<p>Uppsatsens syfte är att söka bringa klarhet i huruvida de krav som finns i 12 § Marknadsföringslagen (MFL) är förenliga med artikel 101(1) Lissabonfördraget samt 2:1 Konkurrenslagen (KL). I arbetet kommer rättsdogmatisk metod att användas, vilket innebär redogörelse av hur de aktuella rättsreglerna är utformade (<em>de lege lata</em>) samt hur de kan tänkas revideras (<em>de lege ferenda).</em> Marknadsföring nyttjas av många företag i näringslivet, marknadsföring får företagen att synas på marknaden och därmed nå ut till konsument och näringsidkare. Att utforma ett köperbjudande, en bestämd produkt tillsammans med ett angivet pris är en marknadsföringsmetod. Hur ett köperbjudande skall vara utformat finns reglerat i 12 § MFL. Syftet med bestämmelsen i 12 § är att skydda konsumenten mot vilseledande marknadsföring som kan hindra konsumenten att fatta ett välgrundat affärsbeslut.</p><p> </p><p>Den problematik som nu uppkommit vid tillämpning av 12 § var från konkurrensverket (KKV) förutspådd. Problematiken vid tillämpningen av 12 § MFL uppstår då fristående företag tillsammans utformar ett köperbjudande i sin marknadsföring. Samarbetet om det exakta priset är något som enligt MFL är tillåtet medan det enligt artikel 101 (1) Lissabonfördraget och 2:1 KL utgör ett otillåtet prissamarbete. Skulle företagen för att undkomma att handla i strid med de konkurrensrättsliga bestämmelserna välja att ange ett från- eller cirkapris strider det mot de marknadsrättsliga reglerna. Förfarandet medför att företag utom den ekonomiska enheten inte har någon möjlighet att marknadsföra sig tillsammans i form av ett köperbjudande utan att agera i strid med lagen. Detta är en konsekvens som kan komma resultera i att företag väljer att utelämna priset ur marknadsföringen, något som är till nackdel för konsumenten.</p><p> </p><p>En lösning av en del av problemet vore att Sverige, precis som England inför ett tredje rekvisit för köperbjudande. Detta innebär att köperbjudandet måste ligga nära avtalsslutet. Konsumenten skall ha möjlighet att köpa produkten genom den information som anges i köperbjudandet. På så sätt skulle det vara möjligt för fristående företag att gå samman om marknadsföring som inte ligger nära avtalsslutet. De undkommer då bestämmelserna angående exakt pris som anges 12 § MFL vilket i sin tur innebär att en priskartell enligt artikel 101 (1) Lissabonfördraget och 2:1 KL inte ligger för handen.</p> / <p>The following essay has been written with the purpose to find out if 12 § Marketing Act (MFL) is compatible with article 101 (1) Treaty of Lisbon and 2:1 Competition law. A legal dogmatic method was applied in the essay, which means that it took into account the rules of law (<em>de lege lata</em>) and how the law should be written (<em>de lege ferenda</em>). Marketing is used by many manufacturers with the purpose to reach out to and inform the consumer about their products. In order to reach that goal, many manufacturers use by-offers, showing a product jointly with a price. The marketing Act aims to eliminate misleading marketing procedures. Therefore, 12 § was created to regulate these invitation to purchase. The rule is constructed with the purpose to protect consumers against misleading marketing and prevent the consumer from making the wrong economical decision.</p><p> </p><p>The problems that would arise with the application of the law were already predicted by the Swedish Competition Authority before the law came into effect in the Marketing Act. The application difficulties with 12 § appeared when smaller manufacturers that were not within the same economical unit constructed a concerted invitation to purchase. The proceeding had to be considered as an illegitimate price cooperation according to article 101 (1) Treaty of Lisbon and also 2:1 Competition law.</p><p> </p><p>If the manufakturers, with the wish to not act in conflict with the competition laws, would state a price that is not exact, they would act in conflict with the Marketing Act.  A consequence of this problem could be that the manufacturers do not include prices in their commercials in order to get away from the rule of invitations to purchase. This can lead to disadvantages for the consumers because they cannot take part of the prices that smaller manufacturers have, which will inevitably lead toward a limited overview of the marked on their behalf.</p><p> </p><p>To solve the problem, England has introduced a third prerequisite for invitations to purchase. The third prerequisite specifies that the invitation to purchase has to make it possible for the consumer to actually buy the product. The invitation to purchase has to be close to an agreement between the manufacturer and the consumer. In that case, all the commercials that do not make it possible for the consumer to actually buy the product will not be considered as an invitation to purchase. This would make 12 § MFL unfeasible and would lead towards a development in which the small manufacturers that are not within the same economical unit would be able to cooperate with their commercials without acting against article 101 (1) Treaty of Lisbon and also 2:1 KL.