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An undertaking is dominant if it has substantial market power on the relevant market such that it can behave to an appreciable extent independently of its competitors, customers and ultimately of its consumers.
Dominance is a necessary prerequisite before conduct can be considered to be abusive and thereby prohibited under Article 102 TFEU and/or the Competition Act 1998, s 18. Factors in determining dominance include market shares, barriers to entry and buyer power.
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Competition law and joint ventures—checklist This checklist summarises the competition law considerations relevant to both structural and non-structural joint ventures (both merger control rules and antitrust laws). Structural or non-structural? The key consideration will be to determine whether a proposed joint venture is structural or non-structural/cooperative; the answer to this will determine how the joint venture is to be assessed. Structural joint ventures • A structural joint venture will include arrangements that produce long-lasting structural changes to the market by creating or changing the economic control of a legal entity, for example: ◦ the creation of a joint venture company ◦ the creation of a separate partnership between the parents ◦ changes to shareholder control. • Structural joint ventures will generally always fall within merger control rules (depending on notification thresholds being met). If merger control rules don't apply, it will be necessary to consider antirust rules. Non-structural/cooperative joint venture • A non-structural and/or cooperative joint venture will not include any changes to the economic control of any...
Assessing technology transfer agreements—checklist This Checklist can be used to help assess the compliance with EU competition law of technology transfer agreements where one party (a licensor) grants to another party (the licensee) the right to exploit intellectual property (including patents, know-how, design rights, utility models and/or software copyright). See further, Assessing IP-related agreements under the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation. Framework for assessment The European Commission (Commission) has published Guidelines (TTBE Guidelines) which assist parties to assess the application of the technology transfer block exemption (TTBE). When considering the exercise and licensing of intellectual property rights (IPRs), it is necessary to consider the following: • Article 101 TFEU ◦ The first question is whether the agreement is caught by Article 101(1) TFEU at all (in practice TTBE (and relevance of other block exemptions) may often be considered before Article 101 TFEU). It will be necessary to consider: ‣ Whether the agreement is liable to affect trade between Member States. ‣ Whether the agreement restricts competition at all as...
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Resale of second-hand software When commercial software is acquired from a software supplier, a non-exclusive licence is usually all that is obtained. The supplier retains copyright ownership in the code—they permit a transfer or download of the code to the buyer, and, in exchange for a fee, the buyer takes a licence subject to often extensive terms and conditions. Although software is commonly referred to as being ‘bought’ or ‘sold’, the legal basis is (at least for commercial applications) that there is invariably no transfer of ownership. Only a limited right to use is being acquired. This Practice Note considers the legal and commercial issues surrounding whether such licences if no longer required by the licensee can be ‘resold’, ie assigned to a new user. Second-hand software market This Practice Note is concerned with the resale of business software—as opposed to games software; this has different characteristics namely, the incorporation of music, pictures and animation which raise additional copyright issues. Following the ruling by the EU’s Court of Justice...
Türkiye behavioural investigations—closed cases tracker This table summarises all completed investigations by Türkiyes competition authority (the Turkish Competition Authority—the TCA) into alleged cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions since 2018. Note—only investigations that have been made public are included in this table. 2025 Investigations under Article 4 of Law No. 4054 Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Production and sale of cement and ready-mixed concrete• Batıbeton Sanayi AŞ• Öztürk Ticaret • Şölen Çimento Yapı İnş. San. ve Tic. Ltd. Şti• Çimentaş İzmir Çimento Fabrikası Türk AŞ Restrictive agreements—price fixing and customer allocation • Infringement decision announced—27/05/2025; fines totalling TRY 42,401,366 imposed Elevator maintenance• 14 undertakings (listed here) Restrictive agreements—price fixing and customer allocation •Infringement decision announced—28/01/25; fines totalling TRY 418,391 imposed 2024 Investigations under Article 4 of Law No. 4054 Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Cleaning products• Viking Kağıt ve Selüloz Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ Restrictive agreements—RMP •Settlement agreement reached—13/11/2024; fines totalling TRY 9,073,292 imposed Private education• 18...
