by Kevin Coates | Jul 5, 2016 | Cartels, Commentary, Fines
Summary The short version of this very long post is that the Commission’s current policy of applying the concept of recidivism to the highest level parent that exercises decisive influence over the infringing company appears to unduly punish undertakings that...
by Kevin Coates | May 31, 2016 | Antitrust, Commentary
Defining a set of conduct as a single and continuous infringement (SCI) has significant consequences for parties to a cartel, in particular for their exposure in follow-on damages actions. It is no surprise, therefore, that the increased prevalence of damages actions...
by Kevin Coates | Apr 15, 2015 | Cartels, Fines, General
Do the fining rules treat small companies badly? This is an occasional criticism of the 2006 Guidelines on Fines. Is it accurate? Let’s take an intentionally simplified example. Nine companies each have value of sales of 10m euros per year in a product which...
by Kevin Coates | Apr 18, 2014 | Abuse, Antitrust, Commentary, Predation, Predatory Innovation
Sophie Lawrance of Bristows has written a post on the US Department of Justice investigation into high frequency trading, a practice most recently brought into public view by Michael Lewis’s book Flash Boys. In addition to saying nice things about this blog,...
by Kevin Coates | Apr 17, 2014 | Antitrust, Cartels, Commentary
I have two speaking engagements in April, both on cartels. The first is for the American Bar Association: Slicing the Pie: Defining the Scope of an International Cartel: April 28, 2014 12:00PM to 1:30PM (EST) / 6:00PM to 7:30PM (CET) The second is at the IBC Advanced...
by Kevin Coates | Mar 7, 2014 | Abuse, Antitrust, Commentary, Discounts, Equally Efficient Competitor
A post in another place about Areeda’s article on essential facilities – “an epithet in need of limiting principles” – reminded me that limiting principles are not only needed to decrease the risks of over-enforcement. Areeda’s...
