BIS has proposed a major overhaul of the UK competition law framework, the proposals for which are contained in its consultation document issued in March 2011. The 2012 Competition Law series will provide up to date guidance on all the major changes as and when they are brought in, as well as analysis of whether the new regime is providing benefits for users in terms of costs, efficiency, flexibility and enforcement.
The panel of expert speakers will also look at trends in various different industries such as IT, finance, pharmaceuticals, media and energy. They will:
• Outline how the new regime is working with the concurrency of regulators
• Examine all the recent case law in these industries including any decisions reached in Google, Microsoft and pipeline cases such as IBM
• Analyse developments in the growing field of competition law litigation including class actions, and cartels.
The webinars cover all the latest developments in a practical and stimulating way and allow viewers to interact with the panel of experts. They are accessible on demand and provide a cost effective and efficient way of staying up-to-date with all the major changes at UK and EU level.
Forthcoming Webinars
Here is the schedule of forthcoming webinars for this practice area.
On Demand Webinars
Here is a list of previously broadcast webinars that are now available on demand.
8th Mar 2011
IP, standards and the tension between IP and antitrust
This webinar covers:
· The interface between competition law and IP
· What is the concern with standards?
· Standard setting, IP and competition law – how does it fit together?
· Setting standards and the obligation to license
· “FRAND” - where did it come from and what does it mean?
· The Commission’s horizontal guidelines and the case-law to date
· Where next and practical implications
6th Apr 2011
Horizontal guidelines
This webinar covers:
· Is there a safe harbour for exchanges by competitors of genuinely aggregated pricing or other data?
· How the rules on standardisation agreements have changed
· Assessment of co-operation agreements between competitors under the EU’s version of the “rule of reason” and the role of block exemption regulations
· The assessment of arrangements between joint ventures and their parent entities
3rd May 2011
Information exchanges – vertical and horizontal
This webinar covers:
· What type of information exchanges are caught by the competition rules?
· Do the European Commission's draft horizontal guidelines indicate a stricter approach in this area?
· How can the risks of indirect information exchange be minimised?
· Recent cases and developments
8th Jun 2011
Criminal liabilities for individuals under competition law
This webinar covers:
· Criminal responsibility – the test under the Enterprise Act
· Possible consequences – imprisonment, fines, disqualification and others
· Enforcement trends in the UK, including the BA case
· The trend towards criminalization in EU Member States and other jurisdictions
· The EU Arrest Warrant and the UK/US extradition arrangements (including lessons from Norris)
· Advising defendants in EU and UK competition cases – are the company’s interests the same as its executives?
· Leniency, disclosure and privilege – Criminal law considerations
7th Sep 2011
Compliance and risk: legal privilege and the role of the in-house competition lawyer
This webinar covers:
· The protection of “legal privilege” when it comes to communications between in-house lawyers/counsel and clients on competition matters
· What are the best ways for in-house counsel to negotiate the legal minefield?
· Parallel systems of privilege: the key differences between UK and EU privilege
· What are the major challenges of privilege in a down raid situation?
· How best to maintain privilege in contentious and non-contentious situations
· Trends and notable cases
5th Oct 2011
Cartel damages actions
This webinar covers:
• Current landscape: major cases in European national courts
• Key issues including forum selection, damages and pass on
• Burdens and standards of proof
• European policy developments: damages directive, collective actions
• Risks and rewards: role of third party funding, insurance and claims bundling
8th Nov 2011
The digital economy, brands and competition law – the rules relating to the control of on-line selling in distribution agreements
After detailed revision, the new European Commission rules concerning distribution came into force on 1 June 2010, with the aim of further utilising the internet as a distribution channel. The guidelines also sought to clarify the supplier’s ability to limit online sales by purchasers, especially in regard to selling on by the internet. A year on, how effective has this guidance been? This webinar will examine the changes in the rules, and their practical impact on distribution agreements in the digital economy.
This webinar covers:
· One year on, how effective has the Commission's guidance been for businesses and practitioners?
· Is there any way of avoiding the applicability of Article 101 TFEU and equivalent provisions in national law?
· Are there any safe harbours?
· What have we learnt from recent case law/decisions by national competition authorities?
· On-line sales: distinguishing between active and passive sales in practice (including the use of third party platforms) and permissible restrictions on on-line selling
· Criteria for on-line sales in the context of selective distribution: quality standards and the requirement to have "one or more" brick and mortar outlets
· “Genuine agency agreements" in an on-line context: where are the boundaries?
1st Dec 2011
Abuse of dominance
A dominant position may be seen as a legitimate aspiration of many businesses. However, any abuse of an undertaking’s dominant position negatively affects both consumers and competitors, and can result in actions by the relevant competition authority. Therefore, it is crucial that businesses are aware of their position in the market, and act accordingly within the competition rules so as to avoid any anti-competitive repercussions. This webinar will explore the requirements for ‘dominance’ within a market, and outline the potential risks associated with it. Additionally, our expert speakers will provide practical examples regarding the abuse of dominance with recent UK case law and an EU comparison.
This webinar covers:
· Is your company at risk of being found dominant?
· Key areas of potential risk including pricing, rebates, discounts and reacting to new entrants
· Chapter II and Article 82 cases
· Recent cases in the UK
· EU compared
21st Feb 2012
Private enforcement of competition law
Please note that the title for this webinar has been changed from ‘Changes to the UK competition regime - what are the implications?’ to ‘Private enforcement of competition law’ as we have been advised that the Government has delayed the announcement of its response to the public consultation until later on in the year. We will cover the proposals for reform of the UK competition regime later on in the year.
This webinar covers:
· CAT jurisdiction
· Disclosure
· Claimant class and funding
· Remedies
· The case for reform
· A new role for the CAT?
· Collective actions in competition law?
