Competition

The Full Bench of the Federal Court of Australia, has recently suggested that companies that engage in otherwise unlawful cartel-like conduct, or other anti-competitive conduct, while contracting with the government, might be immune from prosecution on the grounds of "Crown immunity", as long as the government is not "carrying on a business". On 22 September 2006, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced that it has sought special leave to appeal that decision to the High Court.

On 22 December 2005, the Lithuanian Competition Council passed a decision concluding that AB Mazeikiu Nafta breached Article 9, Article 9 (3) of the Lithuanian Competition Act and Article 82 of the EC Treaty.

Daryl Dingley, partner at Webber Wentzel, argues that South Africa is currently enjoying a surge in competition law activism, but that there also appears to be growing abuse of competition law by both firms and the competition authorities.

Amtel-Vredestein has applied to the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) for permission to acquire 100% of the shares of Sibur-Russian Tyres.

In January 2009, the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) executed the second administrative consent decree in the marine hoses cartel case. The settlement agreements were entered into by Manuli Rubber Industries Spa and Bridgestone Corporation. Investigations against the two companies have now been suspended and the charges against them will be dismissed, upon full compliance with the terms and conditions provided for in the agreements.

The Takeover Panel has decided that Airtours may make new offers for First Choice within 12 months of the lapsing of its original offer.

The District Court of Stockholm has dismissed a law suit filed by the Swedish Competition Authority (SCA) in the autumn of 2004 against the Assistancekaren, a network association of local motor recovery/assistance companies, alleging that it had breached the Swedish Competition Act and Article 81 of the EC Treaty by fixing prices.

On 31 May 2007, the Brazilian Congress introduced an amendment to Article 53 of the Brazilian Competition Act so as to reopen the possibility of settling cartel investigations through administrative consent decrees.

A Law introducing several changes to the Belgian Competition Law was recently published in the Belgian Official Journal. Most of the amendments concern only minor procedural issues or merely clarify specific provisions of the Competition Law without introducing substantive changes. However, some of the amendments introduced by the Law could have considerable practical consequences.

Part 4 of the New Zealand Commerce Act 1986, which provides for goods and services to be made subject to government regulation (including price control), has been amended. The amendments repeal the old Part 4 and Part 4A (which dealt with electricity lines) and deals with all regulated goods and services in a new and expanded Part 4. The new Part 4 in particular provides for price regulation for gas pipeline services and makes certain airport services subject to information disclosure regulation.

On 1 January 2008, amendments to the Estonian Competition Act concerning the regulation of state aid entered into force.

On 1 April 2009, the District Court of Copenhagen decided that the Danish trade organisation Danish Bus Owners (DB) had exchanged information with its members contrary to section 6 of the Danish Competition Act (the equivalent to Article 81 of the EC Treaty). According to the Court, the information exchange had as its object the restriction of competition as it aimed to increase all the members' prices by the same percentage and at the same time. The District Court imposed a fine of DKK 1 million (about EUR 135,000) on DB. In addition, the Court imposed a personal fine of DKK 35,000 (about EUR 4,700) on the managing director of DB, and a personal fine of DKK 25,000 (about EUR 3,350) on the deputy manager.

On 14 February 2005, the German Federal Cartel Authority ordered Deutsche Post to cease abuse of its monopoly in the pre-sorting market.

The Administrative Tribunal of Lazio has partially overturned the Italian Competition Authority's finding that Telecom Italia abused its dominant position in fixed line telephony.

On 9 February 2007, the National Commission for the Defence of Competition (the Commission) and the Secretary of Domestic Trade (the Secretary") rejected the proposal of Petrobras Energía SA (Petrobras) to divest its participation in Compañía Inversora en Transmisión Eléctrica Citelec SA (Citelec), the controlling company of Transener SA (Transener), to EP Primrose Spain SL (EP). Transener is a utility company devoted to energy transmission in Argentina.

On 16 April 2008, the Argentine National Supreme Court of Justice (Supreme Court) issued its ruling in a case that has been widely discussed over the last four years. The case involved a challenge to the acquisition by Cencosud SA of the Disco and Vea supermarkets in Argentina from Ahold International Holding NV. The Supreme Court has confirmed the complete legality of the current enforcement agency (the National Commission for the Defence of Competition (the Antitrust Commission) and the Secretary of Domestic Trade, until the National Tribunal for the Defence of Competition (the Antitrust Tribunal) created by the Antitrust Law 25,156 is set up. Additionally, the Supreme Court decided that decisions by the Antitrust Commission must be taken by at least a majority of its members.

On 11 January 2008, the newly elected Australian Labor government issued a long awaited exposure draft of legislation to criminalise "serious cartel conduct" .

On 19 October 2006, an important legislative reform affecting merger control was passed by the Australian parliament. The new laws, which are expected to come into force in January 2007, include the introduction of a new voluntary "formal" merger clearance process that will operate alongside the current "informal" system.

The Austrian Cartel Court, on the request of the Federal Competition Authority (BWB) and in co-operation with the Austrian Chamber of Labour, has imposed fines totalling EUR 70,000 on six driving schools in the area of Innsbruck for participation in a price-fixing cartel.

The Austrian Cartel Court of Appeals has upheld a decision of the Cartel Court, which imposed a fine of EUR150,000 on Constantin Film Holding (Constantin). The decision of the Cartel Court found that Constantin, a vertically integrated, market dominant enterprise active in film distribution, had abused its dominant position in relation to its multiplex cinema customers.

On 16 November 2007, the Austrian Federal Competition Authority (FCA) announced that it has submitted its preliminary legal opinion to REWE and ADEG in relation to an agreement governing co-operation between them. ADEG and REWE are both active in food retailing in Austria.

The Austrian Supreme Court has confirmed the fines imposed on four companies for participation in a wholesale cartel in the chemicals sector.

On 21 March 2005, the Belgian Competition Council approved the acquisition of sole control of Alert Services Holding by Securitas AB.

On 1 October 2008, the Belgian Competition Council partially upheld the conditions it imposed in 1997 on the merger between Belgian cinema groups Bert and Claeys, which created leading Belgian cinema group Kinepolis. The Competition Council nevertheless limited the continued duration of these conditions to three years, after which they will automatically expire.

The Brazilian telecommunications regulatory agency ANATEL and the Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) are reviewing the proposed merger of Oi and BrT, two regional telecommunications incumbents.

This article provides a detailed review of the composition, procedural rules and jurisdiction of the European courts and practical tips on how to bring a case.

On 1 August 2007, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that British Airways PLC (British Airways) and Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd. (Korean Air) have agreed to plead guilty to two counts of fixing prices of passenger and cargo flights in violation of the Sherman Act and to pay separate US$300 million criminal fines. The US District Court for the District Court of Columbia accepted the plea agreements on 23 August 2007.

On 15 September 2005, the Brussels Court of Appeal annulled a decision of the Competition Council dated 26 January 2004 approving, subject to conditions, the joint acquisition by Rossel (publisher of Le Soir and Les Editions Sud Presse) and De Persgroep (De Morgen and Het Laatste Nieuws) of Editeco (L'Echo). This is the first time that the Court of Appeal has annulled a Competition Council decision approving a notified concentration.

On 23 November 2006, the Bulgarian Commission on the Protection of Competition (CPC) fined five out of a total of seven electricity distribution companies in Bulgaria for abusing their dominant positions on the regional markets for electricity distribution. The CPC held that the abusive behaviour took the form of imposing unfair trading conditions upon their business customers.

On 9 May 2007, CADE (the Brazilian Competition Agency) issued a public consultation on the establishment of an understanding (Súmula) exempting undertakings from the obligation to notify transactions that imply the acquisition of minority interests.

On 5 October 2004, Canada and the United States signed a positive comity agreement for the enforcement of competition laws between the two countries. See further Legal update: United States and Canada agree to enhanced anti-trust co-operation.

On 2 March 2005, the Competition Bureau announced a guilty plea and a $50,000 fine for a former executive's role in a price-fixing conspiracy in the graphite electrodes sector, in breach of the Canadian Competition Act.

On 19 October 2005, the Canadian Competition Bureau (the Bureau ) issued a draft Information Bulletin on Merger Remedies in Canada. The Bureau has invited comments on the draft bulletin by 20 January 2005. Even in its draft state, the bulletin provides valuable insight into the Competition Bureau's approach to merger remedies. The document describes how the Bureau will seek, design and implement remedies to resolve competition concerns arising from a merger. The draft bulletin, in the words of the Bureau, reflect their approach to remedies, notably, requirements for short divestiture deadlines, no minimum price provisions and, when necessary, "crown jewels".

On 20 June 2005, the Canadian Competition Bureau announced the immediate withdrawal of its Information Bulletin on the Regulated Conduct Defence.

An overview of the anti-trust rules applicable to mergers and acquisitions in Canada, focusing on public bids in particular.

This article analyses DGIV's new anti-cartel unit and considers its likely impact. The article includes the views of the head of the new unit, Maurice Guerrin, and leading competition practitioners.

A Q&A guide to cartel leniency law in Canada. The Q&A gives a succinct overview of leniency and immunity, the applicable procedure and the regulatory authorities. In particular, it covers the conditions to be satisfied, the method of making an application, whether immunity from civil fines is available for individuals, the scope of leniency, circumstances when leniency may be withdrawn, leniency plus, confidentiality and disclosure, and proposals for reform. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Cartel leniency Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to competition and cartel leniency. For a full list of jurisdictional Cartel Leniency Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/leniency-mjg. For a full list of jurisdictional Competition Q&As, which provide a high level overview of merger control, restrictive agreements and practices, monopolies and abuse of market power, and joint ventures in multiple jurisdictions, visit www.practicallaw.com/competition-mjg.

