15. Horizontal agreements (3): cooperation agreements

2021 ◽  
pp. 613-647
Author(s):  
Richard Whish ◽  
David Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Joint Ventures ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Consumer Welfare ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Horizontal Cooperation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter is concerned with horizontal cooperation agreements which the competition authorities in the EU and the UK may be prepared to countenance. There may be circumstances in which competitors cooperate with one another in a way that delivers economic benefits, not just for themselves, but for consumer welfare as well. After a discussion of joint ventures, the chapter discusses the application of Article 101 to horizontal cooperation agreements. It refers, in particular, to the European Commission’s Guidelines on Horizontal Cooperation Agreements and discusses, in turn, information exchange, research and development agreements, production agreements, purchasing agreements, commercialisation agreements, standardisation agreements, sustainability agreements and other cases of permissible horizontal cooperation. It concludes with a brief look at the treatment of horizontal cooperation agreements under UK competition law.

15. Horizontal agreements (3): cooperation agreements

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Whish ◽  
David Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Joint Ventures ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Consumer Welfare ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Horizontal Cooperation

This chapter discusses horizontal cooperation agreements between competitors. There may be circumstances in which competitors cooperate with one another in a way that delivers economic benefits, not just for themselves but for consumer welfare as well. After a discussion of joint ventures, the chapter discusses the application of Article 101 to horizontal cooperation agreements. It refers, in particular, to the European Commission’s Guidelines on Horizontal Cooperation Agreements and discusses, in turn, information exchange, research and development agreements, production agreements, purchasing agreements, commercialisation agreements, standardisation agreements and other cases of permissible horizontal cooperation. It concludes with a brief look at the treatment of horizontal cooperation agreements under UK competition law.

20. The UK merger control regime and the treatment of joint ventures

2019 ◽  
pp. 468-494
Author(s):  
Sandra Marco Colino
Keyword(s):  
Joint Ventures ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Merger Control ◽  
Inquiry Group ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Control Regime ◽  
Independent Inquiry ◽  
The Eu

This chapter discusses the application of competition law to mergers, focusing on the UK system. Where a relevant merger situation is created, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has the power to review the merger. Unlike in the EU, notification is not compulsory. The CMA may clear the merger, clear it subject to conditions, or refer it for further consideration to an independent Inquiry Group made up of members of the CMA Panel. The Inquiry Group may clear the merger, clear it subject to conditions, or block it. The test of a merger’s acceptance is that of whether it substantially lessens competition. UK merger decisions may be appealed to the Competition Appeals Tribunal.

23. Particular sectors

2021 ◽  
pp. 1019-1055
Author(s):  
Richard Whish ◽  
David Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Competition Law ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Electronic Communications ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Military Equipment ◽  
Eu Competition Law ◽  
Competition Rules ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter deals with four issues. First it will briefly examine three sectors of the economy that are wholly or partly excluded from EU competition law, namely nuclear energy, military equipment and agriculture; the special regime that once existed for coal and steel products under the former European Coal and Steel Community (‘the ECSC’) Treaty is also mentioned in passing. Secondly, it will explain the application of the EU competition rules apply to the transport sector. Thirdly, the chapter will consider the specific circumstances of four so-called ‘regulated industries’, electronic communications, post, energy and water, where a combination of legislation, regulation and competition law seek to promote competition. Last, but by no means least, the current debate concerning digital platforms is discussed where it is likely that ex ante regulatory rules will be introduced, both in the EU and the UK, to address concerns about anti-competitive conduct and a tendency towards the monopolisation of markets.

3. The relationship between European Union and United Kingdom competition law

2019 ◽  
pp. 57-75
Author(s):  
Sandra Marco Colino
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Competition ◽  
Current Interaction ◽  
Article 50 ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

This chapter focuses on the current interaction between European Union and UK law. EU law is currently a source of UK law. However, the relationship between the two regimes is expected to change in the future as a consequence of the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 stipulates that the European Communities Act 1972 will be ‘repealed on exit day’, which would be 29 March 2019 provided that the two-year period since Article 50 TEU was triggered is not extended. Once the European Communities Act 1972 has been repealed, EU law will cease to be a source of UK law. No major immediate changes to the national competition legislation are to be expected, but future reforms could distance the UK system from the EU rules.

10. Horizontal Cooperation Agreements

2019 ◽  
pp. 703-735
Author(s):  
Alison Jones ◽  
Brenda Sufrin ◽  
Niamh Dunne
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Joint Ventures ◽  
Competition Policy ◽  
Horizontal Cooperation ◽  
Sports Events ◽  
Eu Competition Policy ◽  
Block Exemption

This chapter discusses EU competition policy towards horizontal cooperation agreements. It covers joint ventures; the contents of the 2010 Guidelines; the general approach to horizontal cooperation agreements in the Guidelines; information agreements; research and development agreements, including the block emption, Regulation 1217/2010; production agreements, including the block exemption on specialisation agreements, Regulation 1218/2010 ; purchasing agreements; commercialisation agreements; standardisation agreements; and agreements in particular sectors, such as the joint buying or selling of media rights to sports events.

