Orçun Horozoğlu is an Associate
with experience in competition law. Orçun has advised clients in diverse
sectors including petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, FMCG and cement.
Before joining the competition law team in Kinstellar, Orçun has worked in the
competition law department of a leading law firm in Istanbul. He has played an
active role in preparing written defences in several investigations conducted
by the Turkish Competition Authority. He has also filed numerous merger control
filings and participated in competition law compliance programs for clients in
various sectors.
 Practice Areas &amp; Work Department

Competition Law &amp; Compliance

&nbsp; 

Languages

Turkish

English

&nbsp; 

Memberships

Istanbul Bar Association Education2018, Stockholm University, LL.M. in European Economic Law
2015:
Istanbul Bilgi University, Faculty of Law, L.L.B.

The Firm provides legal services relevant to all
aspects of business in a wide variety of sectors. The Firm operates to the
highest international standards in managing cross border transactions or
investments and providing practical and creative solutions to legal or
regulatory issues. We were founded in 2011 and our founding partners together
have more than 30 years of experience in leading global law firms.The Firm is proud to have an exceptional client
base consisting some of the largest Turkish conglomerates, sector leaders in
Turkey, multi-nationals, investment or private equity funds and financial
institutions.The Firm is recognised in all major global rankings
including Chambers and Partners, Legal500 and IFLR1000.