A Q&A guide to cartel leniency law in Greece. The Q&A gives a succinct overview of leniency and immunity, the applicable procedure and the regulatory authorities. In particular, it covers the conditions to be satisfied, the method of making an application, availability of immunity from civil fines to individuals, the scope of leniency, circumstances when leniency may be withdrawn, leniency plus, confidentiality and disclosure, and proposals for reform. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Cartel leniency Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to competition and cartel leniency. For a full list of jurisdictional Cartel Leniency Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/leniency-mjg. For a full list of jurisdictional Competition Q&As which provide a high level overview of merger control, restrictive agreements and practices, monopolies and abuse of market power, and joint ventures in multiple jurisdictions, visit www.practicallaw.com/competition-mjg.

A Q&A guide to cartel leniency law in South Korea. The Q&A gives a succinct overview of leniency and immunity, the applicable procedure and the regulatory authorities. In particular, it covers the conditions to be satisfied, the method of making an application, availability of immunity from civil fines to individuals, the scope of leniency, circumstances when leniency may be withdrawn, leniency plus, confidentiality and disclosure, and proposals for reform. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Cartel Leniency Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to competition and cartel leniency. For a full list of jurisdictional Cartel Leniency Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/leniency-mjg. For a full list of jurisdictional Competition Q&As, which provide a high level overview of merger control, restrictive agreements and practices, monopolies and abuse of market power, and joint ventures in multiple jurisdictions, visit www.practicallaw.com/competition-mjg.

On 9 June 2009, the Croatian Competition Agency (CCA) approved the concentration between Mol Hungarian Oil and Gas Public Limited Company (MOL), of Budapest, and Industrija nafte d.d. (INA), of Zagreb, Croatia, subject to conditions.

The Chilean Anti-trust Court has recently issued several decisions addressing infringements in the retail market.

On 13 December 2007, the Chilean Anti-trust Court rejected a joint motion of withdrawal filed by the transportation company Delfos and SCL, the concessionary of Santiago Airport.

On 18 March 2009, the Chilean Antitrust Chilean Court authorised the participation of GLR, a major radio station operator, and its related companies, in the upcoming renewal of broadcast licences.

On 13 May 2008, the Chilean Antitrust Court (Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia) rejected a motion of dismissal filed by the Chilean Treasury (representing the government), which claimed that the Antitrust Court had no competence to conduct proceedings in which one of the parties is the government.

On 4 December 2008, the Chilean Antitrust Court issued draft standards for the regulation of information to be supplied during proceedings relating to voluntary pre-merger notifications.

On 30 May 2007, the Chilean Communications Regulator (Subsecretaría de Telecomunicaciones) filed a petition before the Antitrust Court, regarding the implementation of a public tender in order to assign licences for operation of the third generation mobile system.

On 15 June 2009, the Chilean Supreme Court overruled a decision of the Antitrust Court (Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (TDLC)) that ordered the modification of the conditions of a bidding organised by the Civil Aeronautic Board (Junta Aeronautica Civil (JAC)), the Chilean regulatory authority of civil aviation, in the grant of seven direct air frequencies between the cities of Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru.

On 1 August 2008, the new Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law entered into force. The State Council subsequently issued regulations setting out the rules for the notification thresholds for business concentrations.

Discussions on dissolving all provincial and state-level media group companies in China are underway after the state implemented a pilot restructuring project that involved dividing the Beijing Radio, Film and Television Group early in April 2005.

The Austrian Cartel Court has conditionally approved the acquisition by EVN of additional shares in RAG Beteiligungs AG.

Despite the absence of an Irish Competition Authority determination within the statutory time frame, which resulted in automatic clearance, all outstanding competition concerns relating to the acquisition of Statoil Ireland by Topaz Energy Group have been resolved by voluntary proposals from Topaz.

On 25 March 2008, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) and the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) agreed to launch a scheme to promote co-operation in relation to the effective collection of information, investigation, and regulation of unfair trade practices.

The Swiss Competition Commission (ComCo) has confirmed that the acquisition by Swisscom AG of The Phone House's mobile-phone shops in Switzerland is subject to a mandatory merger filing.

On 26 June 2007, the Swiss Competition Commission (ComCo) published its recommendation that the current Swiss legal regime on patent right exhaustion be altered with a view to facilitating parallel imports. In this recommendation, the ComCo again argues for the pro-competitive position it first enunciated in 2003. The ComCo recommends that Swiss patent law be amended to provide for international exhaustion, or at least regional exhaustion.

On 25 June 2009, the UK Competition Commission (CC) accepted final undertakings in relation to the proposed video on demand joint venture (Project Kangaroo) between BBC Worldwide Limited, ITV plc and Channel Four Television Corporation (the Parties).

On 13 June 2006, the Competition Commission (CC) published provisional findings in its market investigation into Classified Directory Advertising Services (CDAS). The summary has been published ahead of the full final report, which the CC intends to publish in November 2006 (ahead of its 4 April 2007 deadline).

The level of enforcement of competition law has increased in Estonia. The reorganisation of the Estonian Competition Authority at the beginning of 2008 has begun to show its impact as the first criminal cases have recently been sent to the courts after a long period of apparent inactivity.

A Q&A guide to competition law in the EU. The Q&A gives a high level overview of merger control, restrictive agreements and practices, monopolies and abuse of market power, and joint ventures. In particular, it covers relevant triggering events and thresholds, notification requirements, procedures and timetables, third party claims, exclusions and exemptions, penalties for breach, and proposals for reform. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Competition Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to competition and cartel leniency. For a full list of jurisdictional Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/competition-mjg. For a full list of jurisdictional Cartel Leniency Q&As, which provide a succinct overview of leniency and immunity, the applicable procedure and the regulatory authorities in multiple jurisdictions, visit www.practicallaw.com/leniency-mjg.

A Q&A guide to competition law in France. The Q&A gives a high level overview of merger control, restrictive agreements and practices, monopolies and abuse of market power, and joint ventures. In particular, it covers relevant triggering events and thresholds, notification requirements, procedures and timetables, third party claims, exclusions and exemptions, penalties for breach, and proposals for reform. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Competition law Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to competition and cartel leniency. For a full list of jurisdictional Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/competition-mjg. For a full list of jurisdictional Cartel Leniency Q&As, which provide a succinct overview of leniency and immunity, the applicable procedure and the regulatory authorities in multiple jurisdictions, visit www.practicallaw.com/leniency-mjg.

A Q&A guide to competition law in Israel. The Q&A gives a high level overview of merger control, restrictive agreements and practices, monopolies and abuse of market power, and joint ventures. In particular, it covers relevant triggering events and thresholds, notification requirements, procedures and timetables, third party claims, exclusions and exemptions, penalties for breach, and proposals for reform. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Competition Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to competition and cartel leniency. For a full list of jurisdictional Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/competition-mjg. For a full list of jurisdictional Cartel Leniency Q&As, which provide a succinct overview of leniency and immunity, the applicable procedure and the regulatory authorities in multiple jurisdictions, visit www.practicallaw.com/leniency-mjg.

A Q&A guide to competition law in Norway. The Q&A gives a high level overview of merger control, restrictive agreements and practices, monopolies and abuse of market power, and joint ventures. In particular, it covers relevant triggering events and thresholds, notification requirements, procedures and timetables, third party claims, exclusions and exemptions, penalties for breach, and proposals for reform. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Competition law Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to competition and cartel leniency. For a full list of jurisdictional Competition Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/competition-mjg. For a full list of jurisdictional Cartel Leniency Q&As, which provide a succinct overview of leniency and immunity, the applicable procedure and the regulatory authorities in multiple jurisdictions, visit www.practicallaw.com/leniency-mjg.

On 1 July 2009, the Norwegian Competition Act became applicable in the archipelago of Svalbard.

This Practice note considers the extent to which companies may be able to prevent disclosure of documents on the grounds that the documents are entitled to protection by the right of legal professional privilege in relation to European Commission competition investigations. (The authors are grateful to Lesley Ainsworth of Hogan Lovells International LLP for her assistance in the preparation of this Practice note).

This Q&A provides country-specific commentary on Practice note, Competition: international joint ventures, and forms part of our international joint ventures transaction guide.

This Q&A provides country-specific commentary on Practice note, Competition: International Acquisitions, and forms part of our international acquisitions transaction guide.

This Q&A provides country-specific commentary on Practice note, Competition: International Acquisitions, and forms part of our international acquisitions transaction guide.

On 9 January 2007, the Secretariat of the Swiss Competition Commission (ComCo) completed its evidence gathering work and submitted its proposed decision to the parties in its investigation into the market for road asphalting in the Canton of Ticino.

As part of a US Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal investigation of an international rubber chemicals cartel, two former executives of Crompton Corporation have agreed to plead guilty to participating in an international conspiracy to fix prices in the rubber chemicals market.

The Council of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic has confirmed a first instance decision, in which the Antimonopoly Office imposed a fine of EUR2,423,156.10 on Slovak Telekom for abusing its dominant position by imposing a margin squeeze (between June and September 2004) in relation to a tender on the Integrated Communication Platform for Ludova Banka, a.s.

