| 1 | Competition: international joint ventures Analysis of key competition issues to be considered on an international joint venture. The main focus is on EU and US antitrust laws. Use the drop down menu to include specific information (updated periodically) on issues in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, UK and US. Alternatively, see the related content links for notes on competition law issues in those countries. | Practice note: overview | 08-Feb-2013 |
| 2 | EU competition law: overview The overview provides a route-map guide to the EU competition law regime. It outlines the key legal, procedural and practical aspects likely to be encountered when confronting a competition law problem. You should read this at the start of any transaction or specific research, to give you a broad overview of the main points that are likely to arise. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 3 | US Antitrust Laws: Overview This Practice Note provides an overview and introduction to the main statutory provisions in the US, the US antitrust regulatory structure, the role of private antitrust enforcement and certain key concepts relevant to the application of US antitrust law. Antitrust analysis is highly fact specific and, while providing a useful starting point, the principles outlined in this Note are necessarily general in nature and do not address any of the subject matters discussed in detail. | Practice note: overview | Maintained |
| 4 | Analyzing Restraints of Trade under the Rule of Reason This Practice Note examines how courts apply the rule of reason when determining if a restraint of trade is unreasonable under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. This Note covers both horizontal restraints and vertical restraints. It also explores defining a relevant market, the possession of market power, and balancing procompetitive justifications against anticompetitive effects. Finally, this Note discusses a quick-look application of the rule of reason. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 5 | Competition regime: Chapter I prohibition This Practice note considers the scope and application of the Chapter I prohibition contained in the Competition Act 1998 to commercial agreements. Chapter I prohibits agreements that have as their object or effect the restriction, prevention or distortion of competition within the UK, and which have an effect on trade within the UK. Definitions of each of these elements is provided, together with guidance on exclusions to the prohibition and the risks of infringement. A checklist provides guidelines on handling requests for information from, and investigations by, the Office of Fair Trading. In March 2012 the government announced its decision on proposals to reform the UK competition regime. The government decided to establish a new single Competition and Markets Authority to replace the OFT and Competition Commission. The government also decided on various, largely procedural, changes to strengthen the mergers, markets and antitrust enforcement regimes. For further information see Government decisions on establishment of Competition and Markets Authority and reform of UK competition regime. These changes will be implemented by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (see Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill 2012 -13: competition tracker). | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 6 | Competitor Collaborations in the US This Note examines the ways in which companies can comply with US antitrust laws while engaging in joint activities with their competitors. It considers the application of US antitrust law to collaborative joint ventures, to trade association activities and to information exchanges between market participants. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 7 | Cooperating with Competitors: Business Briefing A template briefing for in-house counsel to give business executives on the dangers of cooperating with competitors. Click here to download in Microsoft Word. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 8 | Standard-setting and competition law This Practice note examines the application of the European Commission Guidelines on the applicability of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to horizontal co-operation agreements to standardisation and the joint-setting of standard terms. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 9 | Transactions and practices: EU Co-operation between ... This Practice note examines how agreements between businesses which compete with each other at the same level of a market are dealt with under EU competition law. It considers business practices, such as information exchange, joint purchasing and selling, and trade association membership. Agreements intended to limit output and increase prices, or to exclude competitors from a market, are routinely condemned by the European Commission as serious infringements of competition law. Other agreements which have the impact of limiting competition may still have a legitimate purpose, for example, joint purchasing agreements, and so may satisfy the requirements for exemption under Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 10 | Transactions and practices: EU Collaborative agreements A research and development agreement is one in which two or more companies agree to collaborate in the development of new products or processes. A specialisation agreement is a form of co-operation whereby two or more parties agree to give up manufacture of a particular product and instead obtain it only from the other party, or they agree to have a product manufactured only jointly. Such agreements can, by their very nature, restrict competition. However, they can also benefit consumers, in the form of better and new products and lower prices. The Practice note on Collaborative agreements examines the European Commission's approach to research and development agreements and specialisation agreements, including a review of the R&D and specialisation block exemptions and accompanying guidelines on horizontal co-operation agreements, as revised in 2010. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 11 | Transactions and practices: UK Co-operation between ... This Practice note examines how agreements between businesses which compete with each other at the same level of a market are dealt with under UK competition law. It considers how the Competition Act 1998 deals with business practices such as information exchange, joint purchasing and selling, and trade association membership. Guidance issued by UK competition law authorities is consistent with the EU competition law approach, whereby agreements intended to limit output or price competition or to exclude competitors from a market are routinely condemned. | Practice notes | Maintained |
| 12 | Transactions and practices: UK Collaborative agreements A research and development agreement is one in which two or more companies agree to collaborate in the development of new products or processes. A specialisation agreement is a form of co-operation whereby one party (in the case of unilateral specialisation) or two or more parties (in the case of reciprocal specialisation) agrees/agree to give up manufacture of a particular product and instead obtain it only from the other party/parties, or two or more parties agree to have a product manufactured only jointly. Such agreements can, by their very nature, restrict competition. However, they can also benefit consumers, in the form of better and new products and lower prices.The Practice note on Collaborative agreements examines the UK approach to these types of agreements, essentially paralleling the treatment given under EU competition law. | Practice notes | Maintained |