Work Area: Vertical Restraints

Luxottica, Chanel, LMVH and Logo unlawfully restricted how retailers set prices for their branded eyewear products and also banned online sales, France’s Competition Authority has said, although Luxottica is set to pay 99% of the €125.8 million penalties imposed.

22 July 2021

The European Commission has dropped its investigation into airline ticket distribution systems Amadeus and Sabre because it could not find enough evidence that the parity clauses they imposed on airlines and travel agents restricted competition.

19 July 2021

The European Commission has published its draft updated vertical block exemption regulation and related guidelines after almost three years of consultation and review.

09 July 2021

The Dutch antitrust watchdog has closed an investigation into payment applications on smartphones, lamenting that it is unable to remedy its competition concerns under EU regulation.

05 July 2021

Spain’s antitrust enforcer is investigating Amazon and Apple for allegedly agreeing on various commercial restrictions affecting both retailers and advertisers on Amazon’s online marketplace.

02 July 2021

GCR Connect: Germany took place on 20 May. A full recording is now available to watch.

30 June 2021

Vertical agreements between car manufacturers and insurance companies are causing competition foreclosure in the accident repair market, Malaysia’s competition authority has found.

22 June 2021

India’s competition authority issued an interim order against booking platform MakeMyTrip in early March, forcing it to immediately relist two budget hotel chains it removed as part of an alleged anticompetitive agreement with one of their rivals. Ahead of a keenly anticipated final decision, Khaitan & Co partner Anisha Chand and principal associate Swati Bala examine the implications of that rarely used interim order and how the case will affect the assessment of relevant markets, market power and market access in the digital economy.

04 June 2021

Germany’s highest court has reinstated the Federal Cartel Office’s ruling that Booking.com’s narrow price parity clauses infringed competition rules.

18 May 2021

The UK's specialist competition tribunal has dismissed a musical instrument maker's appeal against a resale price maintenance fine that it agreed to pay as part of a settlement with the country’s antitrust enforcer, while upping the penalty because of the appeal.

19 April 2021