The UK Court of Appeal has dismissed appeals by Argos Ltd, Littlewoods Ltd and JJB Sports plc in relation to the Competition Appeal Tribunal's (CAT) decisions in the separate cases of price-fixing of toys and games and replica football kits. The Court of Appeal also clarified the CAT's findings on activities which can amount to a concerted practice, especially in the context of exchange of pricing information.

On 5 April 2007, the Bulgarian Commission on the Protection of Competition (CPC) cleared the concentration of two of the leading cable-TV and pay-TV operators, Eurocom Cable Management Bulgaria and Centrum Group-Cable.

On 20 October 2005, the Chairman of the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC), Mr Zissimopoulos, made a statement concerning the status of a number of HCC investigations.

On 24 November 2005, the Czech Competition Office terminated its proceedings against the three largest Czech banks (Ceska sporitelna, CSOB and Komercni banka) for suspected involvement in a cartel agreement to raise banking fees.

On 22 August 2008, the Czech Competition Office approved the proposed takeover of the Czech retailer Plus Discount by the German REWE Group, subject to certain commitments that address the competition concerns identified during the merger investigation.

On 25 July 2008, the Czech Competition Office delivered a decision imposing a fine of CZK13.552 million on the Czech Republic's largest soft drinks producer, Kofola, for entering into prohibited resale price maintenance agreements. The Kofola case is noteworthy for the fact that, in these proceedings, the Competition Office used a settlement procedure for the first time.

On 22 October 2007, the Regional Court in Brno, handling appeals in competition cases, annulled the Competition Office's decision of 13 March 2007 in which a fine of CZK 240 million (approximately EUR8 million) was imposed on a dominant gas supplier RWE Transgas (RWE) for infringement of Article 82 of the EC Treaty and of section 11 of the Czech Competition Act. This was one of the first proceedings conducted by the Competition Office under the modernised anti-trust enforcement rules and procedures introduced by Regulation 1/2003.

On 31 October 2008, the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic overturned a judgment of the Regional Court in Brno that had annulled a decision of the Chairman of the Office for Protection of Economic Competition fining RWE Transgas for infringing Article 82 of the EC Treaty and section 11(1) of the Czech Competition Act. The case has been referred back to the Regional Court for further proceedings.

On 13 September 2007, the Danish Competition Appeals Tribunal handed down a ruling regarding a complainant's right of access to documents in a case before the Competition Authority.

The Danish Competition Authority (the Authority) has published its ninth annual Competition Report, which reviews the work of the Authority over the last year and looks at how competition is working in certain Danish markets.

The Eastern Division of the Danish High Court has found a company guilty of illegal price co-ordination in connection with tendering procedures within the electricity industry. A fine of DKK 74,000 was imposed on the company.

The Danish Parliament has adopted a range of amendments to the Competition Act (Consolidated Act no. 785 of 8 August 2005). Most significantly, the amendments include the introduction of a leniency programme. They also extend the powers of the competition authorities in relation to dawn raids. Further, the Competition Authority is given limited rights to issue administrative fines. The amendments will come into force on 1 July 2007.

China's influence on global mergers and acquisitions is steadily increasing. The introduction of the Anti-Monopoly Law on 1 August 2008 heralded a new era for merger control enforcement in the country. The article below provides an overview of merger review decisions made in China since the Anti-Monopoly Law took effect, and highlights (with case studies where relevant) some of the key issues that parties to a transaction need to consider when concluding an international deal. This article is part of the PLC Competition and Cartel Leniency multi-jurisdictional guide. For a full list of jurisdictional Competition Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/competition-mjg. For a full list of jurisdictional Cartel Leniency Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/leniency-mjg.

On 23 February 2006, the South African Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) prohibited a large merger which was to take place between Sasol Oil (Pty) Ltd and Engen Petroleum Limited.

The Italian Antitrust Authority has submitted its opinion to the Italian parliament on the draft decree implementing Directive 97/67 on postal services.

The Argentine Anti-trust Law No. 25,156 (the Anti-trust Law) states that directors, managers, administrators, statutory supervisors, attorneys-in-fact and legal representatives are jointly and severally liable for the payment of fines imposed on their companies. The President of the Anti-trust Commission, José Luis Sbatella, stated in an interview published on 26 December 2007, that during the year 2007 the Anti-trust Commission had started to investigate the involvement of directors in anti-competitive conduct in order to assess the level of their personal participation in such activities.

Joint ventures range from fully-fledged merger-like operations to cooperations limited to particular functions. The EC competition rules apply in different ways to the various types of joint venture. This in-depth analysis compares the different regimes and includes flowchart summaries and detailed case studies.

Christine A. Varney, the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), has warned that the DOJ intends vigorously to enforce the antitrust laws in the current distressed economy. In addition, Varney has discussed the Antitrust Division's approach to enforcement regarding single-firm conduct under section 2 of the Sherman Act, section 1 of the Sherman Act, and the challenges that the DOJ faces in the future.

On 3 August 2005, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had closed its investigation of Sprint's proposed US$70 billion acquisition of Nextel Communications without conditions.

On 16 November 2006, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced another guilty plea resulting from its investigation of a global conspiracy to fix the price of dynamic random access memory (DRAM). A former executive of Elpida Memory, a large Japanese manufacturer of DRAM, has agreed to plead guilty, pay a US$250,000 criminal fine, and serve prison time in the United States for participating in the DRAM cartel.

On 18 April 2007, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it will require Amsted Industries Incorporated (Amsted) to divest all of the assets necessary to produce new and used end-of-car cushioning units (EOCCs) that it obtained through its acquisition of FM Industries, Inc. (FMI) in December 2005. According to the DOJ, the divestiture will remedy its concerns that Amsted's acquisition of FMI substantially lessened competition in the US market for EOCCs in violation of US federal antitrust laws.

On 20 February 2007, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it will require Mittal Steel Company N.V. (Mittal) to divest its Sparrows Point tin mill facility near Baltimore, Maryland to remedy concerns that Mittal's US$33 billion acquisition of Arcelor S.A. would substantially lessen competition in the market for tin mill products in the eastern United States in violation of US federal antitrust laws.

On 10 June 2008, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has challenged Verizon Communications Corporation´s (Verizon) proposed US$2.7 billion acquisition of Rural Cellular Corporation (RCC) and has required divestitures of assets to remedy the alleged anticompetitive effects in the market for mobile wireless telecommunications services in six geographic areas of the United States.

On 25 June 2007, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Citizens Communications has agreed to remove certain restrictive terms of a settlement agreement that prevented Blue Ridge Communications (Blue Ridge) and Service Electric Cablevision Inc. (Service Electric), two telecommunications providers, from competing in certain areas in Pennsylvania where it operated. The settlement agreement was reached in 2006 shortly after Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises (Commonwealth), a company subsequently acquired by Citizens Communications, protested the attempted entry of Blue Ridge and Service Electric into areas in which Commonwealth operated.

The Slovenian Competition Protection Office (Urad Republike Slovenije za varstvo konkurence) (UVK) has recently prepared a draft amendment to the Act on the Prevention of the Restriction of Competition (Competition Act). The UVK has also proposed a draft amendment to the existing regulation concerning the required content of the merger notification form.

On 21 February 2008, the Swedish government published a draft proposal for a new Competition Act. The new Competition Act would replace the old Competition Act of 1993 from 1 November 2008.

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has drawn up a new Policy Rule for Whistleblowers. This contains the conditions subject to which whistleblowers can notify the NMa of suspected cartels or other infringements of the Dutch Competition Act.

On 23 October 2007, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that provisions of the Volkswagen Law, concerning the capping of voting rights at 20 %, the fixing of a blocking minority at 20% and the right of the Federal State and of the Land of Lower Saxony each to appoint two representatives to the supervisory board, restrict the free movement of capital.

On 21 June 2007, the Corporations (NZ Closer Economic Relations) and Other Legislation Act 2007 (Act) inserted a new section 155AAA into the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA), which took effect from 19 July 2007. This new section contains an important provision which has the potential to enhance the ability of Australia's antitrust regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), to share information with "a foreign government body".

The Estonian Competition Authority (ECA) has announced a decision in which it considers the questions of refusal to supply and tying by a dominant undertaking. The decision is particularly interesting due to the ECA`s solution on procedural matters. It decided to issue a precept requiring the company concerned to refrain from certain activities, rather than to fine the company for abuse of dominance.

On 30 August 2007, the Estonian Government approved the proposal of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to merge several state agencies operating under the Ministry's authority.

The Commission has terminated its investigation into fixed and mobile operators' interconnection rates.

On 10 May 2006, the Estonian parliament passed substantial amendments to the Estonian Competition Act (the Act). These amendments will enter into force on 1 July 2006. The reforms mainly concern the merger control rules, but some other provisions of the Act have also been reviewed.

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has approved the acquisition by United Company Rusal (UC Rusal) of a 29% stake in Norlisk Nickel.

The Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) has imposed a fine of RBL40,000 on the bank OJSC AKB Avangard for inadequate advertisement of the terms relating to its offers of credit.

On 16 January 2009, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) and Kovdorsky Mining-and-Processing Integrated Works OJSC, agreed rules on non-discriminatory access to apatite concentrate produced by Kovdorsky Mining-and-Processing Integrated Works OJSC.

On 17 September 2008, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) imposed a fine on OAO Rosneft in the amount of RBL300,000 for failure to provide information requested by the anti-trust authority.

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) has imposed conditions on the acquisition by Rambert Management Limited (Rambert) of control of LLC Euroset Trade House (Euroset).

