On 8 September 2020, the European Commission (‘Commission’) published a Staff Working Document in which it summarised the conclusions of the evaluation of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (‘VBER’) and the accompanying Vertical Guidelines. The evaluation – launched on 3 October 2018 – was aimed at gathering views from stakeholders to determine whether the current … Read more

This blog post is an adapted version of a briefing paper prepared with the economics consultancy, Oxera, in connection with our joint webinar event on the European Green Deal and its implications for regulation, State aid and competition policy.  The webinar, which will feature speakers from the European Commission, the judiciary and private practice, will … Read more

In the first application by the CMA for a competition disqualification order to reach the courts, the High Court, on 3 July 2020, imposed a competition director disqualification order for a period of 7 years on Mr Michael Martin, a former director of Gary Berryman Estate Agents, and ordered an interim payment of costs of … Read more

On 29 June 2020 the CMA imposed total fines of £5.8 million for resale price maintenance (RPM) in the musical instruments and equipment sector, in three separate cases.  This follows the fines imposed in August last year on Casio (£3.7 million) and in January this year on Fender (£4.5 million) for similar conduct and brings … Read more

In an earlier blog post we discussed the ‘evaluation and fitness check roadmap’ conducted by the European Commission (Commission) in relation to its 1997 Notice on the definition of relevant markets (Notice). In light of the initial feedback received by the Commission, on 26 June 2020 it published a ‘public consultation for the 2020 Evaluation … Read more

The automotive industry is unquestionably evolving at considerable pace, whether through advances in connectivity and autonomy in vehicles, developments in the way that consumers access and use vehicles or changes driven by the “electric revolution” and the unprecedented industry disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the latest article in a series entitled “Views on … Read more

On 17 June 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down judgment in a consolidated set of appeals in the multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) litigation relating to the MasterCard and Visa card schemes.  The judgment addresses a mix of issues, some of which will have far-reaching consequences for competition litigation in the UK. The Supreme Court … Read more

On 17 June 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down judgment in a consolidated set of appeals in the multi-lateral interchange fees litigation. In Sainsbury’s v Visa and others and Sainsbury’s v Mastercard and others the Court considered a number of issues relevant to competition litigation. A key element of the judgment relates to the … Read more