Archive for the 'Publications' Category
We are pleased to provide this global competition update, with a focus on Asia Pacific, from our friends at Rajah Tann in Singapore.
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Happy New Year! Welcome to our refreshed Competition Review 2012, which presents an overview of developments in competition laws from around the world in the past few months, with a focus on ASEAN and Asia. This issue covers developments, which have occurred in the second half of 2011 that may interest you.
Each of the decisions and studies discussed below is intended to give you a flavor of the issues in the competition and anti-trust scene so that, when you review your business activities, structure new deals or make acquisitions, you have these issues at the back of your mind and provide for them. For ease of convenience we have organized our Competition Review into three sections – anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance and mergers.
We set out below some of the key principles that emerge from the cases discussed below:
(a) co-operating with competition authorities for a speedy resolution may help reduce penalties (see EU: European Commission (‘Commission’) Fines Producers Of CRT Glass €128 Million In Cartel Settlement);
(b) a competition authority may recommend shareholders to replace their directors or officers if they do not fully cooperate with investigations (see Indonesia: Indonesian Competition Authority KPPU Recommends President Director Be Replaced);
(c) even though a competition authority may not have powers to review mergers, it may investigate the transaction for other anti-competitive aspects (see Malaysia: Malaysia Competition Commission (‘MYCC’) To Investigate Air Asia-Malaysian Airlines (‘MAS’), Share Swap And Collaborative Agreement);
(d) exchanging information between competitors through a third party, such as software service providers, may lead to a violation of competition laws if the exchange is of sensitive information (see UK: Motor Insurers Agree To Limit Data Exchange And Provide Commitments to the Office Of Fair Trading (‘OFT’)); and
(e) not all jurisdictions, where merging parties have presence, will require merger notification. Undertakings with large presence in one jurisdiction may not have sufficiently significant presence in other jurisdictions that crosses notification triggers (see Indonesia: Microsoft’s Acquisition Of Skype Does Not Need Notification).
On December 7, 2011, the International Competition Network (ICN) published its updated ICN Work Product Catalogue, with interactive links to ICN reports and documents from 2008 to 2011 in the advocacy, cartel (conspiracy), mergers and unilateral conduct (monopoly / abuse of dominance) areas.
The National Competition Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association has published the most recent issue of the Canadian Competition Law Review (2011 – Vol. 24 No. 1) (formerly the Canadian Competition Record) (see: Canadian Competition Law Review – 2011 – Vol. 24 No. 1).
This issue of the Canadian Competition Law Review includes articles and comments on indirect purchaser class actions, the institutional design of Canadian competition policy, the Competition Tribunal, the U.S. Horizontal Merger Guidelines, the treatment of buying-side agreements under the amended section 45 of the Competition Act and injunctions in misleading advertising cases.
We are pleased to announce the forthcoming publication by Carswell this fall of The Competition Law Guide for Associations in Canada jointly authored by Steve Szentesi and Mark Katz.
The Guide, the first book of its kind in Canada, will be a practical and concise summary of Canadian competition law as it applies to trade, professional and other associations. It will include an overview of the major areas of Canadian competition law that apply to associations, including the conspiracy, bid-rigging, abuse of dominance and misleading advertising provisions of the federal Competition Act.
The Guide will also include discussions of some of the specific types of association activities that can raise competition law concerns including membership criteria and discipline, codes of conduct and standard setting, meetings and information exchanges and joint association activities (e.g., joint negotiation and marketing, joint purchasing activities and lobbying and advocacy). A compendium of “best practices” (i.e., do’s and don’ts) will also be provided together with sample guidelines for the conduct of association meetings, document creation and responding to government investigations (principally search and seizures). Basic sample association compliance presentations for associations will also be included.
The Guide is intended to provide a practical resource for trade and professional association executives, their personnel and counsel to better understand Canadian competition law as it applies to association activities and to assist them in anticipating and reducing potential competition law liability.