10. Horizontal Cooperation Agreements

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Jones ◽  
Brenda Sufrin
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Joint Ventures ◽  
Competition Policy ◽  
Horizontal Cooperation ◽  
Eu Competition Policy ◽  
Academic Debate

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses EU competition policy towards horizontal cooperation agreements. It covers joint ventures; the contents of the 2010 Guidelines; the general approach to horizontal cooperation agreements in the Guidelines; information agreements; research and development agreements; production agreements; purchasing agreements; commercialisation agreements; standardisation agreements; and agreements in particular sectors.

scholarly journals Stumbling Towards the UK’s New Administrative Settlement: A Study of Competition Law Enforcement After Brexit

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 233-251
Author(s):  
Joe TOMLINSON ◽  
Liza LOVDAHL GORMSEN
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Substantive Law ◽  
The Eu

AbstractWhile there has been much talk of the role of parliaments and courts in the Brexit process, far less—indeed very little—has been said about the challenges facing the largest part of the UK government: the administrative branch. Whatever results from the UK’s negotiations with the EU, Brexit will likely necessitate wide-ranging and fast-paced administrative reform in the UK. In this article, we use a detailed case study of a particular part of administration—the Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’)—to highlight the nature and extent of the challenges facing administrative agencies. This case study is demonstrative as, while there is an extant UK competition administration structure, competition law and its enforcement are highly Europeanised. We propose that the challenges facing administrative bodies in the UK—including the CMA—can be understood as possessing three key dimensions: internal organisation issues; external coordination issues; and substantive legal issues. We argue that, in many instances, these three dimensions will be in tension which each other. That is to say, the reality of reforming administration post-Brexit will involve trade-offs between questions of internal organisation, external coordination, and substantive law.

Is “Privacy” a Means to Protect the Competition or Advance Objectives of Innovation and Consumer Welfare?

2020 ◽  
pp. 106-124
Author(s):  
Arletta Gorecka
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Equilibrium ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Consumer Welfare ◽  
Multidimensional Approach ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Competition Law ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

The relationship between competition law and privacy is still seen as problematic with academics and professionals trying to adequately assess the impact of privacy on the competition law sphere. The chapter looks at the legal development of the EU merger proceedings to conclude that EU competition law is based on the prevailing approach and assesses decisions involving data through the spectrum of keeping a competitive equilibrium in hypothetical markets. Secondly, it considers the legal developments in the EU Member States' practice, which acknowledges the apparent intersection between the phenomena of competition law and privacy. This chapter attempts to propose that privacy concerns appear to hold a multidimensional approach on competition legal regime; nevertheless, it does not result in the need of legal changes within the remits of competition law, as the privacy concerns are already protected by the data protection and consumer protection law.

Vertical Agreements

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-78
Author(s):  
Alison Jones
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Internal Market ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Eu Competition Law ◽  
Resale Price ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Price Maintenance ◽  
The Eu

Alison Jones looks at vertical agreements in Chapter 3. This chapter charts the development of UK competition law and policy towards vertical agreements over the 20 years since the Competition Act 1998 came into force. It traces how UK policy has evolved, before examining the UK jurisprudence that assesses the compatibility of vertical agreements with competition law. It notes that although many UK cases initially focused on resale price maintenance, more recently a number have analysed vertical restraints affecting online selling, which have proliferated since 2000 with the rapid growth of e-commerce. The chapter also considers how the law could, or should, develop in the future, especially now the transition period following the UK’s departure from the EU has ended. An important issue considered is whether, post-Brexit, the UK authorities should continue to follow EU competition law in this sphere, which has in significant respects been influenced by internal market considerations, or whether it should take a different course.

Exclusionary Abuses

2021 ◽  
pp. 79-112
Author(s):  
Renato Nazzini
Keyword(s):  
Competition Policy ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Private Enforcement ◽  
Pharmaceutical Sector ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Third ◽  
Public And Private Enforcement ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Abuse Of Dominance ◽  
The Eu

Chapter 4 deals with exclusionary abuses under the Competition Act 1998, covering both public and private enforcement cases. The analysis concerns the approach to dominance as well as tests for abuse, focusing on retroactive rebates and bundled discounts, exclusion in multi-market settings, exclusivity, most favoured nation and equivalent clauses, discrimination, and exclusionary abuses in the pharmaceutical sector. This chapter argues that, in its second decade, modern UK competition law continued a trend that was already clear in the first decade: the prohibition of abuse of dominance is applied in a more economically robust and commercially reasonable way than it is by the EU institutions - the Commission and the EU courts - and in certain other Member States. The chapter notes that the third decade of the Competition Act 1998 will see the UK develop its competition policy free from the constraints of EU law and may allow for some divergence in the approach to exclusionary abuses in the future.

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