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse the significance of economic thinking and arguments in the treatment of licence agreements in EC competition law. A central question is to what degree the concept of competition in EC law reflects an economically realistic approach to competition. The study also investigates to what degree the economic functioning of intellectual property is considered in competition regulation and how much the economic functioning of the licence agreement is considered. The investigation mainly consists of a comparative analysis of EC competition law and American antitrust law concerning the economic arguments and their importance. The treatment of territorial restrictions, field of use restrictions, quantity clauses, tie-outs, tie-ins, grant back, no-challenge clauses and price restrictions are of special interest here. This study shows that an economically realistic view of competition has influenced current EC competition law, especially in the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER). Exceptions from this development in the EC law are mainly due to the goal of integration of the common market. Territorial restrictions are strictly regulated in the TTBER even when the parties’ market shares are below the market thresholds defined in the regulation. The function of intellectual property rights are not much considered in EC competition law but there are general remarks about the economic functioning of patents in the Guidelines for the TTBER. However, it is difficult to find evidence for economic reasoning about patents in the formation of concrete rules. On the contrary, patents are weakened by the widened concept of exhaustion presented in the Guidelines. The economic functioning of the licence agreement is considered in the rules of TTBER and the economic arguments for clauses which create incentives for making investments or give the possibility of control are acknowledged. However, the free riding argument has a weak position when applied to territorial restrictions, which are more formalistically regulated. The EC competition law has become more similar to American antitrust law. The decisive difference consists in the judicial treatment of territorial restrictions, where the goal of integration is still of central importance in EC law.

Uppsatsens syfte är att söka bringa klarhet i huruvida de krav som finns i 12 § Marknadsföringslagen (MFL) är förenliga med artikel 101(1) Lissabonfördraget samt 2:1 Konkurrenslagen (KL). I arbetet kommer rättsdogmatisk metod att användas, vilket innebär redogörelse av hur de aktuella rättsreglerna är utformade (de lege lata) samt hur de kan tänkas revideras (de lege ferenda). Marknadsföring nyttjas av många företag i näringslivet, marknadsföring får företagen att synas på marknaden och därmed nå ut till konsument och näringsidkare. Att utforma ett köperbjudande, en bestämd produkt tillsammans med ett angivet pris är en marknadsföringsmetod. Hur ett köperbjudande skall vara utformat finns reglerat i 12 § MFL. Syftet med bestämmelsen i 12 § är att skydda konsumenten mot vilseledande marknadsföring som kan hindra konsumenten att fatta ett välgrundat affärsbeslut.   Den problematik som nu uppkommit vid tillämpning av 12 § var från konkurrensverket (KKV) förutspådd. Problematiken vid tillämpningen av 12 § MFL uppstår då fristående företag tillsammans utformar ett köperbjudande i sin marknadsföring. Samarbetet om det exakta priset är något som enligt MFL är tillåtet medan det enligt artikel 101 (1) Lissabonfördraget och 2:1 KL utgör ett otillåtet prissamarbete. Skulle företagen för att undkomma att handla i strid med de konkurrensrättsliga bestämmelserna välja att ange ett från- eller cirkapris strider det mot de marknadsrättsliga reglerna. Förfarandet medför att företag utom den ekonomiska enheten inte har någon möjlighet att marknadsföra sig tillsammans i form av ett köperbjudande utan att agera i strid med lagen. Detta är en konsekvens som kan komma resultera i att företag väljer att utelämna priset ur marknadsföringen, något som är till nackdel för konsumenten.   