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Competition law compliance FAQs These FAQs are intended as a quick reference point for staff who come into contact with competitors on how we can best achieve our business goals in a way that is consistent with competition law when gathering competitive intelligence, and/or those who are involved in the pricing process. If you do not find the answer to your question or concern in this document, you must contact [insert, eg the legal team] immediately. 1 Meeting with competitors—FAQs Meetings with competitors (or where competitors are present) pose a high risk of competition law compliance issues arising. 1.1 What can I say if a competitor approaches me at an industry event and asks me how business is going? You should only discuss information which is in the public domain and relates to general market conditions. You must not disclose any confidential or commercially sensitive information, particularly in relation to product or pricing, tenders, customer offers or supplier/contractor proposals. 1.2 Can I discuss potential business partnership opportunities...
Competition law compliance—post-training assessment answers Question Correct answer 1. Competition law protects business and consumers from anti-competitive behaviour, and safeguards effective competition True 2. What are the consequences of breaching competition law? Heavy fines, prison sentences, director disqualifications, and reputational damage. 3. What are the three main contexts in which competition law may become an issue for commercial organisations? Cartels, abuse of dominant position and other anti-competitive agreements 4. Would an organisation that has substantial market power over a period of time be classified as being in a dominant
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In a written intellectual property licence that satisfies the English law requirements for creation of a contract and that is not in conflict with competition laws, can royalties be contractually agreed to be paid in perpetuity? It has been assumed that this Q&A refers to validly created licences and individual IP right licence requirements (ie whether must be in writing and signed etc) have not been covered. As such in conducting our research, we have focused on IP licence agreements in which royalties are payable. There are many different types of UK IP licence. Such licences are governed by IP right specific laws such as the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the Patents Act 1977 or the Trade Marks Act 1994. Technology transfer licensing is subject to UK and EU competition laws. Licences are also governed by common law. A perpetual licence may be granted (and the payment of royalties tied to the term of the licence). However, the period of the licence cannot extend the...
Can a UK subsidiary of a US company refuse to sell parts to a supplier in the UK? UK subsidiary A UK subsidiary is an officially incorporated body formed in the UK in accordance with local rules on company formation and registration. The subsidiary’s capital is owned either fully by its parent company or run by a company in conjunction with local partners. The UK subsidiary will have to conform to UK rules and regulations, and not those of the jurisdiction wherein the parent company operates (in this case, the US). UK competition law UK competition law regulates anti-competitive conduct, merger control and ensures markets are competitive. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the principal UK competition authority. In the UK, two sets of competition rules currently apply in parallel. Anti-competitive behaviour, which may affect trade within the UK is specifically prohibited by Chapters I and II of the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002. EU competition law In the EU, unilateral or ‘dominant’...
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This week's edition of Competition weekly highlights includes, from a UK perspective: (1) the CMA issues an interim report in the Spreadex/Sporting Index remittal merger and provisionally finds competition concerns, (2) the CMA launches a consultation on draft rules for a levy for the digital markets competition regime. This week's highlights also includes, from an EU perspective: (1) an AG opinion concerning a national reference from the Czech Republic seeking clarification as to whether a collective management organisation’s failure to account for hotel room occupancy when setting copyright royalties for licensed works constitutes a breach of Article 102 TFEU, (2) an AG opinion concerning a national reference from Sweden seeking clarification as to whether compensation provided to a company owned by a Swedish municipality constitutes new or existing aid, and (3) the Commission launches a consultation on a revision of the SGEI State aid rules to address the issue of housing affordability.
This week's edition of EU Law weekly highlights includes analyses on the Court of Justice’s ruling addressing the meaning of ‘promotional offer’ under EU E-Commerce Directive, the first Unified Patent Court’s infringement decision for second medical use claims and the transparency and disclosure obligations for AI Chatbots in consumer interactions. In addition this week, the Commission launched a consultation on high-risk AI classification and obligations, introduced the EU Sanctions Helpdesk, a free service providing sanctions compliance support to European small and medium-sized enterprise, adopted the European Ocean Pact, a comprehensive strategy designed to protect marine ecosystems, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association published a position paper in response to the Commission's sustainability omnibus package, the European Data Protection Board adopted final guidelines regarding data transfers to third country authorities, the Council of the EU adopted a new cyber crisis management blueprint to guide the EU’s collective response to large-scale cybersecurity incidents or crises and adopted its position on the revision of the EU regulations on air passenger rights and airline...
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