The pharmaceutical market is a billon euro industry and the competition on the market is highly intensive. Primarily there are two competitors on the market, partly the originators which provide the market with new drugs, and partly the generics which produce copies of the originators‟ drugs. The originators are able to be granted patent protection of the drug under the European patent system, provided that the drug fulfils the requirements for patentability. During the period of patent protection the generics are not able to produce copies of the drug, but once the duration of the patent has expired the generics are able start the production. Thus, in order to hinder the generics to make copies of the drug, the originators apply various patent strategies. This has been noted by the European Commission, which conducted a sector inquiry of the pharmaceutical market in 2009. The presentation of the competition within the market focused on the applied strategies by the originator and concluded that all measures will be taken to hinder restrictions on the competition. In conjunction, the General Court judged in a recent case that the originator AstraZeneca constituted an infringement of the competition law when their strategies were applied. The complexity of determine whether a strategy is lawful or not, is due to the interface between the intellectual property law and the EC competition law. This implies that the strategy can be lawful under the IP law but unlawful under the competition law. The Court has established that any strategy, regardless of its legality under the IP law, constitutes an infringement of the competition law if it might restrict the competition. The Courts do not provide sufficient guidelines of the conditions that constitute the infringement. Consequently, the strategies‟ legality is at present time uncertain.

L’application des règles de concurrence de l’Union européenne au secteur de l’aviation présente un caractère spécial. Les rapprochements des compagnies aériennes sous formes d’alliances ou concentrations sont à première vue indispensables, afin de garantir leur viabilité et mieux desservir les besoins des voyageurs. La pression concurrentielle exercée par les différents moyens de transports et la globalisation des échanges conduisent vers cette voie. Or, la consolidation du marché aérien peut avoir des conséquences néfastes au détriment des consommateurs. Structure oligopolistique, organisation des gros opérateurs en réseaux (hub-and-spoke system), insuffisance des infrastructures, coûts énormes d’exploitation ainsi que protectionnisme au niveau international, constituent des barrières considérables à l’entrée de nouveaux concurrents et peuvent conduire à des pratiques abusives. La transparence tarifaire et les accords de coopération peuvent favoriser les cartels entre transporteurs aériens. La Commission évalue la position des parties et les risques à la concurrence sur des liaisons déterminées (paires de villes). Cette méthode de délimitation du marché pertinent au transport aérien suscite une polémique de la part notamment des compagnies aériennes qui soutiennent une approche fondée sur la concurrence entre réseaux. Ce débat, montre l’évolution du secteur de l’aviation et la nécessité de prendre toujours en compte les nouvelles données. Le maintien d’une concurrence efficace au secteur de l’aviation n’est pas un objectif en soi, mais un instrument de la politique européenne pour la création du « ciel unique européen ». L’intervention des autorités de l’Union européenne au secteur de l’aviation ne se limite pas à une application rigoureuse des règles de concurrence mais vise à éliminer préalablement les phénomènes anticoncurrentiels par l’adoption d’un cadre législatif. / The application of European Union’s competition rules to the aviation sector presents a special character. The rapprochement of air companies either by the formation of alliances or mergers seem to be necessary. Indeed, it can guarantee the existence of a company as well as it serves the needs of travellers. The competitive pressure exercised by the different existing means of transportation and the globalisation of exchanges lead to this behaviour. But this consolidation of the air market can have harmful consequences for consumers. Oligopolistic structures, the hub-and-spoke system, insufficiency of infrastructures, enormous costs of exploitation along with protectionism at an international level, constitute considerable barriers for new competitors and could lead to abusive practices. Tariff transparency and cooperative agreements can furtherer cartels in between air transporters. The Commission assesses the position of the parties and competitive risks on specific routes (city pairs). This method of delimitation of the market for air transport has created a polemic, especially from the airline companies supporting an approach based on competition between networks. This debate shows the evolution of the aviation sector and the necessity of always taking into consideration new data. The upholding of an efficient competition system within the aviation sector is not an objective in itself, but means of European politic for the creation of a “Single European Sky”. The intervention of European authorities within the aviation sector is not limited to a rigorous application of competition rules but aims first at eliminating anticompetitive phenomenon by adopting a legislative framework.

