On 19 September 2024, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ” or the “Court”) issued a preliminary ruling in response to a request from a Dutch court for clarification, inter alia, on whether wide and narrow price parity clauses in agreements between Booking.com and accommodation service providers constitute an ancillary restriction in the context of Article
Latest from Covington Competition
FTC and DOJ Announce Final Rule Reshaping HSR Filing Requirements
On October 10, 2024, the federal antitrust agencies finalized the most significant changes to the U.S. merger notification regime since the enactment of the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act in 1976. The Final Rule—which was issued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) with the concurrence of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”)…
New Commissioner, New Mission, New Policy for Competition?
What are the key take-aways of the mission letter to Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, EVP-designate responsible for EU competition policy?
On 17 September 2024, European Commission (“Commission”) President Ursula von der Leyen (“President”), announced her proposed College of Commissioners (“College”) for her second 5-year term. The Commissioners-designate still need to be confirmed by the European Parliament…
State Courts Dismiss Claims Involving the Use of Revenue Management Software in Residential Rental and Health Insurance Industries
In the past several months, two state courts in the District of Columbia and California decided motions to dismiss in cases alleging that the use of certain revenue management software violated state antitrust laws in the residential property rental management and health insurance industries. In both industries, parallel class actions are pending in federal court…
ECJ’s Google Shopping Judgment: The End of a Long Saga
The European Court of Justice released its long-awaited judgment1 in the Google Shopping saga last week, finally putting to bed close to fifteen years’ of scrutiny into Google’s practices of favouring its own comparison shopping service (Google Shopping) over rival shopping services.
In its ruling, the ECJ upheld the General Court’s earlier judgment2…
ECJ decides that EU Member States cannot refer below-threshold transactions to the European Commission (Illumina/Grail v Commission)
On 3 September 2024, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) published its highly-anticipated judgment in Illumina/Grail v Commission (Joined Cases C‑611/22 P and C‑625/22 P) (“ECJ Judgment”), regarding the scope of application of Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (“EUMR”).
The ECJ set aside the EU General Court (“GC”) judgment (Case T‑227/21) and ruled…
From Concept to Precedent: The 2024 Draft Guidelines on Article 102
By Kevin Coates
The European Commission’s draft guidelines on exclusionary abusive conduct by dominant firms under Article 102 TFEU (the “Draft Guidelines”) were published on 1 August 2024. They show a marked change from the 2009 Article 82 [now Article 102] Enforcement Priorities Guidance (the “Priorities Guidance”): economic concepts have largely been replaced with the Commission’s interpretation of…
D.C. District Court Finds Google Monopolized Online Search Text Ads Markets
On August 5, 2024, Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia concluded that Google has monopolized markets for online searches and search text advertising and unlawfully engaged in exclusionary conduct in those markets. Specifically, the court found that Google used revenue sharing agreements with web browser developers, mobile device…
The 2024-2029 Commission Political Guidelines: Where Is Competition Policy Likely Headed?
On 18 July 2024, the current President of the European Commission (“Commission”), Ursula von der Leyen, was reconfirmed by the European Parliament for a second 5-year term. As part of her reconfirmation, President von der Leyen delivered a speech before the European Parliament, complemented by a 30-page program, which lays down the Commission’s political…
Texas District Court Enjoins FTC’s Rule Banning Non-Compete Clauses
On July 3, 2024, Judge Ada Brown of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted the motions for a preliminary injunction—filed by Ryan LLC and several trade associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—to prevent the FTC’s rule banning non-compete clauses from going into effect, but the court’s order only…