Towards a European Unfair Competition Law

Towards a European Unfair Competition Law
Author: Rogier W. De Vrey
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2006
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9004150404

The main aim of this book is to discuss the state of unfair competition law in the European Union. In this respect, the various efforts that have been made in the past to come to harmonization of this area of law and the reasons that they were only partially successful are reviewed. In addition, the International and European regulations that refer to unfair competition, like, e.g., the Paris Convention, the TRIPs and the recent 2004 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive are discussed. Also an overview is given of the unfair competition laws in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands with respect to the 'problem-areas' of slavish imitation, misleading advertising, denigrating one's competitor, trade secrets and finally, misappropriation of valuable trade assets. Unfair competition law is traditionally considered part of intellectual property law. Not only the relation of unfair competition law to intellectual property laws are therefore part of the discussion but also the areas of consumer protection law (since unfair competition law is partly orientated towards consumer protection) and competition (as an economic concept) is the topic of thorough review.

Unfair Competition Law

Unfair Competition Law
Author: Frauke Henning-Bodewig
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2006-01-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9041123296

The book delineates, with extraordinary clarity and precision, the working of unfair competition law throughout the European Union. Its four comprehensive chapters encompass: basic considerations of definition, subject matter, enforcement, and applicable law: international provisions under the Paris convention, TRIPS, and WIPO model law; analysis of relevant EC directives and regulations and ECJ jurisprudence; and extensive discussions of the national unfair competition laws of all 25 Member States. For each Member State, specific topics covered include such considerations as the following: sources of law; competition law in a nutshell; regulation of advertising; direct marketing; sales promotion; risk of confusion; disparagement, defamation; misappropriation, imitation; impediment of competitors; and breach of the law. The author also provides a selected bibliography of sources for each country. It would be difficult to find a more useful analysis of European Unfair Competition Law than this systematic study. It is practical, thorough, clarifying, and readable, all at the same time. The author untangles the most complex of apparent contradictions with impressive skill. Copies of this book will quickly take their places on the working shelves of interested practitioners, academics, and officials throughout Europe.

Law Against Unfair Competition

Law Against Unfair Competition
Author: Reto Hilty
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2007-07-28
Genre: Law
ISBN: 3540718826

This book examines the present state of harmonization of unfair competition law in Europe. It discusses the particular approach to unfair competition law in the 10 new Member States and the possible impact on the future development of European unfair competition law. The book presents new insight in the importance of unfair competition law, especially in countries with a developing market economy.

Fairness in EU Competition Policy : Significance and Implications

Fairness in EU Competition Policy : Significance and Implications
Author: Damien Gerard
Publisher: Bruylant
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2020-06-03
Genre: Law
ISBN: 2802767186

The idea of fairness has recently re-entered the policy discourse underpinning competition law enforcement, in the EU and beyond. Of course, the term “unfair” can be found in the EU Treaty and the avoidance of consumers’ exploitation is the ultimate aim of competition principles. Still, the boundaries of fairness as a driver of competition enforcement appear unclear and, for some, dangerously flexible. At the same time, whilst the application of competition rules has over the years been focusing on restrictions to the competitive process with the effect of harming consumers, a wave of cases recently brought or decided at EU and national level appear to be inspired by wide and somewhat elusive fairness considerations, including non-discrimination, neutrality, equality of opportunities, natural justice or avoidance of abuse of law. Reference can be made to cases relating to product design, IP licensing, geo-blocking, network neutrality, privacy concerns or fiscal justice. This volume explores how fairness may guide competition enforcement, what its significance may be in explaining recent trends and actual outcomes, and what implications can be observed or expected by relying on a fairness standard in the design of substantive principles. Associating lawyers and economists, practitioners and academics, it discusses the boundaries of fairness in a world where the rationality of markets has been profoundly shaken by recent crises.

The Shaping of EU Competition Law

The Shaping of EU Competition Law
Author: Pablo Ibáñez Colomo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2018-07-12
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1108661858

Based on a unique and comprehensive database, The Shaping of EU Competition Law combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to shed light on the evolution of EU competition law. It brings a new perspective to some of the most topical issues in the field including due process and the intensity of judicial review. The author's main purpose is to examine how the institutional structure influences the substance of EU competition law provisions. He seeks to identify patterns in the behaviour of the European Commission and the EU Courts and how they interact with each other. In particular, his analysis considers how the European Commission reacts to the case law and whether, and in what instances, the EU courts defer to the analysis of the administrative authority. The analysis is supported by the database and an unprecedented array of statistics and figures free to view online.

