Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons^™

Infringement Of A Right To Be Heard As A Basis For An Annulment Of A Merger Decision. Case Comment To The Judgment Of The General Court Of 07.03.2017 In Case T-194/13 United Parcel Service, Inc. V. European Commission, Marta Michałek-Gervais

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

7 marca 2017 r. Trybunał Sprawiedliwości po raz kolejny w ostatnich latach wypowiedział się w kwestii istotnej z punktu widzenia ochrony prawa przedsiębiorców do obrony w kontekście postępowania z zakresu prawa konkurencji. Mianowicie w sprawie United Parcel Service, Inc. (dalej: UPS lub Skarżąca) przeciwko Komisji Europejskiej. Sąd unieważnił decyzję Komisji zakazującą przejęcia przez UPS wyłącznej kontroli nad TNT Express NV (dalej: TNT) ze względu na naruszenie przez Komisję istotnego elementu prawa Skarżącej do obrony, tj. prawa do bycia wysłuchanym . Komisja nie poinformowała bowiem UPS o ostatecznej wersji modelu ekonometrycznego, na którym oparła swoją decyzję, a tym samym uniemożliwiła Skarżącej …

Algorithms And Collusion - Background Note By The Secretariat, Daf/Comp(2017)4, Oecd - Directorate For Financial And Enterprise Affairs Competition Committee, 2017 (Agata Jurkowska-Gomułka), Agata Jurkowska-Gomułka

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

No abstract provided.

The Uber Application Or How To Fit The Sharing Economy Into The Existing Legal Framework?, Maciej Toroń, Katarzyna Wiese

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

The Authors analyze in this article, on the example of the UBER application, problems arising from the dissemination of new business models commonly referred to as belonging to the sharing economy. While the development of the sharing economy is enthusiastically welcomed by the European Commission, it is difficult not to notice that the Member States of the EU, as well as some entrepreneurs, do not share this optimistic approach. In this article, the Authors consider to what extent their objections are justified. Furthermore, the compatibility of the functioning of the application with competition law requirements is also checked.

Selectivity Of A Taxation System For The Purposes Of Article 107(1) Tfeu With Regard To Equal Treatment And Discrimination. Case Comment To Judgment Of The Court Of 21.12.2016 In Joined Cases C‑20/15 P And C‑21/15 P European Commission V World Duty Free Group Sa And Others, Łukasz Stępkowski

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

1. W celu udowodnienia selektywności systemu podatkowego istotna jest tylko okoliczność, że środek – niezależnie od jego postaci lub zastosowanej techniki regulacyjnej – skutkuje tym, że stawia przedsiębiorstwa będące beneficjentami w korzystniejszej sytuacji niż inne przedsiębiorstwa, mimo że wszystkie te przedsiębiorstwa znajdują się w porównywalnej sytuacji faktycznej i prawnej w świetle celu przyświecającego danemu systemowi podatkowemu. Nie można ponadto wymagać, by w celu udowodnienia selektywności takiego środka Komisja określiła pewne szczególne i swoiste cechy charakterystyczne wspólne przedsiębiorstwom będącym beneficjentami korzyści podatkowej, które to cechy pozwalają je odróżnić od przedsiębiorstw wykluczonych z zakresu zastosowania tej korzyści (pkt 78 i 79 wyroku).

Collusion On The Market Of Smart Card Chips. Case Comment To The Judgment Of The General Court Of 15.12.2017 In Joined Cases T-758/14 Infineon Technologies Ag V. Commission And T-762/14 Koninklijke Philips Nv And Philips France V. Commission, Szymon Gołębiowski

