Here is an item on an important decision of Canada’s Competition Tribunal written by my partners George Addy, Sandra Forbes, John Bodrug and Jim Dinning. It is especially relevant for trade associations – Mark
On April 15, 2013, the Canadian Competition Tribunal released its decision dismissing the Commissioner of Competition’s application against the Toronto Real Estate Board (“TREB”). The Commissioner had alleged that TREB had abused a dominant position in the market for residential real estate brokerage services by implementing rules that limit how its member brokers and agents can provide certain information to consumers over the Internet.
Davies was counsel to an intervenor, The Canadia [...]
Last week, the European Commission published on its website a revised explanatory note on how it conducts on-the-spot inspections of business premises where it suspects a company has breached competition law (so-called “dawn raids”).
During a dawn raid the European Commission has the power to examine and copy not just hard copies of business records, but also electronic information. The most important revisions to the note concern the powers of the inspectors to conduct IT searches.
Extent of IT search
The revised note provides the following non-exhaustive examples of the IT storage media that the inspectors may search during an inspection: laptops, desktops, tablets, mobile phones, CD-ROMs, [...]
Competition Law in Canada – Top 10 Issues for 2013
This is a post of an article written by my partners Anita Banicevic, Richard Elliott, Charles Tingley and me
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2012 was a busy year for competition law and policy in Canada. Below we consider how some of the important developments in 2012 will shape the enforcement of Canadian competition law in 2013.
1. Will the New Interim Competition Commissioner Stay the Enforcement Course?
In September 2012, the Commissioner of Competition resigned and was replaced on an interim basis by John Pecman, a seasoned Bureau veteran with over 28 years of enforcement experience. While a permanent replacement is expected [...]
It will not come as a surprise to many that in the first few years of having competition law powers, the Competition Commission of India (the “CCI”) has targeted one of India’s most important industries: Cricket. The dust has not yet settled on last week’s decision in relation to the activities of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (the “BCCI”). Let’s see whether the CCI got this one right or whether it needs to be sent to the third umpire for review.
Facts
On November 2, 2010, Shri Surinder Singh Barmi (an individual living in Delhi) filed a complaint with the CCI alleging irregularities with the BCCI’s grant of franchise rights, media rights, and sponsorship righ [...]
The Austrian Parliament has passed a bill amending the Austrian competition law rules. On March 1, 2013, significant changes will enter into force. These include the following:
This is the follow-up to the post “Austria: New competition rules – Take one”.
Strengthening of private enforcement
The legislator made efforts to promote private enforcement. This is demonstrated, e.g. by a new provision in the Austrian Cartel Act exclusively dedicated to compensation for damages as a result of infringements of competition law. The new law makes it clear that anyone guilty of committing such a violation is obliged to compensate the resulting damages.
In addition, it states that a private claim [...]
The Disputes
Microsoft is sued for alleged excessive pricing in China by Guangzhou Kam Hing Textile Dyeing Co., Ltd. (Guangzhou Kam Hing). In March 2012, Microsoft sued Guangzhou Kam Hing in the Nansha District People’s Court (Nansha Court) for using pirated Microsoft software. According to the news report, the Hong Kong parent company of Guangzhou Kam Hing bought genuine Microsoft software in 2002 but had unsuccessfully negotiated with Microsoft for licensing the software to its subsidiaries in mainland China. Guangzhou Kam Hing, located in Guangdong province adjacent to Hong Kong, then installed pirated Microsoft software and was fined by local authorities in 2010 after Microsoft reporte [...]
