Antitrust and Trade Regulation Law Articles

This article looks at the makeup of the Chinese antitrust authority, its development and its case history. Establishment of Anti-Monopoly Bureau: The Chinese Anti-Monopoly Bureau was formally established within the Ministry of Commerce (‘MOFCOM’) in September 2008 under Notice on the Establishment of the Anti-Monopoly Bureau. It replaced the previous Antitrust Investigation Office under the Law and Treaty Bureau of MOFCOM.

Directive 2009/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009, regarding the simplification of the rules on merger and divisions, has not been yet implemented in some Member States of the EU. Cyprus is one of those Member States which failed to fulfill their obligations and commitments under the relevant Directive.

The reason that SOPA garnered so much attention was largely due to vague language that seemed to provide the government with a very wide scope of power to shut down websites and block access. While the possibility of restrictions may have looked like censorship to a public used to a laissez-faire approach to internet access, the main targets of SOPA were primarily foreign websites that hosted libraries of pirated content.

This article shares the views on the Foreign Investment Operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo including Employment, Business Taxation, Environment, Physical Planning, Health & Safety, Consumer Protection, Competition Policy & Law, Monetary Policy, Foreign Exchange and Foreign Investors, Public Procurement, Intellectual Property, Investment Protection and Dispute Settlement.

During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Libya was the leading state among the Developing Countries. Due to Gadaffi’s arbitrary economic policy, Libya became the least developed among oil producing countries.

Board of Directors of Joint Stock Companies is the body which manages and represents the company in the structure of joint stock company. In this regard, the BoD is liable to determine the company organization, to appoint the authorized individuals that manages and represents the company and to supervise them.

One of the major considerations in establishing the anti-monopoly civil litigation regime in China is to determine who has the standing to initiate anti-monopoly proceedings.

Brief note on Ethiopian Trade Practice and Consumer Protection Laws

This article looks at the development of antitrust/anti-monopoly/competition law in China, and provides an analysis of the various regulations involved and the government departments involves in enforcing these regulations in China.

Recent decision represents the continuing trend in state and federal courts to uphold arbitration clauses and read them broadly.

The EU Commission has recently presented a draft regulation with the purpose of creating a standard sales regime across the European Union.

This article looks at the Chinese competition law issues associated with the recently announced acquisition of China's Hsu Fu Chi, by Nestlé’s. Some are concerned that the transaction may not be approved by China's Ministry of Commerce on competition grounds, given its apparent similarities to the failed Coca-Cola/Huiyuan transaction.

Microsoft is currently in the process of acquiring the well known VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) provider Skype. This move has caused a great deal of concern to competing companies, some of which have filed objections in all applicable jurisdictions where the merger is being examined.

New legislation to present abuses to the disclosure of deals. New rules were adopted September 14, 2011 by the European Parliament to prevent abuses in wholesale energy trading for the final protection of consumers. According to the legislation, wholesale trading will be monitored independently across the EU, in order to enable Member States to prevent and punish anti-competitive behaviors.

This article provides a brief overview of certain aspects of the Ukrainian antimonopoly regulations that may be of some help while considering the necessity of obtaining Ukrainian antimonopoly clearance in transborder M&A transactions.

The main aim of this article is to introduce business establishment models and procedure in Turkey to foreign direct investors who has intention of doing business in Turkey.

“A general overview on Oil Market Law in Turkey” by Att. Arzu Ongur Ergan

On July 27, the amendments to the Law of Ukraine On the protection of Economic Competition has come into force. The Law, drafted by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and introduced by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, was adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament on July 5, current year.

The competition law in the People's Republic of China ("PRC") is embodied in the Anti-Monopoly Law (the "AML") which was implemented in 2008.

The states of North Africa and the Middle East are high growth markets, having recently achieved growth rates higher than many so-called “industrialized countries.” Unfortunately, these developments have not been accompanied by the kind of patent protections that would apply in countries with longer histories of technological innovation. The NA/ME States are at a cross roads and it is timely to consider how their systems for the protection of technology measure up to international standards.

Various recent decisions of the Competition Tribunal, Competition Appeal Court (CAC) and Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) have sparked both criticism and favorable comment from practitioners and the competition authorities alike. In all of these decisions, complaints referred to the Tribunal by the Competition Commission (the Commission) were dismissed because of the Commission's non-compliance with the formal requirements of the Competition Act.

A trademark's viability depends on continued use and vigilance. When it comes to trademarks, the law has a "use it or lose it" philosophy, which makes sense in light of a trademark's role as an identifier of the source of goods and services. If there are no goods and services that are being promoted through use of the trademark, it no longer functions as one. A subsequent user can file to cancel a dormant federally registered mark, or can defend an infringement action based on abandonment.

The Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML”) opens a new landscape for merger and acquisition practice in China. Regardless where a merger takes place, if the transaction satisfies the prescribed conditions, it must be filed with China's Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”), the agency charged with enforcing the merger control laws in China, for business concentration review.

On 6 May 2011, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) published a statement commenting on the punishment on Unilever (China) Co. Ltd. (“Unilever”) for its unfair price competition acts, endorsing publicly the law enforcement action in Shanghai.

The Hungarian Presidency adopted the decision authorizing the signature for the convention on behalf of the EU on 14 April 2011 without any discussion at a meeting on the Agriculture and Fisheries Council.

In accordance with the paragraph 1 article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On Consumer Rights Protection”, a consumer has the right to receive necessary, accessible, accurate and timely information about the products that provides him with an opportunity of conscious and competent selection of such product. The consumer shall be provided with such information prior to purchasing the product or ordering the works (services). The information about the product is not considered as advertising.

Anyone who is familiar with the internet knows that when you do a search you get some results that are advertising.

The author explains about the advantages of contracting on standard form contracts and using shipping terms, including Incoterms.

The cabinet of China, the State Counsel, promulgated the Notice on the Establishment of the National Security Review Mechanism for the M&A of the Domestic Enterprises by the Foreign Investors on Feb. 12, 2011 (the Security Review Rule).

The long-awaited “Communiqué on Mergers and Acquisitions Calling for the Authorization of the Competition Board” (the “New Communiqué”) was published in the Official Gazette on 7 October 2010. The Communiqué, which entered into force on 1 January 2011, introduces a new merger control regime, in line with recent developments in European Commission (the “EC”) legislation.

The Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) issued the Measures for the Reporting of Concentrations of Business Operators (“Reporting Measures”) on November 21, 2009 and Measures for the Review of Concentrations of Business Operators (“Review Measures”) on November 24, 2009. Both of the regulations related to Anti-Monopoly Law will take effect on January 1, 2010.

In the Czech Republic, the heavily debated and controversial act on significant market power in the sale of agricultural and food products, and its abuse, came into force at the beginning of the last year. The aim of the act is to regulate retailers’ purchasing power over suppliers of food and agricultural products. An action has been filed in Brussels in which businesses request proceedings be brought against the Czech Republic, arguing that the act is incompatible with EU competition law.

The Cyprus Competition Commission has issued its decision 4/2010 in the complaint of I &A Mylonas Limited, a petrol station operator, against Exxon Mobil Cyprus Limited and Lukoil Cyprus Limited concerning their refusal to supply petroleum products in alleged contravention of 6(2) of the Competition Law.

The Competition Commission in South Africa has been investigating allegations of price collusion in the food industry for several years, with specific focus on the wheat and maize milling industry and the bread and milk production industries.

It is in the interests of the consumers that major economic entities are prevented from having negative influence on the market. The Competition Commission protects the rights of the consumers through holding the economic entities liable for breaching the laws. As to economic entities, it is indispensable that the law defines equal and equitable liability for violations of the law, since liability for any action should be proportional to the negative consequences of the given action.

Running a thriving and successful business isn’t easy especially since other companies would fight tooth and nail just to get a leg up in the competition. The more successful your business is, the more money you have so it’s no surprise why some companies would resort to unfair business practices just to get ahead.

Overview of Post Notification for Merger, Consolidation and Acquisition.

This is a introduction to competition law (Act LVII of 1996) in Hungary.

There is an increasing amount of litigation between employers and former employees over non-compete agreements and other forms of restrictive covenants.

In the field of competition law, internal company communications with in-house lawyers are not covered by legal professional privilege.

After years of consultations, the Hong Kong Government submitted the long waited Competition Bill (the “Bill”) on 2 July 2010 to the Legislative Council for debate in the coming 2010-2011 session.

If you are a member of a group medical or dental practice, at some time you probably have wondered, “can I or another doctor in this practice set up a competing practice and service existing patients?” This question is crucial both to the existing group and the doctor who would set up the competing practice.

The Malaysian Competition Act 2010 has been gazetted on 10 June 2010 and is expected to be implemented in January 2012.

A Q&A guide to competition law in Poland. This chapter was first published in the PLC Cross-border Competition Handbook 2010 and is reproduced with the permission of the publisher, Practical Law Company.

Monopoly is the phenomenon of economic relations, inseparably connected with relationships of public interests and interests of monopolies.

On January 2010, the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha - “KPPU”) issued Regulation No. 7 of 2010 on the Guidelines of Interlocking Directorate (the “Guidelines”). Interlocking on directorate was formerly stipulated in Article 26 on Law No. 5 of 1999 on Prohibition of Monopolistic Practice and Unfair Business Competition (the “Antimonopoly Law”).