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) has initiated proceedings against pharmacies in 22 regions of Russia for over-charging for medicines.

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service has received notification of a proposed acquisition by Walt Disney Co of Media One.

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is taking various measures to improve its transparency for both businesses and individuals.

The Finnish Competition Authority (FCA ) has requested medical companies to provide clarifications regarding the rebates given by them to pharmacies from the wholesale prices of medicines. The FCA has found that such rebates are commonly given in Finland and is investigating the matter as a vertical competition restriction.

The Finnish Competition Authority (FCA) has proposed that the Market Court impose fines of EUR30 million on Stora Enso Plc and EUR21 million on Metsaliitto Osuuskunta for co-operating in pricing and exchanging information on the procurement of timber during the period 1997-2004. The FCA granted immunity from fines to the third participant in the alleged infringement, UPM-Kymmene Plc, following its leniency application in May 2004. In addition, Metsaliitto Osuuskunta received a 30% reduction in its proposed fine, for assisting the FCA in the investigation.

The Finnish Competition Authority (FCA) has proposed that the Market Court impose infringement fines of a total of EUR165,000 on three telecommunications companies, including TeliaSonera Finland Oyj, one of the major players on the Finnish telecommunication market. The FCA alleges that the companies have abused their dominant position by implementing discriminatory pricing schemes (price-squeezing).

The German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has raised concerns regarding the intended acquisition of the television group ProSiebenSat.1 by Axel Springer AG. The FCO has provisionally found that the concentration may result in strengthening of an existing dominant position in the relevant markets. The pre-merger notification proceedings under German cartel law are ongoing and the notifying parties and the intervening companies have been granted a three-week period to reply to the FCO s concerns.

The Italian Competition Authority has imposed fines on companies in the transport and water industries respectively for entering into anti-competitive agreements. Acea and Suez Environment were fined for anti-competitive activities in the Italian market for water services management. 15 local public transport operators were fined for their involvement in anti-competitive agreements in the local public transport industry.

The Finnish Market Court has imposed a fine of EUR100,000 on Suomen Numero-palvelu Ltd (SNOY) for its refusal to supply in the wholesale market for telephone subscriber information.

While processing a merger notification in the market for natural gas, the Swedish Competition Authority received indications of a breach of Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty, leading to dawn raids in Sweden in Denmark. The merger itself was cleared after the acquiring company gave commitments.

A report on the main issues arising out of the 1997 Fordham competition conference, examining, in particular, globalisation; cooperation and coordination between competition authorities and the Boeing case.

The French Competition Council has accepted commitments from four pharmaceutical groups following its investigation into the distribution of medicines. The investigation was prompted by complaints from wholesalers that quota systems favoured incumbent wholesalers.

The French Competition Council has issued an opinion to the French Postal and Communication Regulator (ARCEP) as part of the assessment procedure for wholesale and retail markets for fixed telephony under Article L37-1 of the electronic communications and postal services code.

On 18 October 2006, the French Competition Council issued a decision in which it condemns five taxi trade associations and three radio-taxi networks, active in Marseilles, for implementing an anti-competitive agreement, which fixed the resale price for taxi licences, between 2002 and 2006.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a rulemaking to implement significant changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino implementing regulations (the HSR Rules), designed to reconcile the treatment of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and other non-corporate entities under the HSR Rules. The new rules are effective for any transaction closing on or after 7 April 2005. In addition, the FTC recently enacted annual revisions to the jurisdictional thresholds for HSR premerger filings, which took effect on 2 March 2005.

On 7 September 2007, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed consent order settling charges that American Renal Associates, Inc. (ARA) and Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. (Fresenius) unlawfully restrained competition in violation of section 5 of the FTC Act and that ARA's proposed acquisition of two Fresenius dialysis clinics violated section 7 of the Clayton Act. The proposed consent order bars ARA and Fresenius from agreeing with any clinic operator to close clinics or otherwise allocate dialysis markets, territories or customers. The order also compels ARA to notify the FTC before it acquires any dialysis clinic assets in the Warwick/Cranston area of Rhode Island.

On 20 December 2007, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it would not challenge Google Inc.'s (Google) proposed US$3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick Inc. (DoubleClick) following an eight-month investigation in which it concluded that the transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition or otherwise violate US federal antitrust laws.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it will allow Teva Pharmaceuticals to proceed with its proposed US$7.4 billion acquisition of IVAX provided that the companies divest certain assets needed to manufacture or market 15 generic pharmaceutical products.

On 16 November 2007, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it has challenged Schering-Plough Corporation's (Schering-Plough) proposed US$14.4 billion acquisition of Organon BioSciences N.V. (Organon BioSciences) from Akzo-Nobel N.V. on charges that the proposed transaction would violate US federal antitrust laws in three markets involving the research, development, manufacture, and sale of poultry vaccines. The FTC also announced that it had entered into a proposed consent agreement with the parties settling its charges, provided that the parties divest assets relating to the three poultry vaccines to Wyeth within ten days following the effective date of the order.

On 30 January 2007, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it has reached an agreement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Sony BMG) settling charges that the company engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices in violation of section 5 of the FTC Act through its use of Digital Rights Management (DRM) software embedded in certain music CDs. This software limited the devices on which music could be played, restricted the number of copies that could be made, and monitored consumer listening habits for marketing purposes.

The Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (the Office) has imposed a further fine of SKK10 milion on the telecommunications giant, Slovak Telecom, for again abusing its dominant position.

On 22 November 2006, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) wrote a letter to all German associations of pharmaceutical companies stating that the FCO will not commence proceedings against the co-operation regarding procurement planned by 16 health insurance companies (Allgemeine Ortskrankenkassen (AOK)). However, the FCO encouraged the associations to challenge the procurement co-operation before the courts

On 5 May 2006, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) issued a statement of objections against the regional lottery companies in Germany, objecting to various practices by which the German lottery associations potentially divide markets and ensure their monopoly for public lotteries.

The German Federal Cartel Office (FCO has decided that E.ON Ruhrgas AG's gas supply contracts with distributors, which include long-term purchase obligations and require distributors to purchase a high percentage of their total gas requirements from E.ON Ruhrgas, violate EC and German competition law.

This article revisits the issue of golden shares, analysing the impact of two recent ECJ judgments. For an earlier article on this topic, please see www.practicallaw.com/A24785.

On 14 August 2007, the Argentine National Commission for the Defence of Competition (the Anti-trust Commission) and the Secretary of Domestic Trade rejected a complaint by the Confederación de Asociaciones Rurales de Buenos Aires y La Pama (Carbap) that Argentina's principal seed exporting companies were fixing the buying price for wheat. The alleged price-fixing agreement was said to be have been made as a consequence of Federal Government market intervention in the wheat market.

Parallel importers (grey market traders) are set to benefit from a recent High Court ruling in their high profile conflict with brand owners.

The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has refused clearance of the acquisition of ViDaNet Zrt by Magyar Telekom Nyrt. The GVH found that the acquisition would give Magyar Telekom a monopoly on the landline telephone and cable television market in regions where ViDaNet operates. It rejected the request for approval of the merger despite undertakings offered by Magyar Telekom to remedy the competition concerns.

Hungarian Competition Office (GVH) officials have carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of three highway construction companies. The GVH has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have entered into an anti-competitive arrangement that might have affected the public bids for constructing and renovating roads during 2005 and 2006.

The Hungarian Competition Office (the GVH) has resolved to close its proceedings against five telecommunications companies as they have agreed voluntary commitments undertaking compliance with the provisions of the Hungarian Competition Act.

The Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) has recently clarified that no post-merger notification to the HCC is required under Article 4a of the Greek Competition Act in relation to mergers which have been referred to the European Commission under Article 4(5) of the EC Merger Regulation, with the consent of the HCC, and subsequently approved by the European Commission.

Following a lengthy investigation, the duration of which exceeded two years, the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) held a last hearing in order to assess whether BP and Shell, two multinational oil companies, have violated Greek competition laws through retail price-fixing. Following the exercise by the Chairman of his casting vote, the HCC ruled that BP and Shell had infringed competition law.

On 3 January 2006, the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) issued an announcement relating to the treatment of vertical agreements that were entered into prior to the entry into force of the new Greek competition law but notified subsequently.

With effect from 1 January 2007, the Norwegian merger notification thresholds have been raised from NOK20 million (approximately EUR2.5 million) to NOK50 million (approximately EUR6.25 million). Further, there is no obligation to notify a transaction if only one of the parties has an aggregated turnover of NOK20 million in Norway (approximately EUR2.5 million). This has been increased from a NOK5 million threshold. Although the new thresholds will lead to fewer notifications in Norway, they are still low compared to most other European countries.

On 12 September 2007, the Austrian Cartel Court of Appeals upheld a decision of the Cartel Court and increased from EUR5 million to EUR7 million a fine imposed on Europay Austria (Europay) for abuse of a dominant position and infringement of the cartels prohibition.

Following a UK House of Lords ruling on 12 March 2008, Ian Norris, former Chief Executive of Morgan Crucible, will have a further opportunity to fight extradition to the United States. Mr Norris, who is wanted by the US for his alleged participation in a price-fixing conspiracy, has been resisting extradition for five years.

The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has revoked its policy on the method of calculating fines in antitrust matters (fining policy).

