From Regulation Watch Feed: The changing role of collecting societies in the internet “ Collecting societies currently face major challenges stemming from: the reconfiguration of existing and emergence of new powerful players in the field of music distribution; the necessity of cross-territorial licensing options, and; the fragmentation of copyrights. This article presents an overview of recent technical and policy developments in this area in Europe and, on a more abstract level, it discusses structural problems underlying the policy conflicts. Collecting societies became indispensable intermediaries in the copyright system of the 20th century. Their core task was the collection of high-volume, low-value royalties stemming from secondary uses (e.g., broadcasting, public performance, lending) of creative works. Collecting societies are the solution to […]
From Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog: Guiding Section 5: Comments on the Commissioners “Steve Salop (Georgetown) discusses Guiding Section 5: Comments on the Commissioners. ABSTRACT: FTC Commissioners Joshua Wright and Maureen Ohlhausen have proposed that the Commission adopt Guidelines for the application of Section 5 to Unfair Methods of Competition. This short note…”
Not all Commission decisions have the same value. For any particular point of law or economic analysis, some are more valuable precedents than others. Merger control provides a good example. Phase one merger decisions are not necessarily reliable when it comes to assessing the gravity of the competition problem, or the appropriateness of the remedy. For example, I was in a case several years ago where, based on the parties’ own projections, the merged entity would have a commanding market share. The Phase I investigation suggested that the projections were plausible. However, there was a real chance that a more detailed investigation would show that the concerns were not borne out – the market was rapidly developing, entry by other […]
Two excellent colleagues – one of whom is DG Competition’s Settlement Officer – have written an overview of the current state of settlement practice for cartel cases. Abstract: Since 2008, six cartel settlements have been concluded successfully In one additional case, discussions have discontinued due to lack of progress and the Commission has reverted to the standard procedure. A new wave of cases is currently being dealt with under that procedure “The EU Cartel Settlement Procedure: Current Status and Challenges“, Flavio Laina and Elina Laurinen, Journal of European Competition Law & Practice (2013) 4 (4): 302-311. doi: 10.1093/jeclap/lpt036 First published online: July 5, 2013