Today is officially the spookiest day of the year: Halloween. A time when little (and not-so-little) costumed kids roam the streets for candy and horror movies haunt every TV channel. But the phrase “trick or treat” – often heard on this special day – does not only apply to all the fantastic chocolate bars and … Continue reading „Trick or Treat“ – A Halloween reflection on antitrust law →

Telling your client that their merger control filing was cleared is one of the most pleasant jobs in the life of an antitrust lawyer. Everyone involved puts in a lot of effort to provide the regulators with the necessary information to take an informed decision and usually, these decisions are final. However, in some cases, … Continue reading Contesting the Commission: How merger decisions are tested in court →

The motto ´higher, further, faster´ applies especially in the world of advertising. Whether it is on the streets, in magazines or newspapers, on TV or the internet, everyone faces advertising in daily life. It is also an essential marketing tool for many businesses, which invest millions in their advertising campaigns. Correspondingly, the demand for advertising … Continue reading Spend money to make money: Advertising projects under antitrust review →

When the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) confirmed the German Federal Cartel Office´s (FCO) designation of Apple as a company with paramount significance for competition across markets under the German tech-“gatekeeper” rules (Section 19(a)), this attracted considerable attention both nationally and internationally. Less discussed, however, is a procedural aspect of this case, on which … Continue reading Access denied: The limits of transparency in antitrust →

Liability and the resulting fines are in the public focus when it comes to antitrust infringements. Usually, the discussions focus on fines imposed on the companies rather than on the individuals involved. However, personal liability is not merely theoretical; it is a tangible reality in many jurisdictions. For instance, in China, the antitrust authority has, … Continue reading Personal Liability: A look at Germany, the EU and beyond →

When antitrust authorities are unexpectedly knocking on a company´s door, it is usually because of a dawn raid. Ideally, the employees paid attention in their last antitrust training, have the internal dawn raid guidance at hand, and know how to deal with the dawn raid. Most companies are aware that the first hours are of … Continue reading The unwelcome knock on the door: When companies complain about dawn raids →

With the new team of Commissioners in charge at EU level and Teresa Ribera starting her new role as EU Competition Commissioner, the antitrust world is excited to see how things will evolve in the years to come. But changes are not only to be expected in Brussels, but potentially also at national level in … Continue reading Is “the wind of change” in German antitrust law about to come? →

Research and development drive economy and competition. This is so far non-controversial, but what happens after someone´s creative spark has been developed further into a patent or know-how and other companies want to use it too? This is when technology transfer agreements (TTAs) come into play. Last week, the European Commission published its findings of … Continue reading Critical self-evaluation: The EC and Technology Transfer Agreements →

Last week, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ruled in a football case that has the potential to bring massive changes in the international football market. Some even compare the case with the famous Bosman judgement of the ECJ from 1995. Similar to Bosman, the case concerns international transfer rules of professional … Continue reading Is antitrust changing the world of football? →

As with everything else, the German Federal Cartel Office´s newsfeed tends to be quieter than usual during the summer months. This makes two new decisions published by the authority in quick succession even more eye-catching. One of them concerns hospitals, the other one the crash test dummy industry. While the cases concern different industries, I … Continue reading Two failed mergers – a trend or a coincidence? →