Gen & Temizer | Özer

Mid-Level Associate

&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Hatırlarsınız Elon Musk, 2022 yılında Twitter'ı satın almak için yaptığı teklifle, her zaman olduğu gibi, bir kez daha dünya çapında haber olmuştu. Aylar süren görüşmelerin ve yüzlerce haber ve eleştirinin ardından, Ekim 2022'nin sonlarında da 44 milyar ABD doları karşılığında Twitter’ı satın aldı. Aldıktan sonra da Musk’ın Twitter’ı yönetme tarzı bazılarınca hayranlıkla bazılarınca da eleştiriyle karşılanıyor. Elon Musk’ın “kendine has” yönetim tarzının rekabet hukukuna ilişkin de sonuçları oluyor.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Bu işlem elbette tüm dünyada pazarı çeşitli şekillerde etkiledi ve etkilemeye devam etmekte. Bu çerçevede, rekabet otoritelerinin bu işleme ilişkin değerlendirmelerinin de önem arz ettiği yadsınamayacaktır. Nitekim Rekabet Kurumu, 6 Mart 2023’teki kısa duyurusu ile Rekabet Kurulunun, Twitter'ın tek kontrolünün Elon Musk tarafından devralınması işlemine, etkin rekabeti önemli ölçüde engellemediği gerekçesiyle izin verdiği açıkladı. Ancak Kurul, söz konusu işlemin Kurul'un izni olmaksızın gerçekleştirilmesi nedeniyle Elon Musk’a idari para cezası da uyguladı. Buna göre Musk'ın 2022 yılında Türkiye'den elde ettiği gayri safi gelirinin binde biri oranında ceza ödemesi gerekiyor.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Musk Neden Para Cezasına Çarptırıldı?&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Elon Musk'a neden ceza verildiğine kısaca değinmek gerekirse, birçok rekabet otoritesine benzer şekilde, Rekabet Kanunu da belirli işlemlerin tamamlanmadan önce Rekabet Kurulunun iznini almasını öngörüyor.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Kontrolde kalıcı değişikliğe yol açan ve (ii) 2010/4 sayılı Tebliğ'in 7. maddesinde belirtilen ciro eşiklerini aşan işlemler için Rekabet Kurulundan izin alınması gerekmektedir. Bu tür birleşme devralma işlemleri, rekabeti kısıtlayıcı bir sonuç doğurmasalar da ancak Kurul’un izni sonrasında sonlandırılabilmektedir.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Mayıs 2022'den beri yürürlükte olan yeni düzenlemeler kapsamında ciro eşikleri aşağıdaki gibi tanımlanmıştır:&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;ul style="list-style-type: square;">&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">İşlem taraflarının Türkiye ciroları toplamının 750 milyon TL’yi ve işlem taraflarından en az ikisinin Türkiye cirolarının ayrı ayrı 250 milyon TL’yi aşması&nbsp;veya&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong style="">(i)&lt;/strong>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"> Devralma