The Spanish Competition Tribunal (TDC) has granted an interim injunction as part of its investigation into a complaint alleging tying practices in the market for excursions on the island of Mallorca

This chapter examines important decision making and strategic considerations for any company faced with an international cartel investigation.

On 18 February 2009, the Brazilian competition authorities launched co-ordinated dawn raids, together with the US Department of Justice and the European Commission, to investigate an alleged cartel in the market for compressors.

Following an investigation by the Irish Competition Authority into a possible price-fixing agreement between self-employed actors, represented by Irish Actors Equity SIPTU (Equity), and the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI), both Equity and the IAPI have undertaken not to enter into or implement any agreement that directly or indirectly fixes the fees that the IAPI or its members pay self-employed actors in return for their services.

The investigation by the Austrian Federal Competition Agency into the Austrian fuel and gasoline market is continuing.

On 28 October 2004, the Irish Competition Authority announced that the proposed acquisition by IBM Ireland Limited of Schlumberger Business Continuity Services (Ireland) Limited would substantially lessen competition for business recovery hotsite services in Ireland and could not go ahead. The proposed acquisition was part of a global acquisition by IBM of the international Schlumberger business, the UK element of which was cleared by the Office of Fair Trading on 6 August 2004. The Authority published its determination on 17 November 2004.

On 16 March 2006, the Competition Authority published details of its two-year investigation into alleged anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominance by The Ticket Shop Limited (trading as TicketMaster Ireland). The investigation focused on the market for outsourced ticketing services for events of national or international appeal on the island of Ireland.

On 11 April 2008, the Irish Competition Authority launched a consultation on the continued exemption of solus agreements for petroleum products from Section 4 of the Competition Act 2002.

On 11 October 2005, the Irish Competition Authority published the results of an investigation into alleged breaches of competition law in household waste collection services.

On 14 December 2004, the Irish Competition Authority published a report, compiled by economic consultants LECG, which indicated that competition in the Irish banking sector is ineffective for personal current accounts and SME lending. It considered that the geographic market for both is the State and found that both of these markets are highly concentrated and have high barriers to entry.

On 11 December 2006, the Irish Competition Authority published its final report on competition in legal services in Ireland. This report is critical of the current system of self-regulation by the governing bodies of both the solicitors' and barristers' professions, saying it undermines competition and does not adequately protect consumers. The report makes 29 recommendations to remove certain "unnecessary and disproportionate" restrictions on competition.

On 23 October 2008, the Italian Antitrust Authority decided that Aeroporti di Roma (AdR) had abused its dominant position by levying excessive charges for refuelling and sub-letting office space to freight operators. The Authority also found that AdR's system of charges for access to Rome Fiumicino's Cargo City hindered free competition and damaged other handlers. However, various other alleged abuses were dismissed. The Antitrust Authority fined AdR EUR1.67 million.

On 3 August 2007, the Italian Competition Authority fined four companies a total of EUR3,995,820 for their involvement in an anti-competitive cartel agreement in relation to the supply of medical devices to an Italian Local Health Authority. The anti-competitive agreement prevented the companies from submitting tenders when invited by the Local Health Authority, which had the effect of reducing price competition.

On 24 October 2007, the Italian Competition Authority imposed a fine on RDB and Xella for entering into an anti-competitive agreement. At the same time, RDB was fined for abuse of its dominant position in the market for autoclaved cellular concrete.

On 28 September 2005, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) decided to investigate the possible existence of anti-competitive agreements, contrary to Article 81 of the EC Treaty, between the press associations ADS-Accertamenti Diffusione Stampa and Audipress.

The bill to amend the Japanese Act Concerning the Prohibition of Private Monopolisation and Maintenance of Fair Trade (the Antimonopoly Act), which was submitted to the Japanese Diet on 27 February 2009 with a view to strengthening enforcement of competition policy, was approved by the Diet on 3 June 2009, and promulgated on 10 June 2009.

On 5 June 2006, the Japan Fair Trade Committee (JFTC) delivered its judgment against Nipro Corporation (Nipro), a supplier of medical equipment.

On 24 July 2008, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) decided that four music entertainment companies had infringed the Anti-Monopoly Act of Japan.

On 2 December 2005, the Fair Trade Commission of Japan (JFTC) issued a warning (keikoku) against Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation for imposing a condition that customers purchase financial derivative products when they take out a loan.

On 21 May 2008, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) issued its annual report for the financial year of 2007, covering its work on cases that infringed the Anti-Monopoly Act.

According to statistical research published by the European Commission, the overall level of state aid in Greece has levelled off.

On 25 April 2007, the Latvian Competition Council adopted a resolution terminating its investigation into a potential infringement of Article 13(4) of the Competition Law by companies participating in a tender for the reconstruction of railway track and supply of sleepers, announced by the Ministry of Transport in autumn 2005.

The Latvian Competition Council has discontinued a number of cases because they do not fall within its jurisdiction.

The Latvian Competition Council has adopted a resolution finding that Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC) has abused its dominant position by applying unequal terms in equivalent transactions and also by discriminating in its discount policy.

Following a year-long investigation, the Latvian Competition Council has fined members of a price-fixing and information exchange cartel in the market for chicken's eggs.

On 2 October 2007, the Latvian Administrative Regional Court resolved to annul the decision of the Competition Council finding that SIA Rimaida had abused its dominant position in the markets for the distribution of videotapes.

The Lisbon Appeals Court has confirmed the decision taken by the Portuguese Competition Authority in relation to the "salt cartel" and has upheld the fines imposed by the Commercial Court of Lisbon.

The Lithuanian Competition Council has found that the Association of Event Organisers (ROA) and several member undertakings have breached the Lithuanian Law on Competition by entering into a price-fixing agreement. The Competition Council has imposed total fines of LTL151,000.

The Mexican Competition Commission (CFC) has placed liquified petroleum gas (LPG) companies under the investigative spot light. First it began an investigation into alleged price fixing, output restrictions, and market allocation. Subsequently it began a separate investigation in order to determine the competitive conditions existing in the LPG market.

Ian Lang, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, has cleared the proposed merger between Lyonnaise des Eaux and Northumbrian Water. Lyonnaise is required to make water price reductions amounting to 15% over the next six years and is also required to list the merged company on the London Stock Exchange by the end of 2005. Lyonnaise now has to notify its bid to the European Commission under the EC Merger Regulation.

On 20 February 2006 the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic received notification of a concentration through which the entrepreneurs Flughafen Wien Aktiengesellschaft and Penta Investments Limited, within the consortium TwoOne, will acquire joint control over Bratislava airport.

A flowchart providing an overview of the merger control notification process. This flowchart is part of the Q&A guide to competition law in Canada. For a full list of jurisdictional Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/competition-mjg.

A flowchart providing an overview of the merger control notification process. This flowchart is part of the Q&A guide to competition law in South Africa. For a full list of jurisdictional Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/competition-mjg.

Following an investigation initiated in August 2006, the Mexican Competition Commission has found that some of the firms involved in the marketing and distribution of medicinal and industrial gases could be engaging in certain illegal conduct.

A comment on the growing momentum for changes to the state aid rules of the European Union.

The acquisition by Moser Holding AG of 51% of Oberösterreichische Rundschau-Gruppe has been conditionally approved by the Austrian competition authorities after an in-depth investigation.

On 14 September 2005, the Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) notified the ferry operator Color Line AS that it must submit a monthly report on the results of its different routes. Color Line has also been asked to give an account of how revenue will cover the relevant costs on specified routes.

The Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) has imposed a NOK400,000 fine on the trade association Norges Turbileierforbund, an association representing the interests of motor coach owners, for encouraging its members to raise the price for chartering coaches.

The Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) has issued a proposal requiring internet portals to allow all sellers of residential property, including private sellers, to advertise their properties on non-discriminatory terms. Currently, the major independent internet portals, such as Finn.no, only permit those who hold a real estate agent licence access to residential property advertisement services.

On 1 February 2006, the Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) officially changed its address.

The Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) has terminated its investigation into the co-operation agreement between Microsoft and a number of Norwegian county municipalities (fylkeskommuner) following agreement by the parties to make changes to the agreement.

The Australian Commonwealth Government has released a discussion paper about whether the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the TPA) should be amended to make it easier for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to take action against so-called "creeping acquisitions".

Following a couple of months of uncertainty, the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) has finally filled the positions opened up as a result of the expiry of the term of office of four of its Commissioners (including the President). Olavo Chinaglia, Carlos Ragazzo and Vinicios de Carvalho have now taken office as the new competition commissioners, and are already working at CADE.

On 1 September 2007, a new Competition Act (Act 15/2007) entered into force in Spain, replacing the 1989 Competition Act. The new Competition Act (the NCA) constitutes the final outcome of a long process, which began in January 2005 when the Spanish competition authorities published a White Paper on the reform of the Spanish competition regime. The aim of the reform was to strengthen the existing mechanisms and to provide the best possible instruments and an optimal institutional structure for the preservation of effective competition in Spain, whilst adapting Spanish competition law to the current EU regime.

The Russian Ministry of Economic Development is proposing a draft law on regulation of trade operations which will reduce the thresholds by which entities or groups of entities will be regarded as being dominant.

Following the decision of the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) on the horizontal aspects of the dairy cartel case, in which the HCC imposed on local dairy producers its highest ever fines, on 19 December 2007, the HCC issued a decision regarding the vertical aspects of the milk cartel. This new decision related to alleged retail price-fixing arrangements between each major Greek local dairy producer and the major supermarket chains

The New Zealand Commerce Commission has recommended to the Minister of Communications that the termination of fixed line voice calls to a mobile telephone network should be regulated under the New Zealand Telecommunications Act 1987. Somewhat controversially, the Commerce Commission has specifically excluded voice calls using third generation mobile technology from its recommendation.