The PRC Anti-Unfair Competition Law has become a powerful weapon for dealing with unfair and corrupt business practices. This article focused on the intellectual property protections aspects of this law. Article 5 of this law is akin to the common law action for passing off, but could be seen as being broader and more flexible.

Act No. 29/2009 of 30 December modifies the Spanish legal system of unfair competition and advertising to enhance consumer and user protection.

As of 2008 Cypriot competition law is in full alignment with Community competition law and the Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition Law has increased competences and powers.

Fictional and graphic characters move effortlessly from one medium to another. Such liquidity means that they also move from one channel of commerce to another with similar ease, often creating a snowball effect through cross-marketing. This broadly expands the commercial value of the character and providing the character with legal protection in a variety of different settings and characterizations other than those in which the creator originally depicted the character becomes paramount.

On July 7, 2009, the China’s Anti-Monopoly Commission under the State Council (“AMC”) published a Guideline on Definition of Relevant Market (“Guideline”) on its official website to guide the Anti-monopoly Enforcement Agencies (“AMEA”) to effectively define the “relevant market” in the monopolistic activities by business operators during their antitrust enforcement.

After more than ten years of drafting and debating, China passed its first Anti-monopoly Law (“AML”) on August 30, 2007, which took into effect on August 1, 2008.

In an official media interview on November 3, 2008, the head of the Administrative Tribunal of the China’s Supreme People’s Court (“Supreme Court”) clarified certain rules applicable to the trial to administrative cases involving the China’s newly effective Anti-monopoly Law (“AML”).

The Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition finds the four oil companies as having violated competition rules by carrying out a concerted price in fixing fuel prices and imposes millions in fines.

At the Helsinki European Council in December 1999, the Republic of Turkey was officially recognized as an accession candidate country to join the European Union. Negotiations pertaining to accession talks include Turkey’s competition policy. The 2005 accession talks in Brussels required Turkey to align itself with the European Union Legislation.

Competition (anti-trust) law was first established with Law No. 4054 titled ‘The Law on the Protection of Competition’ in Turkey. The fourth article of such law titled “Agreements, Concerted Practices and Decisions Limiting Competition” sets different types of principles for purpose.

On 29 September 2009, China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) published another decision from its fledgling Anti-Monopoly Bureau (“AMB”), this time concerning the acquisition of Wyeth by US drug heavy-weight, Pfizer. Approval was granted to the transaction, ahead of approval from the US Federal Trade Commission, Australian ACCC and the Canadian Competition authority.

For any economy to grow or decline, investment policy is the chief determining factor. By 1990 Cameroon had been suffering under the yoke of economic crisis for nearly half a decade. It was becoming important to find a new paradise of economic prosperity. Law n° 90/071 to rectify ordinance n° 90/007 of 08/11/1990 on the Cameroon Investment Code was to provide the way forward.

On 24 April 2009, China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) published yet another controversial decision from its fledgling Anti-Monopoly Bureau (“AMB”) concerning the acquisition of British owned chemical producer, Lucite, by Mitsubishi Rayon. Approval was granted to the transaction, following approvals from every other competition bureau around the world, however that approval was made subject to some controversial conditions.

The aim of the article is to provide an overview of the competition law rules, which, though to a limited extent, allow the competitors to exchange information on their clients, who have materially delayed payments.

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act is the fundamental basis of American antitrust legislation. While later laws would expand upon the definition and enforcement of antitrust as a legal concept, the Sherman Act has been the foundation of antitrust law for over one hundred years in the United States.

This article discusses three major antitrust cases - AT&T, Kodak & Standard Oil - and the effects they had on US antitrust regulation.

Moral Rights are representative of Social Values in respect of the protection of trademarks, which has either been registered or un-registered. They are based on a conviction that a trademark is something more than an effort to be individual revenue. The trademark is a special relationship between the trademark owner and the use of a trademark by the owner.

Due to the fact that China has become the world's leading manufacturing base, this article highlights the need for foreign companies to carefully select and monitor their OEM suppliers in China.

The Spanish competition policy has been reformed by Law 15/2007, dated 3 July, and further developed by Royal Decree 261/2008, dated 22 February, in order to adapt it to EU Competency regulations, to strengthen the existing mechanisms, and to provide it with the instruments and the optimum institutional structure to ensure effective competition in the markets.

On July 10, 2007, the Uruguayan Senate approved the new Antitrust Act. It was later regulated by Decree Nº 404/007 of October 29, 2007. The purpose of the law is to promote and regulate competition in favor of consumers and users’ welfare, fostering economic effectiveness and equality for accessing markets.

The in-transit merchandise, if it is a counterfeit, shall and may be seized since, as it is in Uruguayan territory, law 17011 is applicable. The jurisprudence also shows that this position has been widely accepted by our Criminal Judges.