işlemlerinde devre konu varlık ya da faaliyetin Türkiye cirosunun 250 milyon TL’yi ve diğer işlem taraflarından en az birinin dünya cirosunun 3 milyar TL’yi aşması veya&nbsp;&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;strong style="font-size: 14px;">(ii)&lt;/strong>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"> birleşme işlemlerinde işlem taraflarından en az birinin Türkiye cirosunun 250 milyon TL’yi ve diğer işlem taraflarından en az birinin dünya cirosunun 3 milyar TL’yi aşması.&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;/ul>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Ayrıca geçen yıl getirilen yeni düzenlemelere göre, 250 milyon TL'lik ciro eşikleri, Türkiye coğrafi pazarında faaliyet gösteren veya ar-ge faaliyeti olan ya da Türkiye’deki kullanıcılara hizmet sunan teknoloji teşebbüslerinin devralınmasında aranmıyor. Teknoloji teşebbüsleri ise “dijital platformlar, yazılım ve oyun yazılımı, finansal teknolojiler, biyoteknoloji, farmakoloji, tarım kimyasalları ve sağlık teknolojileri” alanlarında faaliyet gösteren teşebbüsleri ifade ediyor.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Twitter malum bir teknoloji teşebbüsü… Bunun yanında Twitter işlem sonrası Elon Musk’ın tek kontrolüne geçeceği için bu şart da sağlanıyor. Görülen o ki Elon Musk'ın dünya çapındaki cirosu da 3 milyar TL'nin üzerinde, dolayısıyla işlem için Rekabet Kurulundan izin alınması gerekiyordu.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Ancak Musk, işleme ilişkin Türkiye'de bir başvuruda bulunmadı. Rekabet Kanunu’nun 11. maddesi uyarınca Kurul’un, bildirilmesi zorunlu olup da bildirilmeyen bir birleşme/devralma işleminden herhangi bir şekilde haberdar olduğundan bu işlemi inceleme yetkisi mevcut. Tabii Twitter’ın Elon Musk tarafından devralındığını da dünya üzerinde duymayan kalmadı. Rekabet Kurulu da bir inceleme başlatıp bu işlemin pazardaki rekabet yapısını bozup bozmadığını inceledi. Günün sonunda Elon Musk’ın Twitter’ı devralmasının pazardaki etkin rekabeti önemli ölçüde etkilemediğine karar verse de, Musk’ın Kurum’a işlemi bildirme ve izin alana kadar bekleme yükümlülüğüne uymaması nedeniyle 2022 yılına ait Türkiye cirosunun %0,1'i oranında idari para cezası uyguladı.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>

Hatırlarsınız Elon Musk, 2022 yılında Twitter'ı satın almak için yaptığı teklifle, her zaman olduğu gibi, bir kez daha dünya çapında haber olmuştu. Aylar süren görüşmelerin ve yüzlerce haber ve eleştirinin ardından, Ekim 2022'nin sonlarında da 44 milyar ABD doları karşılığında Twitter’ı satın aldı.