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Wyrokami z dnia 15 grudnia 2016 r. Sąd Unii Europejskiej (General Court) oddalił skargi Infineon Technologies AG , Koninklijke Philips NV oraz Philips France przeciwko Komisji Europejskiej. Wniesione przez przedsiębiorców skargi zawierały żądanie uchylenia decyzji Komisji z dnia 3 września 2014 r. stwierdzającej naruszenie art. 101 ust. 1 TFUE przez producentów układów scalonych do kart inteligentnych (smart card chips – SCC). Zarzucana producentom SCC praktyka funkcjonowała w oparciu o system dwustronnych relacji pomiędzy czterema przedsiębiorcami, którzy wymieniali się między sobą informacjami dotyczącymi m.in. przyszłych strategii rynkowych (w tym cen). Po przeprowadzeniu postępowania – wszczętego na skutek złożenia wniosku leniency przez …

United States Versus Microsoft: A Case Study, Michael Betts

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Standardization In Information Technology Industries: Emerging Issues Under Section Two Of The Sherman Antitrust Act, Michael Betts

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Plunging Into The Information Age: The Effect Of Current Competition Policy On United States Science And Technology Policy, Michael Betts

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Irma Price Gouging Highlights Sad Truth: Consumer Fleecing Is The New Normal, Ramsi Woodcock

Law Faculty Popular Media

By bringing desperation to so many, Hurricane Irma is revealing a sad fact about many American companies, and not just airlines: that they have come in recent years to embrace taking advantage of desperate consumers as a central part of their business models.

The practice, called dynamic pricing, is intended to ration scarce goods and services, yet, as I show in a recent paper, it primarily harms consumers by making it easier for companies to fleece them.

Extraterritoriality Of The Regulations And Interconnections Of The Derivatives Market: Legal Implications For East And Southeast Asia, Christopher C. H. Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the legal implications of the interconnections of the global derivatives market, such as the exchange and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, in East and Southeast Asia. First, we introduce the interconnectedness of the global derivatives market. We then examine some legal implications of such interconnectedness from several angles, such as the extraterritoriality of relevant regulations (notably the reporting, clearing and trading mandates prescribed by the G20 and the new initial margin rule), standard product documentation, the effect of substituted compliance, the potential competition effect due to shifting OTC trades to exchange trading and the effect of consolidating exchanges and/or …

Amazon's Whole Foods Deal Could Still Be Reversed Thanks To Forgotten Antitrust Case, Ramsi Woodcock

Law Faculty Popular Media

Amazon formally took ownership of Whole Foods this week after the Federal Trade Commission signaled on August 23 that it wouldn’t stop the deal.

The online retailer isn’t wasting any time remaking the high-end grocery chain in its low-price image. Its first act involved cutting prices on dozens of items, from avocados to tilapia. But that is not what is sending shivers down the aisles of rival food retailers like Walmart, which now controls 20 percent of the grocery market by pursuing just such a low-price strategy.

The reason, which the FTC ignored in providing its imprimatur, is that Amazon …

Big Data, Price Discrimination, And Antitrust, Ramsi Woodcock

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Antitrust law today guarantees a particular distribution of wealth between consumers and firms by promoting competition in some markets, but allowing firms to retain pricing power in other markets, such as those in which a firm has achieved power through oligopoly or by fielding a superior product. By giving firms the power to identify individual consumers at the point of sale and determine the maximum price that each consumer can be made to pay for a product, big data will soon allow firms with pricing power to charge each consumer the highest price that the consumer is able to pay, …

Fighting The Troll Toll: The Case For Judicial Review Of The U.S.P.T.O. Director's Denial Of A Petition To Institute An Inter Partes Review, Renoj Zachariah

Cardozo Law Review

The note challenges the Federal Circuit's ruling in St. Jude Medical, LLC v. Volcano Corp., which held that the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) decision to deny an Inter Partes Review (IPR) is final and non-appealable under 35 U.S.C. § 314(d). Arguing that this ruling misinterprets the statute and undermines the goals of the America Invents Act (AIA), the article advocates for judicial review of such decisions to ensure fairness, prevent abuse of discretion, and align IPR proceedings with administrative law principles. It also highlights the inconsistency in allowing judicial review for Covered Business Method …

Eu's Antitrust 'War' On Google And Facebook Uses Abandoned American Playbook, Ramsi Woodcock

Law Faculty Popular Media

On June 27, the European Union imposed a €2.4 billion (US$2.75 billion) fine on Google for giving favorable treatment in its search engine results to its own comparison shopping service. And Germany’s antitrust enforcer is investigating Facebook for asking users to sign away control over personal information.

In contrast, American antitrust enforcers have shown little interest in these companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) did open an investigation into whether Google has a search bias, but closed it in 2013, despite recognizing that it “may have had the effect of harming individual competitors.”

Anti-Americanism, however, does not explain these starkly …

Let The State Decide: The Efficient Antitrust Enforcer And The Avoidance Of Anticompetitive Remedies, Andrew J. Fuller

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

If the antitrust remedy a private party pursues would likely have anticompetitive consequences, would only the government constitute an efficient enforcer of the antitrust laws? Imagine that a plaintiff sues for a remedy so large that the award of the remedy would meaningfully increase market concentration by sending the defendants into bankruptcy. Is such a plaintiff an efficient enforcer of the antitrust laws? Should courts hold that in this situation only the government should be able to challenge the alleged conduct? These questions have gone unaddressed in academic literature because litigation rarely raises the specter of the anticompetitive remedy. Recently, …

Comment On Us Trade And Investment Agreements Submitted To Ustr, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Comments to USTR Re: Review of US Trade and Investment Agreements (July 17, 2017): CCSI, in response to the United States Trade Representative’s request for public comment to inform its performance review of US trade and investment agreements, submitted Comments that focused on the impact that investment protection provisions, enforceable through investor-state dispute settlement, have on rights-compliant, inclusive sustainable development within the United States and abroad.

Challenges Placed By Eu Merger Control In Cargo Rail Transport In The Light Of Industry Liberalization, Jakub Kociubiński

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

The competitive situation in rail transport is peculiar because the liberalisation process is still ongoing. As a result, there is a significant difference in scale between various undertakings active on the market, where existing dominance is inherited from the pre-liberalisation monopolist status. The challenge faced by the European Commission is thus not the safeguarding of the competitive process, but rather creating a level playing field to foster future competition and thus making it possible to achieve the goals of liberalisation. In this context, this paper presents a detailed analysis of the application of merger control rules in EU Law.

Open Access In The Light Of The Decisions Of The President Of The Polish Railway Transport Office (Utk), Marcin Kraśniewski

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

The aim of the article is to present the open access mechanism in the Polish legal system (before and after the amendment of Rail Transport Act of 16 November 2016). The presentation of the mechanism is based on selected decisions of the President of the Polish Railway Transport Office (UTK). The author analyses both the applicable legislation concerning open access and the factual circumstances of the cases. He pays attention to collected information and documents, points out the basis for granting open access and evaluates the decisions issued. The article indicates also the shortcomings of the open access mechanism in …

Legislation And Case Law Review, Ignacy Góra, Jan Siudecki

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

The authors analyze the most important changes in the railway legal framework introduced with the technical pillar of the fourth railway package of the European Union. New procedures for issuing an authorization for placing railway vehicles on the market and for issuing a single safety certificates are discussed. The ERTMS preauthorisation procedure and the revision of national rules are described also. The analysis is based on the practical experience of the authors gained through their cooperation with the European Union Agency for Railways on the implementation of the new legal framework.

Co-Operation Of The President Of The Railway Transport Office (Utk) With The Authorities Of The European Union And Of Other Member States In The Light Of The Provisions Of The Act Of 16 November 2016 Amending The Railway Transport Act And Certain Other Acts, Łukasz Gołąb

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

On 21 November 2012, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2012/34/EU establishing a single European railway area (recast). Although the deadline for implementing the provisions of the Directive has expired on 16 June 2015, the lower chamber of the Parliament of the Republic of Poland (Sejm) only adopted the Act amending the Railway Transport Act and some other acts on 16 November 2016. This is by far the most extensive and important change to the Railway Transport Act introduced in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to present changes in the cooperation between the President of …

Report From The Conference The Consumer On The Market For Rail Passenger Transport Services, Łódź, 26 April 2017 (Marcin Kraśniewski)., Marcin Kraśniewski

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

26 kwietnia 2017 r. na Wydziale Prawa i Administracji Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego (WPiA UŁ) odbyła się IV. Ogólnopolska Konferencja Naukowa „Konsument na rynku kolejowych przewozów pasażerskich”. Wydarzenie zorganizowało Naukowe Koło Prawa Energetycznego i Innych Sektorów Infrastrukturalnych Uniwersytet Łódzkiego (NKPEiISI), Katedra Europejskiego Prawa Gospodarczego działające na WPiA UŁ oraz Polska Fundacja Prawa Konkurencji i Regulacji Sektorowej Ius Publicum w Warszawie (Fundacja Ius Publicum). Konferencja była objęta patronatem honorowym przez Prezesa Urzędu Transportu Kolejowego, Centrum Studiów Antymonopolowych i Regulacyjnych Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego (CARS) oraz Railway Bussines Forum. Partnerem Strategicznym konferencji była spółka PKP Intercity S.A., Złotym Partnerem Polskie Koleje Państwowe S.A., natomiast Srebrnym Partnerem …

From The Volume Editor, Stefan Akira Jarecki

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Oddaję w Państwa ręce kolejny zeszyt internetowego Kwartalnika Antymonopolowego i regulacyjnego (iKAR) dotyczący problematyki regulacji sektora transportu kolejowego oraz, po raz pierwszy, nieco szerzej, publicznego transportu zbiorowego. Objęcie zakresem czasopisma tematyki publicznego transportu zbiorowego wpisuje się w podejmowane przez Centrum Studiów Antymonopolowych i Regulacyjnych (CARS) nieustanne wysiłki mające na celu kontynuację i intensyfikację szerokiego spektrum działań ukierunkowanych na poznanie i praktyczne wspieranie procesów zachodzących w tych sektorach. Jednym z najważniejszych przejawów powyższych wysiłków było powołanie w ramach CARS 17 października 2016 r. Laboratorium Transportu Kolejowego i Publicznego Transportu Zbiorowego, którego mam przyjemność być kierownikiem. Jest ono trzecią tego rodzaju jednostką …

Considerations On Mechanisms For Resolving Conflicts On The Rail Transport Market, Mirosław Antonowicz

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

The aim of the article is to present possible ways of resolving conflicts in the rail transport market in a regulatory sense. The article defines the notion of conflict and presents alternative forms of conflict resolution - mediation and arbitration. The issue of siding is also presented as a potential source of conflict in the future. Finally, in the summary, the conclusion is presented that there is a need to use alternative conflict resolution methods by modern management of a public institution in the area of regulatory issues for the rail transport market.

Regulations For Railway Service Facilities In The Railways Act Of 28 March 2003 After The Recent Amendment Of 16 November 2016, Ignacy Góra, Joanna Bartochowska-Jaśniewska

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Recent amendments to the Act of 28 March 2003 on Railway Transport came into force on 30 December 2016. The new law introduces the obligation to provide access for railway undertakings to railway service facilities starting from 10 December 2017. According to the amendments in the Act on Railway Transport, the term ‘railway service facility’ means the building and the ground area on which it is situated, the installations and equipment, wholly or in part, dedicated to the provision of one or more of the services referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Annex 2 to the Act …

Legal Conditions Of Independent Railway Infrastructure Managers In Germany, Michał Beim

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

The liberalization of the railway market creates the possibility for the functioning and development of independent managers of the railway infrastructure. No universal, systemic solutions to support independent railway infrastructure managers have been developed in the European Union. The paper presents the German experience in this area. Independent infrastructure managers already run more than ten percent of the German rail network. The paper presents the legal conditions applicable to the managers as well as the principles of their financial support. Although the German state has undertaken to support independent infrastructure managers, it seems that their economic and social importance is …

Legal Character Of Duties And Competences Of The President Of The Polish Railway Transport Office (Utk) Concerning The Interoperability Of The European Railway Network, With Particular Emphasis On The Authorization For Operation Of A Railway Vehicle Consistent With Tsi, Mikołaj Goss

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

The paper provides a scientific analysis of the legal character of duties and competences of the President of the Polish Railway Transport Office (UTK) concerning the interoperability of the European railway network, with particular emphasis on the authorization for operation of a railway vehicle consistent with TSI. The author presents an overview of the administrative law doctrine with reference to issues such as regulatory function of the state, its legal position, and the characteristic forms of the operations of its regulatory authorities. Moreover, the author proposes an addition to the approach prevailing in the doctrine consisting of a distinction of …

The Opening Of Domestic Passenger Rail Markets And Public Services, Stefan Akira Jarecki

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

In 2016, the fourth railway package has finally been adopted. The fourth railway package completes the process of the gradual opening of the rail passenger market in the EU. It establishes the general right for railway undertakings established in one member state to operate all types of passenger services everywhere within the EU. Thus, the package introduces open access to railway infrastructure for domestic passenger services (competition in the market). Does it really mean that open access competition will develop? However, services provided under public services obligation (as defined, entrusted and financed by national authorities) might be an important barrier …

Financing Public Service Compensation By European Structural And Investments Funds – Selected Civil Law Aspects, Roman Gąszczyk

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Niniejszy artykuł stanowi próbę opisania relacji pomiędzy stronami umowy o świadczenie usług publicznych a instytucją funduszową mających na celu częściowe sfinansowanie rekompensaty ze środków europejskich przy wykorzystaniu pojęć wypracowanych przez doktrynę prawa cywilnego. Autor dokonuje analizy ww. stosunków prawnych, która prowadzi do stwierdzenia możliwości uznania ich za tzw. związek umów. Jego identyfikacja stanowi potwierdzenie tezy o tym, że częściowe sfinansowanie rekompensaty ze środków europejskich (w zakresie, w jakim przeznaczona jest ona na wsparcie realizacji projektu taborowego lub infrastrukturalnego) nie wyłącza zgodności tej operacji z prawem. Tym samym formułuje rekomendację pod adresem uczestników obrotu prawnego co do możliwego ukształtowania struktury instytucjonalnej …

Acts Regulating The Structure Of Metropolitan Unions And Public Collective Transport - Comparative Article, Adrian Misiejko

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

The topic of this article is a comparison of the legal aspects of organizing public transport established under the Act on metropolitan unions (‘ustawa o związkach metropolitalnych’ – u.z.m.), which is no longer binding, and the Act on the metropolitan union in the Silesia County (’ustawa o związku metropolitalnym w województwie śląskim’ - u.z.m.w.ś.). In the first place, the author analyzed regulations of the Act on metropolitan unions, discussing the introduced solutions and related concerns. The second part of the paper discusses the legal aspects of the organization of public transport under the current law: Act on the metropolitan union …

Rail Economics, Policy And Regulation In Europe Edited By Matthias Finger And Pierre Messulam, Edward Elgar Publishing 2015, P. 392; Review By Wojciech Pawłuszko, Wojciech Pawłuszko

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Książka pt. Rail Economics, Policy and Regulation in Europe została wydana w 2015 r. przez brytyjskie wydawnictwo Edward Elgar Publishing, które od wielu lat poszerza ofertę o publikacje dotyczące tematyki kolejowej. To praca zbiorowa napisana przez dwudziestu dwóch specjalistów powiązanych z sektorem transportu pochodzących z Francji, Szwajcarii, Włoch, Wielkiej Brytanii, Norwegii, Belgii, Niemiec, Japonii, Hiszpanii i Holandii. Większość z nich to doświadczeni pracownicy uczelni wyższych oraz firm kolejowych.