En lösning av en del av problemet vore att Sverige, precis som England inför ett tredje rekvisit för köperbjudande. Detta innebär att köperbjudandet måste ligga nära avtalsslutet. Konsumenten skall ha möjlighet att köpa produkten genom den information som anges i köperbjudandet. På så sätt skulle det vara möjligt för fristående företag att gå samman om marknadsföring som inte ligger nära avtalsslutet. De undkommer då bestämmelserna angående exakt pris som anges 12 § MFL vilket i sin tur innebär att en priskartell enligt artikel 101 (1) Lissabonfördraget och 2:1 KL inte ligger för handen. / The following essay has been written with the purpose to find out if 12 § Marketing Act (MFL) is compatible with article 101 (1) Treaty of Lisbon and 2:1 Competition law. A legal dogmatic method was applied in the essay, which means that it took into account the rules of law (de lege lata) and how the law should be written (de lege ferenda). Marketing is used by many manufacturers with the purpose to reach out to and inform the consumer about their products. In order to reach that goal, many manufacturers use by-offers, showing a product jointly with a price. The marketing Act aims to eliminate misleading marketing procedures. Therefore, 12 § was created to regulate these invitation to purchase. The rule is constructed with the purpose to protect consumers against misleading marketing and prevent the consumer from making the wrong economical decision.   The problems that would arise with the application of the law were already predicted by the Swedish Competition Authority before the law came into effect in the Marketing Act. The application difficulties with 12 § appeared when smaller manufacturers that were not within the same economical unit constructed a concerted invitation to purchase. The proceeding had to be considered as an illegitimate price cooperation according to article 101 (1) Treaty of Lisbon and also 2:1 Competition law.   If the manufakturers, with the wish to not act in conflict with the competition laws, would state a price that is not exact, they would act in conflict with the Marketing Act.  A consequence of this problem could be that the manufacturers do not include prices in their commercials in order to get away from the rule of invitations to purchase. This can lead to disadvantages for the consumers because they cannot take part of the prices that smaller manufacturers have, which will inevitably lead toward a limited overview of the marked on their behalf.   To solve the problem, England has introduced a third prerequisite for invitations to purchase. The third prerequisite specifies that the invitation to purchase has to make it possible for the consumer to actually buy the product. The invitation to purchase has to be close to an agreement between the manufacturer and the consumer. In that case, all the commercials that do not make it possible for the consumer to actually buy the product will not be considered as an invitation to purchase. This would make 12 § MFL unfeasible and would lead towards a development in which the small manufacturers that are not within the same economical unit would be able to cooperate with their commercials without acting against article 101 (1) Treaty of Lisbon and also 2:1 KL.

The starting point of this thesis is the assertion that the interaction between individuals and public authorities sometimes produces claims which cannot easily be categorized as public or private law claims – “claims in the twilight zone”. The aims of the thesis are to examine to what extent such claims can be determined by a court of law and to establish to which kind of court such a claim is properly to be submitted. Moreover, assuming that there is a division of competence between the general courts and the administrative courts that purport to “cut through” claims in the twilight zone, the thesis examines three specific interests: 1) the interest of effective adjudication of claims in the twilight zone; 2) the interest of upholding the division of competence between the general courts and the administrative courts; and 3) the interest of avoiding parallel decisions on the same subject matter.      There is much to support the conclusion that claims in the twilight zone have hitherto, with a couple of important exceptions, been adjudicated in the general courts. However, certain ambiguities relating to the proper role of the administrative courts make it uncertain whether this can still be said to be the case. It may perhaps be that the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court have divergent conceptions of the meaning and effect of a decision made by an administrative court. The present uncertainty makes it difficult to establish to which kind of court a claim in the twilight zone is properly to be submitted, and there is a certain risk that such a claim will not be possible to pursue through a judicial process at all. There is also a certain risk that new boundary lines between public law and private law will be created as a result of procedural ambiguities and not as a result of clear standpoints in matters of substantial law. It is suggested that the situation should be remedied by clarifying the proper role of the administrative courts – or by an amalgamation of the general courts and the administrative courts to one single court system.