Rekabet Kurulu Elon Musk’a Hukuki Yükümlülüklerini Hatırlattı

&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Elon Musk made news globally when he made an offer to buy the social networking platform Twitter in 2022. After months of back and forth and an overwhelming amount of news and critical analysis, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter was completed in late October 2022 for a reported USD 44 billion.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">This transaction, of course, affects the market in a variety of ways all over the world. One issue is how the various competition authorities will assess the transaction. The Turkish Competition Authority has given an indication, as it has just announced the Competition Board’s decision regarding the acquisition.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">In the brief announcement, the Authority noted that the Competition Board has authorised the transaction for the acquisition of sole control of Twitter by Elon Musk since it does not significantly impede effective competition. However, the Board has also imposed an administrative fine, as the transaction was carried out without the authorisation of the Board. Accordingly, Musk must pay a penalty assessed as 0.1% of his gross income in Turkey in 2022.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Why Was Elon Musk Fined?&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">To provide a brief overview of why Elon Musk was fined, we should note that, similar to legislation in in various jurisdictions that requires notification to the relevant authority of qualifying transactions, the Competition Law foresees that certain transactions must obtain the approval of the Turkish Competition Board before being completed.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Any transaction that (i) results in a permanent change of control over the target or the transaction parties and (ii) exceeds the turnover thresholds set out under Article 7 of Communiqué No. 2010/4 requires the Board’s approval.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Under the new rules (which have been in effect since May 2022), the turnover thresholds are defined as follows:&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;ul style="list-style-type: square;">&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 14px;">The aggregate Turkish turnover of the transaction parties exceeding TL 750 million (approx. EUR 43.1 million or USD 45.2 million) and the Turkish turnover of at least two of the transaction parties each exceeding TL 250 million (approx. EUR 14.4 million or USD 15.1 million), or&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 14px;">(i) The Turkish turnover of the transferred assets or businesses in acquisitions exceeding TL 250 million (approx. EUR 14.4 million or USD 15.1 million) and the worldwide turnover of at least one of the other parties to the transaction exceeds TL 3 billion (approx. EUR 172.5 million or USD 180.9 million), or&nbsp;&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 14px;">(ii) the Turkish turnover of any of the parties in mergers exceeding TL 250 million (approx. EUR 14.4 million or USD 15.1 million) and the worldwide turnover of at least one of the other parties to the transaction exceeds TL 3 billion (approx. EUR 172.5 million or USD 180.9 million).[1]&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;/ul>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1;">&lt;br>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">It should also be underlined that the new rules introduced last year foresee that the local turnover thresholds of TL 250 million are not applicable for the acquisitions of technology undertakings. The Authority defines technology undertakings as undertakings that (i) are active in the Turkish geographical market, (ii) conduct R&amp;D activities in the Turkish geographical market or (iii) provide services to users in Turkey in the areas of “digital platforms, software and gaming software, financial technologies, biotechnology, pharmacology, agrochemicals and health technologies”.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">As the transaction permanently changed the control structure of Twitter (which is a technology undertaking, of course) and as Elon Musk’s worldwide turnover is over TL 3 billion, the transaction required the Competition Board’s approval. As no such merger control filing was made in Turkey, this resulted in a case of gun-jumping (a violation of the suspension requirement).&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Pursuant to Article 11 of Turkish Competition Law, if it is compulsory for an M&amp;A transaction to be notified to the Competition Board and no such merger control filing is made, the Board has the authority to review the transaction when it becomes aware of it. Of course, there is almost no one who has not heard that Twitter was taken over by Elon Musk, so the Competition Board, on its own initiative, examined whether this transaction disrupted the competitive structure in the market. Although they decided at the end that Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter did not significantly impede effective competition in the market, they imposed an administrative fine of 0.1% of his Turkish turnover for 2022 due to Musk's failure to comply with the obligation to notify the Authority of the transaction and wait until approval.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 12px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">_______________________________________________&lt;br style="box-sizing: border-box;">&lt;/span>&lt;div style="box-sizing: border-box;">&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(9, 8, 8);">&lt;strong>[1]&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;The amounts in EUR for the financial year 2022 (i.e., 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022) are converted at the exchange rate EUR 1 = TL 17.39 in accordance with the applicable Turkish Central Bank average buying exchange rate for the relevant time period (i.e., 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022). Similarly, the amounts in USD for the financial year 2022 (i.e., 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022) are converted at the exchange rate USD 1 = TL 16.58 in accordance with the applicable Turkish Central Bank average buying exchange rate for the relevant time period (i.e., 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022).&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;/div>&lt;/div>

Elon Musk made news globally when he made an offer to buy the social networking platform Twitter in 2022. After months of back and forth and an overwhelming amount of news and critical analysis, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter was completed in late October 2022 for a reported USD 44 billion.

