Merger trends in national competition authorities

Following the trend in the UK (where the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 merged the OFT and the Competition Commission into the new Competition and Markets Authority) and the Netherlands (where the Consumer Authority, the Netherlands Competition Authority and the Netherlands Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority were united under the new Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets), Spain has now followed the same trail with Law 3/2013 of 4 June. The move was as bold as it was controversial since it involved no less than merging the competition authority with several sectoral regulators responsible for Telecom, Energy, Railway, Postal, Audiovisual and Airports. The new competition and regulation behemoth displays an unassuming name – Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia – but its competences are strikingly wide. Only time will tell if this was a wise policy choice...

US antitrust and pay-for-delay agreements

The U.S. Supreme Court has recently delivered an important ruling concerning pay-for-delay agreements entered into between brand and generic drug companies. Since 2001 the FTC has filled a number of lawsuits to stop pay-for-delay deals, which consist in settlements between brand and generic drug companies whereby the former pay the latter not to bring lower-cost alternatives to the market. As a result competition arising from generic drug companies is stifled and consumers harmed. In its judgment FTC v Atavis Inc et alii, the U.S. Supreme Court held that pay-for-delay settlements between brand and generic drug companies are subject to antitrust scrutiny, thus reversing the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit which had ruled that such agreements were insulated from antitrust scrutiny. 

  

OFT uses power to suspend a credit licence for the first time

The power to suspend credit licences was introduced in a amendment to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 that came into effect on 13 February 2012. The OFT has made use of such power in a recent case involving Donegal Finance Limited, a company licensed to offer consumer credit, credit brokerage and debt collecting services. More on the guidelines setting out how and when the OFT may use such power can be found here. 

Fueling competition

For a number of reasons that economists know all too well – one of them being the homogeneity of the product in question –, competition issues in the fuel sector have remained elusive for competition authorities. Notwithstanding a number of sectoral inquiries conducted in different jurisdictions, competition law has seldom been applied successfully to this sector. 

A recent amendment to the German competition law (GWB) takes a different approach on this issue and focusses on transparency in fuel prices, namely on making them available to consumers in real time. The press release of the German Competition authority can be found here and the amendment to the GWB is available here (text in German).

Developments in German competition law

Bundeskartellamt welcomes decision of Federal Constitutional Court on interest charged on cartel fines. In a long-awaited decision the Federal Constitutional Court clarifies that the statutory imposition of interest on cartel fines is compatible with the Basic Law. More details on the topic can be found here 

The Antitrust Paradox

Robert H. Bork, conservative jurist and author of one of the most influential books on antitrust, passed away at 85.

Upcoming events (2)

The 8th Annual Conference organised by the CCP is taking place in Norwich next week, on the 14 and 15 June. The general topic is "What do Public and Private Sanctions in Competition Policy Actually Achieve?". For details, just click here.