Mäklarbranschen har varit omskriven i media de senaste åren och förra året presenterades det nya lagförslaget på en ny fastighetsmäklarlag. I dag finns det ingen lag som reglerar mäklarens skyldighet att uppvisa budgivningslista efter avslutad budgivning. Dock säger det nya lagförslaget: ”En fastighetsmäklare ska vara skyldig att dokumentera budgivningsprocessen och att överlämna dokumentationen till köparen och säljaren när överlåtelseavtalet är slutet, den ska också syfta till att hindra mäklaren att presentera luftbud och därigenom pressa upp priset.” Syftet med uppsatsen är att ta reda på om lagförslaget kommer att resultera i tryggare budgivningar. Vi vill även ta reda på hur mäklarna ställer sig till budgivningsförfarandet i den nya lagen samt om deras förtroende kommer att stiga hos presumtiva köpare. Avslutningsvis vill vi även ta reda på om köparnas syn på budgivningar kommer att förändras med den nya lagen. Vi har arbetet med artiklar, studerat lagtext, utredningar, remissvar, mailkontakter samt genomfört djupintervjuer med fastighetsmäklare, köpare och en jurist. Mottagandet av den nya mäklarlagen är positivt från nästan alla håll. Man tror på ökat förtroende och en tryggare budgivning i samband med denna lagändring. Vår åsikt är att köparnas syn på budgivningar i framtiden kommer att förändras när de känner en ökad säkerhet med kommande lagstiftning. / The real estate industry have been well publicized in the media the recent years and last year a new draft law of the new real estate agent law were presented. Today there is now law governing the broker’s obligation to present the bidding list upon completion of bidding. However, the new draft law says: ”The broker should be obligated to document the bidding process and when the agreement is met, give the information to the seller and buyer, it should also aim to prevent the broker to present fake bids and thereby push up the price.” The purpose with this essay is to find out if the new law will result in safer auctions. We also want to find out how the real estate agents’ attitude to the bidding procedure in the new and if their trust will rise in potential buyers. Finally, we also want to find out whether the new law will change the buyers’ view on the bidding process. We have been working with articles, studied the text, inquiries, responses, email contacts, and conducted interviews with real estate agents, buyers and a lawyer. The reception of the new law is positive from almost all quarters. Due to the legislative change the, belief is that the trust will rise. The buyers’ view of the bidding process in the future will change when they feel greater safety in future legislation.