The New Zealand Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal lodged by the Commerce Commission against the findings of the High Court in Commerce Commission v Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited. The Commerce Commission had claimed that Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited (Telecom) made unlawful use of its dominant position in the market, breaching section 36 of the Commerce Act, when it introduced its 0867 telephone package in 1999.

The New Zealand High Court has recently imposed penalties against a number of defendants involved in a cartel in the wood preservative chemicals industry.

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has published its Agenda for 2008. The NMa has announced that it will, in particular, scrutinise the health care sector for any restrictions of competition. In addition, the NMa will focus on the food and agri-business sector, the financial sector and the postal market

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) is looking for internet retailers that wish to complain that manufacturers force them to charge higher sales prices for the products that they sell. In January, a survey of internet retailers by the Dutch distant selling organisation Nederlandse Thuiswinkel Organisatie (NTO) showed that manufacturers are trying to prescribe the prices for internet retailers, so that they are required to set higher prices than ordinary shops.

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has cleared the acquisition of Wegener by the British media firm Mecom. Clearance was given after Mecom revised its original acquisition plan. The merger proposal has been changed to provide for Mecom's sale of its door-to-door newspaper subsidiary De Trompetter. The NMa concluded that this move safeguards competition in the local and regional advertising market in the eastern part of the province of Noord-Brabant and Limburg in The Netherlands.

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has concluded, after a thorough investigation, that the merger of three health organisations in the region of Noord and Midden-Limburg can be cleared.

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has adopted 18 decisions on administrative appeal relating to cartels in the housing and utility sector and the installation sector. With these decisions the NMa has concluded all administrative appeal procedures (more than 100 in total) in relation to its enforcement actions in the construction industry. The decisions on the appeals follow the sanctions that the NMa imposed on more than 1,000 construction firms in accordance with the accelerated and regular sanctions procedures.

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has ceased its investigation into the possible anti-competitive practices of a number of Dutch sugar manufacturers as it has not found any concrete evidence of an infringement of the Competition Act.

The Dutch Competition Authority (NMa) has fined the members of two cartels in the painting industry. In addition, the cartel facilitator, which rigged bids for painting contracts with the Dutch Ministry of Defence, was fined for its role in the cartel.

Following a recent amendment of the Dutch Competition Act, the Dutch Competition Authority (NMa) will be obliged to charge a fee for the notification of concentrations.

The Dutch Code of Civil Procedure and the Competition Act have been modified to allow for the application of Article 15(3) of Regulation 1/2003, which allows competition authorities and the European Commission to submit written and oral observations to national courts on issues relating to the application of Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty.

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has submitted its proposals for a tightened regulatory framework for regional gas network operators.

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has terminated its investigation into potential anti-competitive behaviour by a number of producers of generic medicines and their branch organisations. The investigation has so far yielded insufficient evidence to warrant further investigation.

In the coming months, the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) is going to evaluate the Electricity Act 1998 and Gas Act.

On 13 March 2006, the Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) carried out unannounced inspections at the site of two chemical suppliers (Borregaard Industries Ltd).

Higher thresholds will make the notification duty less burdensome for undertakings. Further, the Competition Authority will have the opportunity to reallocate its resources to those concentrations which in fact create or strengthen a significant restriction of competition. The Competition Authority proposed enhancement of the thresholds earlier this year, and these are now being evaluated.

A supplier in the Norwegian oil and gas industry has been charged by the Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) with collusive tendering.

This web site has information, publications and online documents of the OECD in the field of competition.

On 24 May 2005, the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) accepted binding commitments made by TV Eye and its member broadcasters to amend certain practices in relation to the sale of advertising time. This is the first time that the OFT has accepted commitments under section 31A of the Competition Act.

The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has urged school governors to allow school uniforms to be purchased from multiple outlets after a market study found that exclusive contracts and self-supply arrangements lead to significant financial detriment to parents.

On 3 May 2007, the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) referred the anticipated acquisition by Sportech plc of the Vernons football pools business from Ladbrokes plc to the Competition Commission.

Following the UK Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) investigation into price-fixing of dairy products and its subsequent issuing of a statement of objections, three of the supermarkets and three of the dairy processors have agreed to pay penalties which amount to over £116 million. The investigation against the other companies continues.

The President of the Polish Office for the Protection of Competition and Consumers (OPCC) has fined the National Health Fund (NHF) over PLN1 million (EUR280,000) for abuse of its dominant position in setting discriminatory terms of tender.

The President of the Office for Protection of Competition and Consumers (OPCC) has initiated competition law infringement proceedings against the establishment of a cartel by 64 Silesian estate agents.

The President of the Polish Office for the Protection of Competition and Consumers (OPCC) has fined PKP Cargo PLN60 million for abusing its dominant position.

The High Court has held that parallel proceedings before the High Court and the Competition Commission Appeal Tribunal in relation to substantially the same subject matter should be discouraged.

Obtaining and protecting market share is vital to a business's survival. One way in which a company may protect its market for a particular product is to deploy its national intellectual property against its competitors. When and to what extent can national rights be used against parallel importers in the EC? This was the issue recently addressed by the Patents Court in the context of the parallel importation of pharmaceutical products.

Penalties have been imposed on Osmose New Zealand, Osmose Australia and two Australian-based executives for liabilities arising from their involvement in a cartel in New Zealand's wood preservative chemicals industry.

On 11 July 2005, the Antitrust Commission of the National Institute for the Defence of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI), the first-tier administrative competition authority in Peru, approved a voluntary cease and desist commitment, establishing guidelines that defendants' must meet in order to qualify for leniency.

On 18 July 2005, the Peruvian Antitrust Commission of the National Institute for the Defence of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI), issued a decision establishing that parallel behaviour derived from oligopolistic interdependence does not qualify as an anti-competitive practice under the Peruvian Antitrust Law.

On 5 April 2006 the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) began criminal proceedings against five pharmaceutical companies who are alleged to have been party to price-fixing arrangements for the supply of generic drugs to the National Health Service (NHS). Also facing prosecution are nine individuals, currently or formerly employed by the companies. This is against the backdrop of civil proceedings issued by the Department of Health.

The editorial board of the Competition and Cartel Leniency multi-jurisdictional guide comprises senior in-house counsel and private practitioners, based in companies and law firms around the world, included for their expertise in competition/anti-trust law and practice.

The Court for Protection of Competition and Consumers has upheld the decision of the President of the Office for the Protection of Competition and Consumers (OPCC) ordering the discontinuation of the restrictive agreements between press distributor RUCH and two regional distribution companies (Rolkon of Poznan and Franpress of Wroclaw).

The Office for Protection of Competition and Consumers (OPCC) has launched an investigation into agency agreements entered into by PZU Zycie, one of Poland's largest insurance companies.

On 16 February 2007, a new Competition and Consumer Protection Act was adopted by the Polish parliament. The statute now awaits the President's signature and will come into force 30 days after its publication.

The Portuguese Competition Authority has confirmed that it is conducting a study to analyse price formation in the wholesale market for electricity.

The Portuguese Competition Authority has cleared with conditions and obligations the acquisition of two small cable companies by ZON, the dominant cable services operator in Portugal.

There has been debate in Portugal about whether any potential decision to impose a structural remedy on the dominant telecommunications company, in order to address alleged abuses of that dominance, should rest with the government, the telecoms regulator or the Portuguese Competition Authority.

The Portuguese Competition Authority has ordered the suspension of the promotional campaign "myZONcard" by ZON, the dominant operator in both the market for cable services and in the market for film exhibition in Portugal.

The Portuguese Competition Authority has published for public consultation a draft Complaint Form to be used by third parties to complain about restrictive agreements and abuses of dominance under both EC and national competition law.

Brisa Auto Estradas de Portugal (Brisa), the largest motorway operator in Portugal, could file an "extraordinary appeal" against the Portuguese Competition Authority's decision to block the acquisition of joint control of Auto-Estradas do Atlantico by Brisa's subsidiary Via Oeste and Auto-Estradas do Oeste.

It has been reported that a rival bid for the acquisition of the Russian oil company RussNeft has been filed with the Russian Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) and the sale of the company to Basic Element has not yet been concluded.

The validity of the new Regulation of Operation (the Regulation) of the Hellenic Competition Commission (the HCC), which came into force in January 2007, has been challenged in the Greek Council of State.

The President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (OCCP) has initiated anti-monopoly proceedings against Wrigley Poland, the dominant company in the Polish chewing gum market.

The President of the Polish Office for Protection of Competition and Consumers (OPCC) has fined seven waste collection companies PLN3 million (EUR630,000) for raising their waste collection fees to identical or virtually-identical levels.

The President of the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (OCCP) has found that two local transport companies in Zielona Gora have fixed the prices of bus ticket fares.

The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (OPCC) of Poland has declared that Kutno municipality has infringed competition law by denying independent transport companies access to bus stops.

The Argentine Commission for the Defence of Competition (the Anti-trust Tribunal) has recently published its annual report for the year 2006. The report describes the work carried out by the Anti-trust Tribunal during that year. Chapter 3 of the Annual Report is entirely devoted to the preventive measures imposed in different cases under investigation by the Anti-trust Tribunal.