Elon Musk Reminded of Competition Rules by the Turkish Competition Board

&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Altice gun-jumping fine challenged before the European Court of Justice&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">In 2018, the European Commission (“&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;">Commission&lt;/strong>”) fined French telecoms operator Altice a sum of EUR 124.5 million for breaching the notification and standstill requirements in its acquisition of PT Portugal. The General Court, however, reduced the fine by 10% in February following Altice’s appeal on the grounds that the Commission failed to justify the fine amount. However, stating that Altice did interfere in PT Portugal business, which suggest a “classic gun-jumping case”, the Commission defends that EUR 62.25 million for each infringement was proportionate and ensured deterrence.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">BMW and Volkswagen appeal CMA’s extraterritorial document request&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">In December 2022, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;">CMA&lt;/strong>”) fined BMW GBP 30,000 and a daily penalty of GBP 15,000 for failing to comply with the information request by the authority as part of an on-going investigation concerning a suspected collusion in automotive recycling. BMW and Volkswagen appealed the CMA’s decision and the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;">CAT&lt;/strong>”) stayed the penalty on the grounds that issuing a notice and imposing a fine in respect of foreign-domiciled companies with no presence in the UK in relation to the production of specified documents and information held by those companies outside the jurisdiction was ultra vires. The CMA, however, argues that CAT’s ruling risks undermining its ability to investigate.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">European Court of Justice: Splitting the costs between claimant and defendant when a damages claim is only partially accepted is in line with EU law&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">In July 2016, the Commission imposed a EUR 2.92 billion fine on truck manufacturers DAF, Daimler, Iveco, and Volvo/Renault for running a cartel in the heavy and medium heavy trucks market between 1997 and 2011. The truck owners have faced numerous actions in Spain on overcharge payment claims as a result of the cartel. Among them, an individual and a Valencian transport company, who purchased 12 trucks during the infringement period, filed a suit against Daimler before the Valencia commercial court and requested compensation. The Valencia judge sent a request for guidance to the ECJ. The ECJ in February ruled that the damages directive corrects the power imbalance between parties. Furthermore, the ECJ considers that if it is practically impossible or excessively difficult to quantify the harm and the claimant exhausts the tools to demonstrate it, a national judge is allowed to make an estimation of the damage.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Peruvian competition authority fines individuals for the first time&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Peru’s National Institute for the Defence of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) found that Yura, the largest cement producer in South Peru, and Racionalización Empresarial, a logistics company that was in the same corporate group, acted together to foreclose competition. It is concluded that by restricting sales of cement to distributors that sold competing products and not offering logistics services to customers that also transported competing products, they prevented entry into the market and illegally maintained prices. Indecopi imposed a fine of EUR 14.8 million on the companies and EUR 296,000 on nine Yura executives, as they threatened and sanctioned distributors that sold competitors’ products.&nbsp;&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Novartis and Roche win appeal in France&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">In a case that was also assessed by the competition authorities in Turkey, Italy and Belgium, the Paris Court of Appeal decided to annul the Autorité de la concurrence decision to impose a total fine of EUR 444 million against Novartis and Roche. In its fining decision, France’s competition authority concluded that Novartis and Roche abused their collective dominance to discourage people from cheaper medicine used for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from 2008 to 2013. The authority stated the companies shared misleading information about the safety risks to stop Avastin, a drug that was mainly developed for certain types of cancer, from being used as an off-label AMD treatment, as it is a significantly cheaper option than Lucentis (the reported difference between the drugs being EUR 30-40 to EUR 1,160 per injection at the time). Furthermore, Roche was accused of delaying a trial to test Avastin as a possible AMD treatment and seeking the relevant marketing authorisation.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">The court however, agreed with the companies that the drugs are not competing as they cannot be substituted for each other under Bertrand Law, and the companies’ cautions against Avastin did not contain factual errors as there was not a sufficient amount of scientific studies. The court found the allegation that Roche delayed studies and additional authorisations for Avastin irrelevant as they would not have anticompetitive effects. It should also be noted that the court rejected the claims that the competition authority does not have jurisdiction over the case.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Lukoil fined in Bulgaria&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Bulgaria’s Commission for the Protection of Competition imposed its highest-ever fine on Lukoil for behaviour that was concluded to be a margin squeeze in the wholesale market for motor fuels. The authority stated that Lukoil, which “owns half of the wholesale fuel market in Bulgaria and the largest oil refinery in the Balkans,” removed certain discounts granted to wholesale purchasers and sold fuel to its competitors at a price almost identical to the prices it applies at the retail level. The authority found that such behaviour amounted to limiting competition to strengthen its dominance in the market.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">A new decision in the European Super League case&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">The Provincial Court of Madrid found that UEFA and FIFA’s conduct with regards to the clubs that attempted to join the European Super League can be seen as an abuse of dominance and as such, it temporarily prohibited them from issuing any penalties on the clubs. While the Commercial Court of Madrid had imposed such an injunction in April 2021, a different panel of the court decided to lift this injunction a year later, before the ECJ issued its ruling on the questions referred by the Commercial Court judge earlier. In December 2022, EU advocate general Rantos stated in his opinion that FIFA and UEFA requiring prior approval for any new competition and their threat of sanctions are not prohibited under EU competition law and that they have legitimate objectives in doing so. In contrast to AG Rantos’ opinion, the Provincial Court of Madrid found that UEFA and FIFA cannot justify their actions by claiming they are protecting European football and that even their threats were enough to intimidate clubs from being able to leave the structure and a new competitor to be able to enter the European football market.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">In any case, it should be underlined that AG Rantos has also stated that UEFA is the sole organiser of all major interclub football competitions at the European level and as such it has to “ensure that third parties are not unduly denied access to the market to the point that competition on that market is thereby distorted”.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>