Abuse of a dominant position - the concept of abuse and modes of abusive conduct Abstract This thesis deals with an abuse of dominant position, specifically with concept of abuse as such and subsequently with individual abusing practices. Article 102 TFEU as well as § 11 ZOHS do not define concept of abuse, it is therefore necessary to analyze case law for their understanding. The same apply in case of individual abusing practices. This analysis is fitted into the wider framework which consists in exploring the object of Article 102 and the method of its application, particularly in regards to Commision's effort to modernization. The main aim of the thesis is critical reflection of case law in the context of searching of purpose of Article 102, not comprehensive and detailed review. The thesis is composed of three chapters. Chapter One characterizes basic objectives of Article 102 and method of its application. Due to brief text of Article 102, the objects of the Article are really crucial for its interpretation and application. In the same way assessment methods can fundamentally change and shift use of Article 102. Basically there are two different objectives and two different methods. Objectives are ordoliberal economic freedom protecting competition as a process and consumer welfare pursuing growth of...

Protection of business competition - Abuse of dominant position The main objective of this thesis is a comprehensive analysis of the term "abuse." In a wider complex, thesis deals with a question of the present aim and prevailing method of application of provision 102 TFEU in order to find out whether and if yes, to what extent is current approach compatible with the modernization process of the application of article 102 TFEU declared by the Commission. Thesis deals with a question whether decisional practise is capable to react on a challenge made by so called new economy sector. Thesis consists of five substantial chapters. The first chapter sums up historical development of the 102 prohibition in Europe and USA law with a particular focus on the objective behind the text of the relevant provisions and decisions and its changes in time. The second chapter zooms to modernization process in relation to Art. 102. The central chapter analyses in detail the features of the general definition of an abuse arising from the decision of Hoffmann-La Roche, namely: i) a special responsibility of the undertaking; ii) the objective nature of the abuse and the effect of conduct on competition; iii) competition on the merits. An analysis of the concept of anticompetitive foreclosure follows. The concept of...

Legal rules protecting the economic competition against abusive pricing practices are traditionally part of the public branch of competition law. Sensitive drafting of the law by legislator or the prudence of law interpretation by the competition authority or the court in the specific case predetermines the companies` willingness to develop dynamically on the relevant market. Legislation of the poor quality prospectively misleading decisional practice can lead in two extreme situations; on one side unlimited freedom for the dominant company, on the other side unfounded and excessive sanctions, which distract the companies` ambitions to achieve excellence. The topic - The Protection of Economic Competition with Special Regard to Pricing - is dealt in five chapters of the thesis. The aim of the paper is to analyze substantial components in each price form of abuse, solve the relevant questions of law with regard to case study concerning both the European and the Czech context and consider where the development of this law field currently results in. The methodology is mainly based on the comparative and critical research of the decisional practice. Chapter One surveys predatory pricing. It contains passage on the price-costs test, which is the major issue also for the following chapters of the study....

The aim of this thesis is to analyse how the margin squeeze developed within the reasoning of the European Union. Margin squeeze is a special type of abuse of dominant position. This type of abuse has massively developed in last years. However, we cannot say that it is totally new form of abuse as we can find certain cases that concern margin squeeze already in the 70s. Nevertheless, especially because of the liberalisation of network industries in the 90s, this abuse has substantially spread up and because of that there was a necessity to answer certain questions that were unclear until that time. This thesis is composed of four main chapters that are further composed of particular subchapters for the purpose to analyse this development. Chapter one is dedicated to general characteristic of the margin squeeze. This abuse is first of all classified as a special type of the abuse of dominant position according to article 102 TFEU. Afterwards, the chapter concerns about the definition of this abuse and its particular legal and economical characters. This all from theoretical point of view. Chapter two briefly discuss the most significant cases that concern margin squeeze and that were decided by European institutions. All these cases are ordered chronologically and the main goal is to describe its...

Abuse of Dominant Position in the ICT Sector: A European Perspective Abstract The concept of abuse of dominant position refers to business practices in which a dominant market player may engage in order to maintain or strengthen its position in the market, and are prohibited under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This master's thesis provides insight into theory and decisional practice of abuse of dominant position within the EU with particular focus on the area of information and communication technologies (ICT). The ICT industry belongs among the fastest developing, with many new powerful market players emerging, often creating entirely new markets for themselves. This is where a potential risk for an abuse of dominance occurs and why many of the breakthrough cases in the previous years have been related to this sector. Since not only their products but also their business models are innovative, the competition policy must advance accordingly. This thesis firstly introduces the economic background and the policy objectives of contemporary EU competition rules. It is followed by a step-by-step examination of the assessment on the position of the investigated firm in the relevant market and the legality of the practice in question. Highlighted are the aspects which have...

