News October 2024: Beware of sharing information between competitors: this should not be taken lightly! Reminder On a given market, companies (even in a situation of partial competition) may exchange strategic information with each other - without malicious intent and in full transparency - in order to assess their respective market positions. This sharing of information can take place, for example, at informal meetings within the framework of joint ventures, consortiums or other authorized business associations. If they individually represent only a small share of the market, the companies concerned may believe that the sharing of strategic...
Publié le 15/10/2024
Should companies design and implement a compliance program (March 2012)On February 10, 2012, the Autorité de la concurrence (French Competition Authority, hereinafter the “FCA”) published its Framework-Document on antitrust compliance programs. As underlined by the FCA, “compliance programs are instruments that enable economic players to increase their chances to avoid breaches of all kinds of rules that are applicable to their activity, including competition rules”. Compliance programs are based both on measures aimed at creating within the company a culture oriented towards compliance with competition and antitrust rules...
Publié le 07/09/2015
The rules governing appeals against orders authorizing search and seizure operations held non compliant with article 6-1 of the ECHR (December 2011)On several occasions (i.e. on June 21, November 2 and 15, 2011)[1], the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) quashed, by virtue of Article 6§1 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (commonly known as the European Convention on Human Rights, hereinafter “ECHR”), three judgments handed down by the Paris Court of Appeals; such decisions rejected the appeals lodged against orders authorizing search and seizure operations that had been issued by the so-called Juge des libertés et de la détention (liberty and custody judge,...
Publié le 07/09/2015 | Mis à jour le 21/09/2015
Highlights of the notice issued by the French competition authority on financial penalties in antitrust cases (June 2011)On May 16, 2011, the Autorité de la concurrence(French Competition Authority or hereinafter the “FCA”) published a notice on the method according to which it sets financial penalties in cases of cartels and abuses of dominant position[1] (the “Notice”). :
Article L.464-2 of the French Commercial Code already specified the legal criteria according to which financial penalties must be set (the seriousness of the infringement, the importance of the damage to the economy, the individual situation of the concerned company and the potential reiteration of the...
Publié le 07/09/2015
Seizure of electronic data: the Cour de Cassation indirectly validates the investigation methods applied by the French competition authority (April 2011)Two decisions of the Cour de cassation (French Supreme Court) dated January 18, 2011[1] dashed the hopes of lawyers and their clients on the possibility to request the invalidation of seizures of electronic data when documents covered by the client-attorney privilege (i.e. legal professional privilege, hereinafter “LPP”) happened to be seized. Even though the two cases concerned seizures carried out by French Tax Authorities’ investigators, they seem to be transposable to the investigation methods applied by the Autorité de la concurrence (French Competition...
Publié le 07/09/2015
What should be learned from the new EU rules on horizontal cooperation agreements (January 2011)In many aspects, the year 2010 has been the year of the modernization of EU competition and antitrust rules. Indeed, in the wake of the adoption of new rules on vertical cooperation agreements[1] and on certain categories of industry-specific agreements[2], two additional horizontal agreements block exemption regulations (“New Regulations”) were adopted on December 14, 2010[3], followed by the publication of new guidelines (“New Guidelines”) in January 2011[4]. :
While the New Regulations apply specifically to certain categories of Research & Development...
Publié le 07/09/2015
Companies with a strong market position: beware of your commercial policy (December 2010)Once again, it is proven that the commercial practices of a company in a dominant position are particularly looked at and kept under strict scrutiny, whereas those same practices implemented by an average company would not arouse any interest from national competition authorities. :
This is the lesson to be learned from the commitments undertaken by the companies Manufacture française des pneumatiques Michelin and Pneumatiques Kléber (collectively referred to hereinafter as “Michelin”, on September 15, 2010[1], after their commercial policy had recently...
Publié le 07/09/2015
The recommendations of the "FRS" report of September 20, 2010 on the assessment of sanctions in antitrust infringements (October 2010)The so-called “steel cartel” case revealed differences of assessment between the Autorité de la concurrence (French Competition Authority, hereinafter the “Authority”) and the Paris Court of Appeals in respect of sanctions to be imposed on companies that have taken part in antitrust infringements. In the “steel cartel” case, the Paris Court of Appeals reduced by 80% the fines imposed by the Competition Council (the Authority’s predecessor) in its decision n°08D-32[1]. :
Faced with this “lack of predictability and legal certainty...
Publié le 07/09/2015
The classification of "state aid" can have fortunate consequences (September 2010)Most of the time, the classification as “state aid” within the meaning of Article 107 of the TFUE[1] (ex-Article 87 of the Treaty establishing the European Community) is a source of concern for companies. Fortunate consequences of such classification – notably in financial terms – are rarely noted. :
Yet, fortunate consequences do exist, as attested by three judgments rendered on September 2, 2010 by the Fifth Chamber of the Versailles Court of Appeals, ruling after remand by the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court):considering that the tax on direct sales...
Publié le 07/09/2015
French competition authority and the impact of the LME law: first year in review (July 2010) The Law no. 2007-776 of August 4, 2008 on the Modernization of the Economy (called the “LME Law”) created the Autorité de la concurrence or the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) as of January 1, 2009, which replaced the Competition Council (please cf. article entitled “The new French Competition Authority: up and running as from January 1, 2009” published in our December 2008 e-newsletter). :
The FCA has been in existence for one year now, and an assessment of what it has accomplished this past year should be made. Before addressing...
Publié le 07/09/2015