In the search for companies to distinguish themselves from the mass, so called non-traditional trade marks have become increasingly popular, and in particular colour marks. It is now clear that abstract colour marks can be registered as trade marks, and the number of registered colour marks has increased considerably in recent years. However, it remains a lot more uncertain, mainly due to lack of case law, what the extent of colour marks’ scope of protection is. Are colours actually worth protecting? The purpose of this thesis is to examine the scope of protection of registered abstract colour marks from an EU perspective. Through this examination it will also be established whether colours are worth protecting. The essential function of trade marks is to indicate the origin of products. Signs that are capable of being represented graphically and capable of distinguishing goods and services from one undertaking from those of other undertakings can be registered as trade marks. Colours can fulfil these criteria in certain circumstances, however, colours can practically never have distinctive character per se. Instead, they must have acquired distinctive character through use. Since it is quite difficult to register colour marks, a colour mark proprietor should be prepared to have the validity of his trade mark challenged if he issues proceedings for infringement. There are a few national cases from EU Member States that have concerned infringement of colour marks, and in all of these the plaintiff was successful in claiming infringement. Through the decisions in these cases, general legal principles and statements made in literature, the scope of protection of colour marks has been examined. Infringement of a colour mark occurs in three different situations: where there is likelihood of confusion, where there is double identity and where there is dilution of a trade mark with a reputation. Some of the most important findings are that confusingly similar colours include adjacent shades, but in order to prove likelihood of confusion, the infringing colour must probably be perceived by the public as an indication of origin and other signs that appear together with the colour must probably be taken into account, which limits the scope of protection to some extent. However, since colour marks must almost always have acquired distinctive character through use, consumers are used to perceiving that colour as a trade mark in relation to those types of goods/services, and are therefore more likely to do so also when the colour is used by the third party. Furthermore, there have to be an individual assessment in each case in order to determine whether surrounding signs exclude a likelihood of confusion, where all factors should be considered, including the distinctiveness of the colour mark and how clear and prominent the other signs are. In situations of double identity, the infringing sign does not have to be used as a trade mark, which is advantageous for colour mark owners. Furthermore, identical colours can possibly include other shades if they are so similar that the difference is barely perceptible in a direct comparison. Colour marks can often qualify as trade marks with a reputation, since the assessment of whether trade marks have a reputation is similar to the assessment of whether trade marks have acquired distinctive character through use. Trade marks with a reputation has an extended protection meaning that if a third party uses a sign that is identical or similar to a trade mark with a reputation, and that use without due cause takes unfair advantage of, or is detrimental to, the distinctive character or repute of the trade mark, then that use constitutes infringement. This applies both in relation to identical, similar and dissimilar products, however, it will probably only apply in relation to identical or similar products when it comes to colour marks, due to the extensive use of colours in the market. The extended protection could be relevant in particular in situations where likelihood of confusion cannot be proven, because the public does not perceive the infringing sign as a trade mark or because of surrounding prominent signs. This examination shows that the scope of protection of colour marks is not great, it has some weaknesses. However, it is definitely not worthless either, which clearly shows in the fact that the plaintiffs were successful in claiming infringement in all of the infringement cases. By registering a colour as a trade mark, a company can to some extent stop others from using the same or similar colour, and it will also most likely have a discouraging effect. However, some carefulness should still be applied in relation to colour marks, since this is still a very new phenomenon and additional case law can take another direction. But considering how the situation looks today, colours are worth protecting as trade marks.

Inom svensk rätt saknas det lagregler för en situation där ett aktieägaravtal med vitesklausul strider mot ett legalt förbud i ABL. Anledningen till att denna situation blir problematisk är att aktieägaravtalet ses som ett separat rättsförhållande mellan aktieägarna, vilket inte binder bolaget bolagsrättsligt. Att ett aktieägaravtal inte binder aktiebolaget bolagsrättsligt hindrar dock inte aktieägarna från att ingå aktieägaravtal vilka indirekt får samma effekt som om aktiebolaget vore bundet av vad som stadgas i aktieägaravtalet. I små aktiebolag förhåller det sig ofta som så att en aktieägare antingen sitter med i styrelsen eller är verkställande direktör för aktiebolaget. Detta gör att en aktieägare, i egenskap av aktieägare, kan ingå ett aktieägaravtal med en annan aktieägare om exempelvis att denne skall fatta ett specifikt beslut i egenskap av verkställande direktör eller styrelseledamot. I ABL finns ett antal legala förbud som stadgar vad ett bolagsorgan får respektive inte får göra. Tanken med ett legalt förbud är att det i form av tvingande lagstiftning förbjuder ett visst handlingssätt som lagstiftaren vill komma till rätta med. Komplikationen då ett aktieägaravtal står i strid med ett legalt förbud i ABL är att ABL:s regler inte är tillämpliga på aktieägaravtalet. Detta gör att aktieägaravtalet kringgår den tvingande lagstiftningen i ABL. För att komma till rätta med detta problem har lagstiftaren överlämnat åt domstolen att i varje enskilt fall där syftet med avtalet är att kringgå den tvingande lagstiftningen pröva om ett sådant avtal skall anses vara giltigt eller ej enligt en allmän rättsgrundsats. Denna bedömning skall enligt praxis undersöka det överträda (1) förbudets syfte, (2) konsekvenserna av ogiltighetspåföljden och (3) behovet av ogiltighet som sanktion i det specifika fallet. Genom att använda sig av denna modell kan man komma fram till om ett specifikt legalt förbud i ABL skall anses inneha tillräckligt stort skyddsvärde för att ogiltighetssanktionen skall drabba aktieägaravtalet.

Universities have traditionally stood as bastions of academic freedom and forums for open discourse and free expression. In recent years, however, this role has been questioned in instances where university administrators have, either directly or complicity, denied students the opportunity to express certain viewpoints they deem “controversial”. This research paper explores whether a university, or its delegates, should be allowed to deny students access to campus facilities and resources solely on the basis of ideological viewpoint. The relevance of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, statutory human rights provisions, and common law doctrines to the student-university relationship are explored in turn. It is argued that, notwithstanding the fact that universities may be “private” actors to whom the Charter does not directly apply, they are institutions invested with a public interest, and as such ought to be subject to special duties of non-discrimination.

Universities have traditionally stood as bastions of academic freedom and forums for open discourse and free expression. In recent years, however, this role has been questioned in instances where university administrators have, either directly or complicity, denied students the opportunity to express certain viewpoints they deem “controversial”. This research paper explores whether a university, or its delegates, should be allowed to deny students access to campus facilities and resources solely on the basis of ideological viewpoint. The relevance of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, statutory human rights provisions, and common law doctrines to the student-university relationship are explored in turn. It is argued that, notwithstanding the fact that universities may be “private” actors to whom the Charter does not directly apply, they are institutions invested with a public interest, and as such ought to be subject to special duties of non-discrimination.

Bryssel I-förordningens behörighetsregler är inte tillämpliga på svarande från tredje land. I sådana fall hänvisar förordningen till nationell rätt (s.k. restkompetens). Inom EU varierar de nationella behörighetsreglerna med avseende på svarande som har hemvist utanför EU avsevärt mellan medlemsstaterna, vilket ibland kan leda till orimliga konsekvenser. Syftet med denna uppsats är att beskriva vilka internationellt privat- och processrättsliga (IPP) problem som kan uppkomma till följd av nuvarande regelverk samt analysera kommissionens förslag till införandet av en regel om reservforum (s.k. forum necessitatis). För att ge läsaren tillräcklig bakgrund för analysen beskrivs rättsläget vad gäller forum necessitatis ur både ett svenskt och EU-rättsligt perspektiv. Resultatet av denna framställning är att förslaget till införandet av en regel om forum necessitatis bidrar till en ökad rättssäkerhet och förutsägbarhet. Den föreslagna regeln har dock en del brister som gör att bestämmelsen bör revideras. / The jurisdiction rules of the Brussels I-Regulation do not apply for third country defendants. In these cases refers the Regulation to national law (so-called residual jurisdiction). The national rules on the jurisdiction for defendants domiciled outside the EU vary widely between Member States, which can lead to undue hardship in some cases. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the private international law issues that may arise as a result of the current set of regulations and then analyze the Commission’s proposal to the creation of a forum of necessity (so-called forum necessitatis). In order to provide the reader with enough background information for the analysis the legal position regarding forum necessitatis is described from both a Swedish and European legal perspective. The result of this thesis is that the proposed solution would increase legal certainty and predictability. The proposed rule has some shortcomings that imply that the provision should be revised.