In 2018, the European Commission fined French telecoms operator Altice a sum of EUR 124.5 million for breaching the notification and standstill requirements in its acquisition of PT Portugal. 

Two-minute Recap of Competition Law Matters Around the Globe – February 2023

&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(29, 27, 27);">Germany opens MFN probe into PayPal&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(29, 27, 27);">Germany’s Bundeskartellamt has opened an investigation to decide whether PayPal has taken advantage of its dominant position by using most-favored-nation clauses that limit competition in the online payments market. Bundeskartellamt expressed concerns about specific provisions in PayPal’s user agreement, which prevents merchants from offering lower prices to customers who select a cheaper payment method than PayPal. Another concern that the authority stated is that sellers are not able to make alternative methods more attractive to customers, which in turn prevents entry into the market.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(29, 27, 27);">Czech enforcer issues first penalty for restricting online sales&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(29, 27, 27);">The Czech Republic’s Office for the Protection of Competition has imposed a penalty (EUR 532,467) on a consumer goods company (Eurona) for fixing online resale prices and preventing retailers from making sales through their websites. The authority discovered that the company monitored retailers to ensure they were adhering to set catalogue prices and sent emails to those who were not in compliance with this rule to ensure compliance with the set prices. This is the first time the watchdog has penalised restrictions on online sales in the Czech Republic.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(29, 27, 27);">Canada issues draft wage-fixing and no-poach guidance&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(29, 27, 27);">Canada’s Competition Bureau began a review of proposed guidelines for incoming criminal restrictions on wage-fixing and no-poach agreements. The Competition Bureau recently announced that it is seeking public input on guidelines that outline its enforcement of anti-competitive agreement in the labor market. The Canadian government’s amendment to the Competition Act last year, which made wage-fixing and no-poach agreements between employers illegal and subject to criminal penalties, will come into force on 23 June. In this context, the Canadian authority will consider these agreements as per se illegal within the scope of the guidelines. It should nonetheless be noted that the draft guidelines foresee that wage-fixing or no-poaching agreements will not be criminally pursued if they are ancillary to mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances, unless said transactions or collaborations are a sham or the restrictions are broader than necessary.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(29, 27, 27);">FTC proposes ban on worker non-compete clauses&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(29, 27, 27);">The Federal Trade Commission of the United States stated that non-compete clauses are harmful to both the labor market and innovation, and the proposed regulation would make them illegal. Lina Khan, the chairperson of the FTC, said that “Workers that are currently stuck in place, effectively, would be able to freely move to another job.” She has also noted that research shows that labor markets have become much more concentrated and that the primary aim with this proposal is to get competition over workers among employers to a higher level so that higher wages and better working conditions can be attained by workers. If the regulation enters into force as proposed, it would be completely prohibited for employers to have or keep non-compete agreements with their employees, and they would have to inform their workers that any existing non-compete agreements would be invalid.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(29, 27, 27);">Ruling on the first margin squeeze case in Korea&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(29, 27, 27);">The Seoul High Court has rejected an appeal from two telecommunication companies (LG U+ and KT), which were jointly accused of margin squeezing. This is the first ruling in Korea that clearly states that this behavior constitutes an abuse of dominance. The Korean Fair Trade Commission issued its first abuse of dominance fine for the margin squeeze in November 2014. The companies appealed against that decision and the Court overturned the Commission’s fine in January 2018. However, the Supreme Court decided that the Commission’s decision was legitimate and it was correct to penalise the squeezing of competitors’ profits in 2021. Finally, the Seoul High Court dismissed the companies’ request to overturn the Commission’s decision in January 2023.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;br class="Apple-interchange-newline">

Germany’s Bundeskartellamt has opened an investigation to decide whether PayPal has taken advantage of its dominant position by using most-favored-nation clauses that limit competition in the online payments market.