For more information about this forthcoming book see Carswell’s product catalogue:
The Competition Law Guide for Trade Associations in Canada
Carswell will also be offering an online webinar in November in conjunction with the publication of the Guide. For more information see:
West LegalEdcenter – A Guide to Canadian Competition Law for Trade and other Associations
Carswell has issued the second edition of Fundamentals of Canadian Competition Law.
From Carswell:
“Given the amount of extensive case law in the area, it can be challenging to understand whether particular conduct is circumscribed by the Competition Act or carries a risk of competition law challenge. We have a resource that will make it easier to interpret and understand the Competition Act. The Fundamentals of Canadian Competition Law, Second Edition, jointly published with the Canadian Bar Association, is a convenient, one-stop publication that summarizes the applicable statutory provisions in the Competition Act as well as the relevant jurisprudence, guidelines, and policy statements.
Each chapter is written by renowned experts in the field. They have selected the most important topics and the most relevant themes so you don’t waste time reviewing unnecessary information. You get expert coverage of the purpose of competition law, statutory history, price maintenance, exclusive dealing, tied selling, marketing restriction, mergers, misleading advertising, marketing practices – and more.
This essential resource covers:
- Introduction and Overview: The Purpose of Canadian Competition Law
- Institutional Overview and Statutory History
- Market Power and Market Definition
- Criminal Conspiracy
- Price Maintenance
- Refusal to Deal
- Exclusive Dealing, Tied Selling, Market Restriction
- Abuse of Dominance
- Merger Notification
- Substantive Merger Review
- Misleading Advertising and Marketing Practices
- Civil Conspiracy and Other Economic Torts
- Private Applications to the Competition Tribunal
- Investigative Powers, Procedural Issues and Special Remedies
- The Intellectual Property and Regulated Conduct Interface
- Private Litigation and Class Actions”
CONTACT US
We provide a full range of Canadian competition/antitrust law and consulting services to domestic and international clients. Contact Us.
We have issued a new publication for business lawyers: Competition Law for Business Lawyers – The Basics. This short publication will summarize key areas of competition law for business lawyers in Canada including: (i) an overview of the Competition Act, (ii) a summary of the recent Competition Act amendments, (iii) enforcement and penalties under the Act, (iv) Canadian merger control, (v) the Investment Canada Act, (vi) conspiracy, (vii) abuse of dominance, (viii) misleading advertising, (ix) promotional contests, (x) refusal to deal and (xi) trade associations and competition law. This new publication is intended as a short summary of Canadian competition law to assist Canadian business lawyers identify issues that may arise in their practices. For a complimentary copy, please contact us.
CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our Blog Homepage, Competition Law Services, Canadian Competition Law, Competition Act Amendments, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Abuse of Dominance, Conspiracy, Advertising and Marketing, Promotional Contests, Trade Associations, Refusal to Deal, Investment Canada Act, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Private Actions, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Links or Global Competition Law and Policy pages or visit our website at www.NortonStewart.com.
CONTACT US
We provide Canadian competition law services to clients across Canada and internationally. For more information about our Canadian competition law and consulting services contact us at steve@nortonstewart.com, info@competitionlawcanada.com or call us at +1 604 687 0555 or +1 778 867 5558.
DISCLAIMER
The materials and information on CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW are provided as legal information about Canadian competition law. Reading and accessing this information does not create a lawyer-client relationship. The information on our blog does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any issue. In addition, the information and materials on this website will change based on new competition law developments and, as such, may not be current as of the date of access. As such, we take no responsibility for the accuracy or currency of the competition law information or materials on our blog, which should not be relied upon without receiving legal advice from competent legal counsel.
OUR BOOKS
The Competition Law Guide for Trade Associations in Canada is a practical and concise summary of Canadian competition law as it applies to trade, professional and other associations.
OUR COURSES
Competition Law and REALTORS®: What You Say and Do Matters was designed by ACRE with the assistance of CREA to help Canadian REALTORS® understand and comply with Canadian competition law.
This course is available
to members of Canadian
real estate boards.
For more information see ACRE