawyers. The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Secretary of State for Health v Servier Laboratories [2013] EWCA Civ 1234, however, may prove the Statute’s final curtain call in this jurisdiction.”

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers,

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

LSB issues report outlining changes in competition in the legal services market – Legal Services Board

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in competition, legal services, Legal Services Board, press releases, reports by tracey

“LSB report outlining changes in competition in the legal services market since the Legal Services Act 2007 came into force.”

Full press release

Legal Services Board, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk

OFT to investigate competition between universities – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in competition, consumer protection, news, universities by tracey

“The Office of Fair Trading announced it would examine how universities in England compete for undergraduates and whether degree courses meet students’ expectations.”

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Daily Telegraph, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

High Court refuses to delay high street court battle with MasterCard – The Lawyer

Posted October 16th, 2013 in appeals, banking, competition, costs, damages, disclosure, EC law, fees, news, solicitors, stay of proceedings by sally

“An attempt by MasterCard to avoid a multi-billion damages claim from a dozen retailers because the monthly due diligence costs charged by its lawyers at Jones Day could be as much as £700,000 has been rejected by the High Court.”

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The Lawyer, 16th October 2013

Source: www.thelawyer.com

On the Tiles – the Court of Appeal’s Judgment in Spear and Others v Zynga – NIPC Law

Posted October 14th, 2013 in appeals, competition, EC law, news, trade marks by sally

“S.1 (1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, which implements art 2 of Directive 2008/95/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 22 October 2008 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks, defines a trade mark as ‘any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.’ If you are new to trade mark law or wish to be refreshed on the basics take a decko at ‘Introduction to Trade Marks’ in our IP South East blog of 9 Oct 2013.”

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NIPC Law, 13th October 2013

Source: www.nipclaw.blogspot.co.uk

Cats, bags, rings and rooms: the problem of confidentiality – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted October 11th, 2013 in competition, confidentiality, news, tribunals by sally

“Dealing with confidential information in competition cases can be tricky. The CAT’s recent judgment in BMI Healthcare and others v Competition Commission [2013] CAT 241 provides some help.”

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 11th October 2013

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

The Dow Chemical Co v Commission of the European Union – WLR Daily

Posted October 7th, 2013 in appeals, competition, EC law, joint ventures, law reports, subsidiary companies by sally

The Dow Chemical Co v Commission of the European Union (Case C-179/12P); [2013] WLR (D) 363

“For the purposes of establishing liability for participation in an infringement of article 101FEU of the FEU Treaty, where two parent companies each had a 50% shareholding in a joint venture company which had committed an infringement, and only in so far as the commission had demonstrated that both parent companies did in fact exercise decisive influence over the joint venture, those three entities could be considered to form a single economic unit and therefore form a single undertaking for the purposes of article 101FEU.”

WLR Daily, 26th September 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Energy price cap – is it legal? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted September 30th, 2013 in competition, EC law, energy, news, parliament, price fixing by sally

“You would have to be living under a rock to avoid Mr Milliband’s recent announcement that energy costs would, if he were elected in 2015, be capped for 20 months. Unsurprisingly, this has caused uproar on a political level between energy companies warning of blackouts and company failures and the Labour party who maintain it is a viable option. The question which really needs to be asked here is whether or not the government is legally entitled to do this?”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 27th September 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Stores ‘fixed sports bra prices’ – BBC News

Posted September 23rd, 2013 in competition, consumer protection, news, ombudsmen, price fixing by sally

“The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has accused three major department stores of colluding with a manufacturer to fix the price of sports bras.”

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BBC News, 20th September 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk