Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons^™

6th International Phd Students’ Conference On Competition Law, University Of Białystok, 27 April 2017, Magdalena Knapp, Paulina Korycińska-Rządca

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

University of Białystok, 27 April 2017

International Seminar Reform Of Regulation 1/2003: Effectiveness Of The Ncas And Beyond, Competition Law Scholar Forum And Centre For Antitrust And Regulatory Studies, University Of Warsaw, 28 April 2017, Marcin Mleczko

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

Competition Law Scholar Forum and Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies, University of Warsaw, 28 April 2017

Do Androids Dream Of Price Fixing? Pricing Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, And Competition Law., Michał Konrad Derdak

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

The article outlines the issue of undertakings’ liability for actions taken with the use (or participation) of artificial intelligence, which are in breach of the prohibition to enter into anticompetitive arrangements. Its particular focus is on the currently most important issue in this context, taking into account the experiences so far, namely the issue of using (dynamic) pricing algorithms.

The Prohibition Of The Use Of Trademarks In Online Advertising And The Prohibition Of Cooperation With Price Comparison Websites As A Restriction Of Competition In The Context Of The Bundesgerichtshof Ruling Of 12 December 2017, Bartosz Targański

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

The case is part of a series of recent cases where EU competition authorities considered the acceptable scope of restricting online retail sales by producers. According to the decision of the Bundeskartellamt of 26 August 2015, and subsequent rulings of German courts, an absolute ban on the use of trademarks in online advertising and the prohibition of cooperation with price comparison websites imposed on distributors by the producer is a per se violation of Article 101(1) TFEU and cannot benefit from a block or an individual exemption. The decision is based on the statement of violation of the principle of …

Why Would Anyone Need My Data? An Analysis Of The Opinion Of The French Competition Authority On The Use Of Data In Online Advertising, Natalia Hartung

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

This article discusses the Opinion of the French Competition Authority on the use of data in online advertising. The first part of the article describes the functioning of the market of online advertising, including programmatic advertising, the importance of data and internet users, as well as the position of key market participants, namely Google and Facebook. The second part discusses the preliminary competition law analysis of the online advertising market. The Authority considered the following relevant markets: services for internet users, social network advertising, Display advertising, Search advertising, intermediation services and data analysis services. The French Competition Authority then described …

Will Competition Law Solve The Vendor Lock-In Problem In The B2b Software Sector?, Piotr Semeniuk

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

Competition law is increasingly being used (so far, mainly in the US) in order to prevent the vendor lock-in problem in the B2B software sector. International academia also calls for increased activities of competition authorities in addressing vendor lock-in problems. Some business practices and contractual clauses applied by vendors in their Polish IT contracts could also be classified as an anticompetitive practice (e.g. exclusivities, tying, bundling, loyalty rebates, refusals to grant a license or to grant access to information on interoperability). Competition law in the world of IT contracts can supply buyers or competitors with arguments to challenge some of …

New Technologies, Big Data And The Digital Economy: Current Challenges For Competition Law (From The Volume Editor), Grzegorz Materna

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

From the Volume Editor.

Attention Market. The Concept And Challenges In A Merger Assessment, Krzysztof Kanton, Jarosław Łukawski, Szymon Murek

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

The article focuses on the issue of ‘attention’ paid by consumers to internet and mobile apps content, which from the economic perspective is a resource that falls short. The authors analyze attention as a commodity and present the characteristics of the markets on which it is traded. The publication indicates the challenges faced by competition authorities in assessing concentrations between entities active on the attention market – the so-called attention brokers. In the latter part of the article, the authors analyze the methodology used by competition authorities to assess concentrations between the biggest modern attention brokers. Conclusions and postulates regarding …

Favouring One’S Own Products Or Services By Vertically Integrated Online Platforms As A Discriminatory Abuse Of A Dominant Position, Artur Szmigielski

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

The practice of favouring one’s own vertically integrated services by a dominant online platform can be assessed as an independent practice of discrimination (prohibited under Article 102 paragraph 2 point c TFEU). This does not mean, however, that a dominant undertaking has an absolute obligation to treat products or services of its trading partners equally to its own offer. Such practices should be considered abusive if they create unfavourable conditions of competition and have significant anti-competitive effects. What is prohibited by a discriminatory practice does not refer to the fact of favouring one’s own services, but to a situation where …

Technological Challenges For Anthropocentric Competition Law: The Case Of Algorithmic Pricing In The E-Commerce Sector, Marcin Mleczko

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

The author presents the problem of algorithmic price fixing in the context of the prohibition of anti-competitive agreements. Firstly, the basic concepts related to this subject are explained. Presented next are various types of algorithmic collusion. The core of the article contains an analysis of different ways of using algorithms based on existing case-law.

Merger Control In The Big Data Era – On The New Jurisdictional Threshold Based On The Transaction Value Criterion In The Context Of The European Commission’S Decision-Making Practice And The Amendments To Austrian And German Antitrust Laws, Laura Skopowska

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

During a recent consultation of the European Commission on the assessment of the procedural and jurisdictional aspects of EU merger control, the Commission expressed significant doubts regarding its notification system based solely on a turnover criterion, which can create significant enforcement gaps while assessing acquisitions taking place in the digital and pharmaceutical markets. In the Big Data era, when databases are of increasing market importance, current jurisdictional thresholds may not be a sufficient tool to detect anticompetitive acquisitions on the digital market. This scientific article assesses whether the introduction of new criteria is justified. The article also includes an analysis …

Rpm In E-Commerce – La Nouvelle Vague Or Nihil Novi? Review Of The Decisional Practice Of Competition Authorities, Anna Laszczyk

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

The aim of this paper is to analyse selected decisional practice of the European Commission and national competition authorities concerning RPM agreements in the e-commerce sector. This research is motivated by the recent e-commerce sector inquiry conducted by the European Commission. Conclusions from this inquiry suggest that suppliers frequently influence the pricing policy of their retailers to the detriment of competition and final consumers. This paper describes first the characteristics of e-commerce and considers features, which may be potentially relevant from the competition law perspective, differentiating it from brick-and-mortar distribution. It is a defendable view that RPM in e-commerce does …

Violation Of Data Protection Law As An Abuse Of A Dominant Position? The Bundeskartellamt’S Proceedings Against Facebook, Iga Małobęcka-Szwast

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

The article attempts to assess the main assumptions of the proceedings initiated in March 2016 by the Bundeskartellamt, the German competition authority, against Facebook, and thus answer the question whether an infringement of data protection law may constitute an abuse of a dominant position under EU competition law. In the wider perspective, the proceedings conducted by the Bundeskartellamt also raise important questions regarding the relationship between competition law and data protection law, including data protection issues in competition law, as well as the competences of antitrust authorities to assess breaches of data protection law.

Non-Compete Clauses As A Barrier To The Development Of Alternative Taxi Reservation Channels In The Light Of The Decision Of The Autorità Garante Della Concorrenza E Del Mercato Of 27 June 2018 (Case I801b, Taxi – Milano), Grzegorz Materna

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

The article discusses a decision taken by the Italian Competition Authority that concerns vertical relations between taxi corporations and taxi drivers in Milan. According to the Authority’s decision, non-compete clauses for taxi drivers may have a foreclosing effect for entrants that use new technologies, and thereby create an alternative to incumbent radio taxi corporations. However, the Authority’s classification of the non-compete clauses resulted from the economic and market context in which they were used, and above all, from the fact that these non-compete clauses were used by taxi corporations that included almost all taxi drivers operating in Milan. In other …

Report On The Seminar ‘Current Challenges Of The Digital Economy In The Area Of Combating Anticompetitive Agreements’ Warszawa, 12.04.2018, Urszula Czarnomska-Bokowy, Paulina Komorowska

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

No abstract provided.

Report On The Xiii Antitrust Conference ‘Antitrust Between Eu Law And National Law’, Treviso (Italy), 24–25.05.2018, Grzegorz Materna

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

No abstract provided.

Report On The Seminar ‘Monopoly And Its Exploitation In The Digital Economy – What Is The Role Of Competition Law?’, Warszawa, 02.10.2018 R., Szymon Murek

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

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam Of Professor Irena Wiszniewska-Białecka, Anna Fornalczyk, Stanisław Gronowski, Tadeusz Skoczny, Stanisław Sołtysiński

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

On May 23, 2018, Prof. Dr. Irena Wiszniewska-Białecka passed away - at the age of 71.

Cars Honorary Award 2018. Big Owl For Dr. Stanisław Gronowski, Tadeusz Skoczny

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

Big Owl for Dr. Stanisław Gronowski.

Cars Scientific Award 2018 (Antitrust). The Big Owl For Professor Rajmund Molski, Tadeusz Skoczny

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

Big Owl for Professor Rajmund Molski.

“I’Ll Know It When I See It”: Defending The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’S Approach Of Interpreting The Scope Of Unfair, Deceptive, Or Abusive Acts Or Practices (“Udapp”) Through Enforcement Actions, Stephen J. Canzona

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Worker Collective Action In The Time Of Fissuring: Independent Contractor Labor Boycotts, The Thirteenth Amendment, And Antitrust Law, Richard Blum

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

How Google Perceives Customer Privacy, Cyber, E-Commerce, Political And Regulatory Compliance Risks, Lawrence J. Trautman

William & Mary Business Law Review

By now, almost every business has an Internet presence. What are the major risks perceived by those engaged in the universe of Internet businesses? What potential risks, if they become reality, may cause substantial increases in operating costs or threaten the very survival of the enterprise?

This Article discusses the relevant annual report disclosures from Alphabet, Inc. (parent of Google), along with other Google documents, as a potentially powerful teaching device. Most of the descriptive language to follow is excerpted directly from Alphabet’s (Google) regulatory filings. My additions about these entities include weaving their disclosure materials into a logical presentation …

Anticompetitive Manipulation Of Rems: A New Exception To Antitrust Refusal-To-Deal Doctrine, Tyler A. Garrett

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Welcome And Introductory Remarks, Jonathan Baker

Presentations

Video link: https://vimeo.com/352303633 Audio link: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/audio-video/audio/economics-big-data-privacy-competition-introduction The Federal Trade Commission held the sixth session in its Hearings initiative, with two and a half days of sessions on November 6 – 8, 2018, at American University Washington College of Law, in Washington, D.C. The hearings examined the role that data play in competition and innovation and will also consider the antitrust analysis of mergers and firm conduct where data is a key asset or product. The Commission invited public comment on these issues, including the questions listed below. Comments were due January 7, 2019. If any entity has provided funding for …

Revising The Vertical Merger Guidelines (Ftc Hearings), Steven C. Salop

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This slide deck was the author’s presentation at the FTC Hearings on Vertical Mergers (November 1, 2018). The deck sets out a summary of the author’s economic analysis and proposed revisions to the U.S. Vertical Merger Guidelines.

Trade And Development In An Era Of Multipolarity And Reterritorialization, Chantal Thomas

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This essay will consider two phenomena emergent within international trade law and policy: multipolarity (the emergence of new global powers alongside existing hegemons) and reterritorialization (the rise, sometimes in quite virulent form, of economic nationalism as a basis for asserting State controls over, and barriers to, cross-border trade). These new dynamics present serious challenges and dangers. This essay will consider whether they might also create opportunities for reshaping the international economic order to be more supportive of the longstanding concerns of developing States. In doing so, the essay will elucidate key aspects of both the global political economy and the …

Passenger Tariffs In Regional Railway Transportation In Poland: Status Quo, Implications For Passengers, Proposals Of Changes, Przemysław Kowalik

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

Regional railway transportation in Poland in the second decade of the 21st century is characterized by a remarkable complexity of tariff solutions. This is primarily caused by the existence of many train operators with their own tariff systems as well as ‘territorially restricted’ tariffs applied by one or more operators. The above status quo may greatly affect the decisions of passengers regarding their railway journeys. The first issue connected with those decisions results from the often complicated rules of cross-operator ticket acceptance (unilateral, bilateral, sale channeldependent, none). Another issue lies in perceived discrimination in access to tariff information and sale …

Satisfaction Of Users Of Railway Stations – Research Perspective, Mirosław Antonowicz, Monika Kicińska-Jezierska, Patrycja Lejk

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

In this article the Authors present the issue of social research as an example of processes which make it possible to measure standards based on both internal and external regulations. Knowledge accumulation following recurrent or complementary research allows an organisation to take an advisory role during legislative processes on various levels. The Authors indicate critical stages of the research methodology forming, and describe examples of satisfaction tracking and mystery shopper research which play a central role for competitiveness on contemporary markets.

Conditions Of Competition Between Taxis And Uber, Michał Beim

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

Technological development leads to the blurring of divisions between traditional forms of transport, creating opportunities for the development of new services. The start of Uber services is one of the examples of the use of ICT technologies and the implementation of the principles of the sharing economy. For public opinion, Uber services have been recognized as a direct competitor for taxis. Although the legal conditions favor taxis in urban traffic, the technological solutions have enabled Uber to build a competitive advantage. Legal frameworks, if a given country has not equated Uber with taxis, may be a factor increasing the competitiveness …