This thesis deals with abusive tying practices and its concept under European Union law and United States of America law. Author tries to define concept of abusive tying practices and find necessary elements for legal assessment of tying. Moreover, author carries on the comparative analysis of the Microsoft tying cases in European Union and in United States of America, in order to find whether same elements of tying practices conditions the same outcome in the case law. / Šis darbas nagrinėja piktnaudžiaujančio susiejimo praktiką ir jos sąvoką pagal Europos Sąjungos ir Jungtinių Amerikos Valstijų teisės aktus. Autorė bando nustatyti piktnaudžiaujančio susiejimo veiklos koncepciją ir rasti susiejimo teisiniam įvertinimui reikalingus elementus. Be to, autorė atlieka lyginamąją analizę Microsoft susiejimo bylos Europos Sąjungos ir Jungtinių Amerikos Valstijų teismuose, su tikslu nustatyti ar tie patys elementai abiejose jurisdikcijose lemia tapačią teismų praktiką.

This paper analyzes regulation of abuse of dominant position under the law of the European Union and under the Czech law. Both the European and Czech competition laws are not only very similar, as the Czech Act on Protection of Competition is inspired by the European competition law, but after the so called modernization of the European competition law, including the decentralization of its enforcement, the Czech authorities are entitled (and obliged at the same time) to apply the European competition law. Given the special relation between the two legal orders, this paper does not attempt to compare the two, but rather to analyze them it their mutual relation, which is the basic view for the submitted analysis. Firstly, a basic introduction to the problems of competition economics is presented, including characteristics of the basic functions and principles thereof. An explanation of the economic background and different models of competition follows, particularly of those important for understanding the specifics of dominant undertakings' behaviour and motivation. Models of monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition are briefly described in opposition to the model of perfect competition and also some other important approaches to this issue are addressed, including the basic views of the...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:20:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rogerio Dourado Furtado.pdf: 437035 bytes, checksum: fc5f92d44263410f48d253c1436676df (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-09-29 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Competition law was created in the United States due to the need to curb cartels and abuse of concentration of economic and market power. Since then, other countries have also incorporated the antitrust law in their jurisdictions, with the aim of ensuring a more just and lawful competition, thus shaping our times. It was no different in Brazil, beginning in the 1930s to the present day with Law number 8.884/94, the so called Brazilian antitrust law. This bill marks the beginning of the Brazilian system for protection of the competition, which although much criticized, attempts to exercise its role of ensuring a competitive benefit to society. In this dissertation we discourse about what is dominant position and its abuse in the legislational context, both internal and external. We proceed with an analysis of the competition in Mercosur and the European Union economic blocks. Finally we compare both economic blocks since their beginnings, going through their integrational role until supranationality. We analyze the problems encountered and possible solutions to a satisfactory Mercosur Common market, along the lines of the European Union / O direito da concorrência nasceu nos Estados Unidos decorrente da necessidade de coibir a formação de cartéis e o abuso de concentrações de poder econômico e de mercado. Desde então, legislações de outros Estados também incorporaram o direito antitruste em seus ordenamentos jurídicos com o escopo de zelar por uma concorrência mais justa e lícita, moldando-se assim aos tempos atuais. Não foi diferente no Brasil, começando na década de 1930 até os nossos dias com a Lei n° 8.884/94, a chamada Lei Antitruste Brasileira. Esta lei marca o início do Sistema Brasileiro de Defesa da Concorrência, que apesar de muito criticado tenta exercer o seu papel de zelar por uma concorrência benéfica à sociedade. Discorre-se sobre o que seja posição dominante e seu abuso no contexto legislacional tanto interno quanto externo. Adentra-se então nos blocos econômicos do Mercosul e da União Européia com uma análise da concorrência dos Estados em ambos os blocos e especificamente em determinados países. Por fim, faz-se uma comparação entre os blocos econômicos, desde o princípio de suas formações, passando pelo papel de integração até a supranacionalidade. Analisase os problemas encontrados e suas possíveis soluções para um Mercado Comum satisfatório no Mercosul, seguindo os moldes da União Européia