As a result of very significant increases in the prices of daily goods in Austria, in particular gasoline, electricity and groceries, the Austrian authorities have come under increased public pressure to act. The Federal Competition Authority (BWB) has now published a first report in relation to gasoline prices. In addition, a European Commission merger decision in the food retail sector has given rise to some criticism in Austria.

The US is a risky jurisdiction for anti-trust defendants. Civil litigation is very common and defendants are exposed to the risk of significant damages. This chapter provides an overview of key aspects of private enforcement of anti-trust laws in the US, including the statutory basis for anti-trust remedies, standing requirements, the statute of limitations, and recent developments including changes in the standards for motions to dismiss.

The Latvian Ministry of Economics has drafted proposed amendments to the Competition Law, with the aim of furthering fair competition and eliminating threats to the development and profitable operation of small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular. The amendment to the Competition Law will allow increased control in the field of competition, sets out the relevant administrative procedure and simplifies the notification procedure for separate categories of merger.

On 30 March 2006, the New Zealand Commerce Commission (the Commission) issued proceedings against New Zealand Bus Limited (NZBL) in relation to its proposed acquisition of 74% of the shares in Mana Coach Services Limited. This follows the withdrawal by NZBL of its application to the Commission for clearance of this transaction.

Sonae, one of the largest private-owned Portuguese groups, which is present in areas ranging from retail and distribution to telecommunications and industry, announced in February 2006 that it is offering to buy the entirety of the share capital of Portugal Telecom, the incumbent Portuguese telecommunications operator. The bid has been notified to the Portuguese Competition Authority.

The Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) is consulting on draft regulations partly exempting the implementation of public bids or transactions in securities from the suspension obligation applicable to concentrations subject to the Norwegian merger control proceedings. The proposal mirrors Article 7(2) of the EC Merger Regulation.

This tool enables subscribers to search the Country Q&A in the PLC Public Procurement multi-jurisdictional guide by question and jurisdiction. Simply select the questions and the jurisdictions that you are interested in and click the "submit" button. Please note that the law stated dates for each jurisdiction covered may not be the same. To check the law stated dates for each jurisdiction, please visit the individual article. To compare answers across EU jurisdictions visit the EU Public Procurement Country Q&A tool.

A Q&A guide to public procurement law in Canada. The country-specific Q&A gives a high level overview of applicable legislation, scope of rules, procurement procedures and enforcement, recent trends and proposals for reform. In particular, it examines entities and contracts covered, concessions, privatisations and PPPs, contract award criteria, alternative bids, and changes to an existing contract. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Public Procurement Country Q&A tool and EU Public Procurement Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to public procurement. For a full list of jurisdictional Public Procurement Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/publicprocurement-mjg.

A Q&A guide to public procurement law in France. The country-specific Q&A gives a high level overview of applicable legislation, recent trends, use of the four EU procurement procedures, review procedures, remedies, transparency, contracts outside the scope of the Consolidated Public Service Directive and proposals for reform. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Public Procurement Country Q&A tool and EU Public Procurement Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to public procurement. For a full list of jurisdictional Public Procurement Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/publicprocurement-mjg.

A Q&A guide to public procurement law in Italy. The country-specific Q&A gives a high level overview of applicable legislation, recent trends, use of the four EU procurement procedures, review procedures, remedies, transparency, contracts outside the scope of the Consolidated Public Service Directive and proposals for reform. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Public Procurement Country Q&A tool and EU Public Procurement Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to public procurement. For a full list of jurisdictional Public Procurement Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/publicprocurement-mjg.

A Q&A guide to public procurement law in South Africa. The country-specific Q&A gives a high level overview of applicable legislation, scope of rules, procurement procedures and enforcement, recent trends and proposals for reform. In particular, it examines entities and contracts covered, concessions, privatisations and PPPs, contract award criteria, alternative bids, and changes to an existing contract. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Public Procurement Country Q&A tool and EU Public Procurement Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to public procurement. For a full list of jurisdictional Public Procurement Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/publicprocurement-mjg.

A Q&A guide to public procurement law in The Netherlands. The country-specific Q&A gives a high level overview of applicable legislation, recent trends, use of the four EU procurement procedures, review procedures, remedies, transparency, contracts outside the scope of the Consolidated Public Service Directive and proposals for reform. To compare answers across multiple jurisdictions visit the Public Procurement Country Q&A tool and EU Public Procurement Country Q&A tool. This Q&A is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to public procurement. For a full list of jurisdictional Public Procurement Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/publicprocurement-mjg.

RAO UES has selected Interros and Basic Machines as the potential bidders in an auction for its shares in Power Machines.

In recent months, the Swiss Federal Competition Commission (FCC) has issued a number of decisions in anti-trust investigations.

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Services (FAS Russia) and its regional offices have recently initiated infringement actions in relation to companies in the milk processing sector, oil companies and computer manufacturers.

The Swiss Federal Competition Commission (FCC) opened a number of investigations in November 2004.

A number of significant mergers had been approved or announced recently in South Africa.

The New Zealand High Court has fined Koppers Arch Wood Protection (NZ) Limited and its Australian parent company, Koppers Arch Investments Pty Limited, a total of NZ$3.6 million after they admitted participating in cartel behaviour in the wood preservative chemicals industry between 1998 and 2002.

On 2 May 2006, the Regional Court of Appeal of Budapest announced that it had reached its final decision in the Cinema Cartel case on 26 April 2006.

The New Zealand Commerce Commission has recently reached a settlement with two coffee machine retailers after they breached the Commerce Act 1986 by preventing a reseller from advertising their products for sale below a specified minimum price.

In two related cases referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) by the German Federal Court of Justice, the ECJ has ruled that restrictions relating to vehicle leasing imposed by BMW and Volkswagen on their dealers were in breach of Article 85 of the Treaty of Rome.

On 16 November 2004, the European Commission approved a proposed joint venture between Finnish food retailer Kesko Oy and ICA AB, a leading food retailer in Sweden and Norway. The joint venture will procure and sell daily consumer goods in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

On 29 July 2009, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) issued draft amendments to the rules on applications for approval, reporting and notification under Articles 9-16 of the Act on the Prohibition of Private Monopolisation and Maintenance of Fair Trade and to the Guidelines on the application of the Antimonopoly Act Concerning Review of Business Combinations. The drafts contain detailed provisions concerning the changes to be made to Chapter IV of the Antimonopoly Act, which prohibits any business combination that may substantially restrain competition in a particular field of trade and which provides a notification system for business combinations.

The Romanian Competition Council authorised the economic concentration resulting from the merger between Lucent Technologies Inc (Lucent) and Aura Merger Sub Inc, a subsidiary of the US company Alcatel.

On 19 December 2005, the Romanian Competition Council issued a decision imposing a fine of an unprecedented EUR 5.5 million on Wrigley Romania and 26 of its distributors and retailers for continuously engaging in practices of direct and indirect price-fixing and market or client allocation on the market for chewing gum between 2000 - 2004. At the same time, the Competition Council dismissed a complaint that Wrigley Romania had abused its dominant position in the market for chewing gum by preventing market entry by competitors.

In May 2009, the Romanian Competition Council (RCC) opened a sector inquiry in order to examine the workings of the motor vehicle spare parts market.

The Rotterdam District Court has quashed a 2001 decision of the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) which imposed fines on five mobile operators for breaching the Competition Act by meeting to share information and co-ordinate their behaviour in relation to commissions paid to retailers.

The Danish Competition Council has found that the rules of a trade association of financial and credit institutions, which prevented members from soliciting or hiring employees of their competitors, restricted competition contrary to section 6 of the Danish Competition Act.

On 27 January 2009, the Presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation approved the draft Federal Law on Introduction of Amendments to Article 178 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This law will introduce criminal liability for breaches of competition law.

On 20 February 2009, the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation almost unanimously approved draft legislation to amend the Federal Law on Protection of Competition, prepared by the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia). On 27 February 2009, the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation also unanimously approved the draft law to amend the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Violations and Other Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation.

On 21 October 2005, six telecom operators, WorldCom, Citylink, Rix Telecom, Labs2 Group, Phonelink Scandinavia and Affinity Telecom, lodged a complaint with the Swedish Competition Authority claiming that two of the market leading companies in Sweden, TeliaSonera and Tele2, are abusing their dominant position on the telephony market. The complaint alleges that the setting of prices on the mobile telephone market by TeliaSonera and Tele2 is hindering competition.

The Department of Concentrations of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (the Office) has approved the acquisition of the major Slovak food company Palma-Tumys by the Slovak based financial group Slavia Capital.

The Regional Court of Bratislava has annulled a 2005 decision of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic, which imposed a fine of SKK80 million for alleged abuse by Slovak Telekom of its dominant position.

In a decision handed down by the Competition Appeal Court (CAC) on 10 May 2005, in respect of the hostile take-over bid by Harmony Gold Mining Limited (Harmony) of Gold Fields Limited, the CAC denied Harmony the right to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal against the November 2004 decision of the CAC to prohibit the takeover.

The South African Competition Amendment Bill (the Bill) has been amended to limit the liability of directors and executives in instances where they are unaware of their firm's involvement in cartel behaviour.

The South African Competition Commission (the Commission) has published a discussion paper on proposed changes to the Corporate Leniency Policy (CLP).

The South African Competition Commission (Commission) has referred a complaint against Komatiland Forrest's Limited (KFL) to the Competition Tribunal for adjudication.