Two-minute Recap of Competition Law Matters Around the Globe – January 2023

&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>AG Rantos’ Opinion in the European Super League Case Leans Towards Uefa and Fifa&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In December, EU Advocate General Athanasios Rantos, a legal advisor to the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”), published his much-anticipated opinion in the case concerning UEFA and FIFA’s alleged abuse of dominance and violation of rules on anticompetitive agreements, following the announcement in 2021 by several major European football teams of their intention to form a separate European Super League. In the opinion, which is not binding on the ECJ, Rantos states that FIFA’s and UEFA’s rules requiring their prior approval for any new competition, and their threat of sanctions against clubs that participate in a project to create a new competition, are not prohibited under EU competition law. Further, Rantos notes that preserving the pyramid structure of sports and therefore protecting sporting merit and competitions that are accessible to all clubs, as well as financial solidarity, are legitimate objectives. In any case, Rantos in his opinion underlines that UEFA is the sole organiser of all major interclub football competitions at the European level and as such it has to “ensure that third parties are not unduly denied access to the market to the point that competition on that market is thereby distorted”.&lt;/span>&lt;br>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>First Excessive Pricing Fine in Israel&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In December, Israel’s Competition Authority found that MBI Pharma abused its dominance by excessively pricing a genetic disorder treatment drug and fined the company EUR 2.2 million. The drug, CDCA-Leadiant, is used in cases of cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX), a rare genetic disorder that prevents cholesterol from being converted into a bile acid in the body. In 2018, the global manufacturer of Xenbilox, another drug for CTX that was also distributed by MBI, stopped manufacturing Xenbilox, and MBI started selling CDCA Leadiant after registering it with the Ministry of Health. However, the new medication costs roughly six times more than the old one.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>European Commission Accepts Amazon’s Revised Commitments&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">By making Amazon’s proposed commitments binding, the European Commission has closed its investigations against the company without fines. The Commission was concerned that Amazon abused its dominant position in the French, German and Spanish markets for the provision of online marketplace services to third-party sellers. The Commission’s probe focused on whether Amazon's use of the non-public data of its marketplace sellers distorted fair competition on its platform.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">Furthermore, the Commission was concerned that Amazon was treating its retail business and the sellers that use Amazon’s logistics and delivery services preferentially, due to the criteria that Amazon set to select the winner of the Buy Box (a tool that promotes a specific offer) and to enable sellers to offer products under its Prime Programme (Amazon’s loyalty programme that favours Amazon Retail and Amazon’s logistics and services). In an attempt to address the Commission’s competition concerns, Amazon offered remedies; however, the first commitment package was not adequate to eliminate the Commission’s concerns. To that end, Amazon revised its commitment proposal, which includes making a second competing Buy Box more visible on its e-commerce platform. Accordingly, Amazon offered to undertake &lt;/span>&lt;strong style="font-size: 14px;">(i)&lt;/strong>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"> to prevent Amazon Retail from using non-public seller data, &lt;/span>&lt;strong style="font-size: 14px;">(ii)&lt;/strong>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"> to present two Buy Boxes, and &lt;/span>&lt;strong>(iii)&lt;/strong>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"> to treat sellers, including Amazon Retail, equally and allow a free choice of carriers.&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Commission found that Amazon's final commitments will ensure that Amazon does not use marketplace seller data for its own retail operations and that it grants non-discriminatory access to Buy Box and Prime. The commitment package covers all of Amazon's current and future marketplaces in the European Economic Area except for Italy, considering that the Italian competition authority already imposed remedies on the company to ensure the effective functioning of Italian markets. The Commission will monitor Amazon to ensure the proper implementation of its commitments. In case Amazon fails to comply with its commitments, the Commission could impose either a monetary fine of up to 10% of the company’s worldwide annual turnover without having to establish a breach of EU competition law rules, or alternatively, a periodic fine of 5% of the daily turnover for the time period of non-compliance.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Leniency Filing in the Bid Rigging Probe Concerning the 2020 Tokyo Olympics&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Japan’s Fair Trade Commission and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office are currently investigating nine companies with regards to alleged bid rigging for test events at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. These test events were conducted at the relevant venues to ensure security and identify any issues before the Olympics. The relevant investigation was launched after police arrested several officials of major advertising companies for bribing the Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee to select them as sponsors. Reportedly, one of the investigated parties, Hakuhodo, admitted to prosecutors that they discussed contracts with their competitors. Another investigated party, ADK, reportedly filed for leniency regarding the alleged cartel.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Egypt to Adopt Ex-ante Merger Control Regime&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Egypt is preparing to adopt a merger control regime that will require merging parties to seek the prior approval of the local competition authority and suspend the implementation of the transaction if the turnover thresholds are met. Under current legislation, the Egyptian competition authority is not vested with powers to approve a merger or acquisition, either in advance or subsequent thereto. However, the law currently provides for an ex-post notification obligation.&lt;/span>&lt;br>&lt;/p>

Lawyers Orçun Horozoğlu

Orçun Horozoğlu

Rekabet Kurulu Elon Musk’a Hukuki Yükümlülüklerini Hatırlattı

Elon Musk Reminded of Competition Rules by the Turkish Competition Board

Two-minute Recap of Competition Law Matters Around the Globe – February 2023

Two-minute Recap of Competition Law Matters Around the Globe – January 2023

Two-minute Recap of Competition Law Matters Around the Globe – December 2022