Remedies in EU Competition Law

Remedies in EU Competition Law
Author: Damien Gerard
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2020-07-10
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9403522445

By their nature, remedies are central to competition law enforcement and represent the yardstick against which the efficiency of the overall system can be measured. Yet very rarely have remedies been treated in a horizontal and comprehensive manner from the combined perspectives of substance, process and policy. The present volume, developed in partnership with the College of Europe’s Global Competition Law Centre (GCLC), provides coherent, practical, and authoritative commentaries by leading experts from the GCLC’s incomparable network. The contributions – originally presented at the 2019 GCLC annual conference – examine remedies to assess the overall effectiveness of competition law enforcement in merger, antitrust and State aid matters. The overall topic is presented under five headings: objectives and limitations of remedies; types of remedies in competition law enforcement; implementation and process; ex post assessment of remedies and policy lessons; and national and international approaches. The high-profile and wide-ranging group of authors includes the Director-General of the European Commission’s competition department, lawyers from major international firms, and well-known economists and academics specialising in competition law. With a sharp focus on how to make competition rules work well in today’s digital environment, this systematic and coherent analysis illuminates an issue that we need to fully grasp and understand in order to make sense of competition policy, law and enforcement in the years and decades to come.

The Protection against Unfair Competition in the WTO TRIPS Agreement

The Protection against Unfair Competition in the WTO TRIPS Agreement
Author: Christian Riffel
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2016-06-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9004313478

In The Protection Against Unfair Competition in the WTO TRIPS Agreement, Christian Riffel offers an account of the potential which Article 10bis of the Paris Convention has for the world trading system. In particular, the author explores what hard law obligations emerge and examines a possible application to unsettled issues, such as core labour standards and traditional knowledge. Article 10bis embodies unfair competition law in a nutshell. The TRIPS Agreement incorporates this Article into the World Trade Organization, thus making unfair competition law a discipline of international trade law. By providing an effective enforcement mechanism against unfair competition, the WTO upholds ‘honest practices’ in the course of trade, alleviating enforcement deficits in other areas of international law.

Competition Law in the EU

Competition Law in the EU
Author: Johan W. van de Gronden
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2021-02-26
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1788974751

This incisive textbook enhances understanding of EU competition law, exploring significant substantive and enforcement issues relating to antitrust, merger control and state aid law. Providing an examination of well-established doctrines, landmark judgements and the impact of recent developments, this textbook also emphasises the importance of the interplay between domestic and European competition law by discussing national competition rules and frameworks.

Structure and Effects in EU Competition Law

Structure and Effects in EU Competition Law
Author: Basedow
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9041131744

During the last decade the European Commission has progressively adopted what is called a and‘more economic approachand’ toward competition policy. This approach, which draws on U.S. antitrust policy, puts greater emphasis on possible welfare effects of business practices and is less concerned with competitive market structures. Under this school of thought concentration cannot be said to impede effective competition to the extent that efficiency gains outweigh market distortions. In order to stimulate the debate on this basic reorientation, in January 2009 the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law at Hamburg convened economists, legal scholars, and practitioners for an exchange of views on these and‘newand’ methodological foundations of EU competition policy and competition law. Two especially controversial elements were chosen for in-depth discussion: the prohibition of abuses of dominant positions and the review of State aid. This book reproduces fourteen papers from this conference, representing the considered views of prominent European lawyers, economists, academics, policymakers, and enforcement officials in the competition field on matters such as: the objectives of EU competition law; the current enforcement guidelines of the EU Commission regarding Article 102 TFEU and? measuring market power; abusive low pricing strategies; the economics of competition law enforcemennt; recent developments in EU State aid law; economic justifications for State aid. A critical assessment of the Commissionand’s State aid action plan by the German Monopolies Commission is appended in English. Applying law and economics theory to competition law, this book shows that the and‘more economicand’ approach is exerting a considerable impact on various sectors of competition law. The authors clearly demonstrate the progress that can be made when lawyers and economists take notice of and respect the characteristics of each otherand’s discipline. Moreover, the authors show how new insights of economic theory may be integrated into the relevant legal analysis. The book will therefore be appreciated by academics, practitioners, and officials representing both fields.