The South African Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) has unconditionally approved a merger between International Mineral Resources AG (IMR) and Kermas South Africa (Pty) Ltd (Kermas SA). The merger will enable IMR and the holding company of Kermas SA, Kermas Ltd, to jointly control Kermas SA and consequently the subsidiary of Kermas SA, Samancor Chrome (Samancor).

The Competition Tribunal of South Africa (Tribunal) recently approved without conditions the proposed merger between Sandown Motor Holdings (Pty) Ltd (SMH) and Paarl Motors (Pty) Ltd (Paarl Motors).

In a recent decision the South African Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) issued guidance regarding the provision of adequate documentation in support of a merger filing.

On 15 October 2008 the South African Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) unconditionally approved the merger between Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Toyota Tsusho Africa (Proprietary) Limited (Toyota Tsusho Africa) and Subaru Southern Africa (Proprietary) Limited (Subaru).

The Supreme Court has upheld a previous instance's ruling which concluded that Telefónica Móviles de España had abused its dominant position in 1995 by promoting exclusive distribution agreements aiming at prevent the entry of competitors to the mobile communications market.

The Danish Competition Authority has abolished the special Danish block exemption for voluntary retail chains and, following this abolition, the Authority has published a set of guidelines for voluntary chains on the application of the Danish Competition Act.

The Brazilian Competition Authority (CADE) has increasingly been suspending the implementation of transactions, regardless of the fact that the Brazilian merger control regime is of a non-suspensory nature. The latest transaction in relation to which the CADE may seek a stand still agreement or impose a preliminary injunction is the recently announced merger between SADIA and PERDIGAO.

See Busisness Insight this issue.

The Swedish Competition Authority has filed suit against two oil companies for alleged unlawful collusion on the bitumen market contrary to Article 81 of the EC Treaty and Swedish competition law. The Authority has demanded fines totalling EUR 44 million.

On 31 October 2007, after a year-long proceeding, the Swedish Competition Authority dismissed a complaint by a competitor, City Mail, alleging abuse of dominant position by Swedish Post, citing lack of evidence. The Competition Authority has deferred to a pending investigation by the Post and Telecom Agency.

On 19 June 2006, the Swedish Competition Authority announced that about a hundred companies and other stakeholders in the Swedish electricity industry will shortly be receiving letters from it. The aim is to identify and investigate possible irregularities in the electricity market.

The Swedish Competition Authority has published a report that it had commissioned on methods for calculating damages in private enforcement actions and the level of precision required by the courts in calculating damages.

In a follow-up investigation the Swedish Competition Authority has found that the commitments accepted in 2004 in relation to DONG's acquisition of Nova Supply, which offered natural gas customers the opportunity to cancel their agreements, have been fulfilled. No further investigation of the matter is therefore considered to be necessary.

On 15 November 2007, the Swedish Market Court found that the refusal of an electric utilities group to provide electrical energy for street and road illumination did not constitute a breach of the Swedish Competition Act. Although the company was found to be dominant on the relevant market, the majority of the Court ruled that it had not been demonstrated that the refusal to supply had a negative impact on competition.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has found, in a preliminary ruling, that the Swedish monopoly on retail sales of medical preparations is contrary to Community law.

On 27 September 2005, the Swiss Appeal Commission annulled the Federal Competition Commission's (FCC) decision that Ticketcorner held a dominant position in the Swiss market for ticket distribution systems. The Appeal Commission remitted the case back to the FCC for further investigation.

On 11 July 2006, the Swiss Appeal Commission upheld the Federal Competition Commission's (FCC) decision of 21 March 2005 that the "uniform book price" practice of fixing resale prices of publishing products in Switzerland operated in restriction of competition and was not justified on the grounds of economic efficiencies.

On 10 October 2007, the Swiss Competition Commission approved Nestle's acquisition of the Swiss mineral waters producer Sources Minérales Henniez SA, which had been controlled by the Rouge family.

On 6 November 2006, the Federal Competition Commission (ComCo) discontinued its proceedings launched in response to a complaint made by the largest Swiss retailer Migros that Elektra Baselland (EBL) was abusing its dominant position in not permitting competitors access to its electricity distribution network.

On 21 March 2005, the Swiss Federal Competition Commission (FCC) found that arrangements by Swico (the Swiss Association for telematics and informatics) and SENS (a foundation for waste reclamation) for the waste disposal of electrical devices infringed Swiss competition law. The FCC declared that producers, importers and resellers of electrical devices are now under a legal obligation to take back used material at no cost and to dispose of it.

On the basis of information received from third parties, the Secretariat of the Swiss Federal Competition Commission (FCC) has opened a preliminary investigation into the existence of agreements on surcharges in the air freight sector.

On 18 September 2006, the Swiss Federal Competition Commission (FCC) issued its final decision confirming, in line with its provisional cessation order, that a decision of the operator of Zurich airport, Unique, to terminate agreements offering airport facilities to valet parking service providers Sprenger and Alternative Parking was an abuse of a dominant position.

The Spanish Competition Tribunal (TDC) imposed a fine of EUR100,000 on AFEPAN, a county association of bakers, for recommending minimum prices to its members.

The Spanish Competition Tribunal (TDC) has set aside an application by the Undersealing Asphalt Manufacturers Association for an individual exemption in relation to its creation of a bad debts registry.

In a recent judgment, SST Consulting Services Pty Ltd v Rieson ( [2006] HCA 31) the High Court of Australia clarified the enforceability of contracts containing illegal restrictive trade practices clauses and, in doing so, brought Australia more into line with United States jurisprudence.

This chapter considers how European competition law can affect outsourcing transactions, concentrating in particular on the effect of merger control rules and the prohibition of anti-competitive provisions in outsourcing agreements. This article is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to Outsourcing. For a full list of contents visit www.practicallaw.com/outsourcinghandbook

The Italian Competition Authority has concluded its inquiry into anti-competitive behaviour by companies in the antiseptics and disinfectants sector. The inquiry was the result of a complaint by the Italian Customs and Excise Police. The Competition Authority has fined the companies involved a total of EUR3.7 million.

The US District Court for the District of Columbia has recently issued findings of fact to the effect that Microsoft:Enjoyed monopoly power. Used that power to the detriment of the market. These findings of fact were made in the course of a trial involving charges of anti-competitive conduct which were brought against Microsoft by the US Department of Justice. The charges were based on Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, which dates back to 1890.

On 24 November 2004 the Danish Competition Council adopted its decision in the Post Danmark case, in which the "incremental costs" test was applied with great difficulty in the assessment of predatory pricing.

On 30 March 2005, the Danish Competition Council delivered its decision concerning the use of rebates, marketing subsidies and campaign support by the dominant dairy company, Arla Foods. This is the first decision made by the Danish Competition Council concerning the use of marketing subsidies and campaign support for retail chains by a dominant undertaking.

On 7 November 2008, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a statement announcing the resignation of Thomas O. Barnett from his post as the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division. His resignation became effective on 19 November 2008, and he is succeeded by Acting Assistant Attorney General, Deborah A. Garza.

The wide geographical scope of  international merger and acquisition activity often means that the competition law aspects of such transactions will be considered by a large number of different regulators. Identification of jurisdictions where filings are required and of the key strategic steps to be taken is essential.This Practice note gives practical guidance on the effective management of international competition issues.

On 13 July 2006, the Turkish Competition Board adopted a decision imposing fines totalling YTL10 million on three pharmaceutical companies for competition law infringements which prevented competition in the markets for two drugs (kytril and setron).

The UK Competition Commission has cleared the completed merger between two major steel drum manufacturers despite provisionally concluding that there would be a substantial lessening of competition as a result of the merger.

On 21 December 2006, the Competition Commission (CC) published its final report on its Classified Directory Advertising Services (CDAS) market investigation. The CC found a number of factors that prevent, restrict or distort competition, in particular Yell Group Plc's (Yell) market power. Yell will continue to be subject to price control and the CC will impose several restrictions on Yell including its publication of local directories and themed guides.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has fined Scottish and North East roofing contractors for price-fixing.

The Department of Justice has approved Syngenta AG's $475 million acquisition of Advanta B.V. subject to a proposed settlement requiring the divestiture of Advanta's worldwide sugar beet seed business.

On 19 May 2009, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order denying a motion by direct purchaser plaintiffs to compel a corporate defendant that had previously applied for antitrust amnesty with the US Department of Justice to disclose its identity and co-operate with the plaintiffs in civil litigation.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that Valero L.P, the largest petroleum terminal operator and second-largest operator of liquid petroleum pipelines in the United States, has agreed to three divestitures to settle FTC charges that its proposed US$2.8 billion acquisition of Kaneb Pipe Line Partners (Kaneb) was anti-competitive.

On 3 March 2005, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) varied the terms of reference of the Competition Commission's on-going investigation into the market for store cards to include network cards and insurance services connected to the provision of consumer credit through store cards.

On 4 June 2007, Procompetencia, the Venezuelan Competition Authority, fined spirits companies Diageo and Pernod Ricard US$3.2 million and US$1.4 million, respectively, for using exclusionary contracts for the distribution and marketing of their spirits and liquors.

The South African Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) has approved, without conditions, the large merger between MTN Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of MTN NS (MTN), and Verizon South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, a subsidiary of Verizon Business Global LLC, (Verizon SA).

The South African Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) has approved the merger of Yara International ASA (Yara) and Kemira Growhow OYI (Kemira), subject to conditions, following an application by the parties asking that the Tribunal reconsider an earlier decision of the Competition Commission.