[Ridhi Arora and Hitoishi Sarkar are II Year B.A. LL.B (Hons.) students at Gujarat National Law University] On 23 June 2020, the Federal Court of Justice (Germany) provisionally confirmed charges of abuse of dominant position against Facebook. The judgment comes a year after the Federal Cartel Office (Germany) found Facebook guilty of exploiting its dominance to force users to share data from...
The Troubled Waters of CCI’s Penalty Regime
[Akanshha Agrawal is a III year student at the National Law University, Delhi] The recent Competition Commission of India (CCI) order finding SKF India, Schaeffler India and Tata Steel guilty of forming an anti-competitive cartel has received much attention due to the regulator’s curious decision not to impose any penalty on the offenders. The CCI had taken a suo moto cognisance of the issue...
NCLAT Rules on Algorithmic Collusion by Cab Aggregators
[Basu Chandola is a Research Assistant at the Jindal Initiative on Research in IP and Competition (JIRICO)] In a Samir Agrawal v Competition Commission of India (29 May 2020), the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (‘NCLAT’) has ruled on the possibility of hub-and-spoke cartels between the cab aggregators and the drivers. The appeal arose against the decision of the Competition Commission of...
Competition Regulatory Framework Governing Hostile Takeovers in India
[Rajat Maloo is a III year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore] In 2019, the L&T-Mindtree hostile takeover battle revitalised the dialogue on the market for corporate control in India, which has until date witnessed only a few hostile takeovers. Apart from the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (‘Takeover...
The Delhi High Court on a Test for “Sectoral Regulators”
[Karan Kamath is a 2020 B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) graduate from Symbiosis Law School, Pune] The Delhi High Court in Monsanto Holdings Pvt. Ltd. v. Competition Commission of India (20 May 2020) ruled that the Supreme Court’s determination in CCI v. Bharti Airtel Ltd.(2018) is not applicable to the Controller of Patents. It also ruled that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) could investigate...
Post COVID-19 Mergers and the ‘Failing Firm Defence’ : A Need for CCI’s Proactive Role
[Parina Muchhala is a 3rd year student and Ira Pandya a 4th year student, both at the Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai] The effects of the COVID-19 outbreak has led to interruption of supply chains, reduction in consumer demand and disruption of economies. It has also led many companies to file for bankruptcy worldwide. This indicates that while COVID-19 has also negatively impacted...
Platform Neutrality by E-Commerce Platforms: A Competition Law Requirement?
In January 2020, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) released a Market Study on E-Commerce. The Study focused on competition aspects pertaining to e-commerce marketplaces and platforms. It identified five issues in this respect: (i) platform neutrality; (ii) platform-to-business contract terms; (iii) platform price parity clauses; (iv) exclusive agreements; and (v) deep discounting. These...
Facebook-Jio Deal: Big Data, Competition and Privacy
[Anupriya Dhonchak is a IV year student at the National Law University, Delhi] Facebook recently signed an all cash deal worth ₹ 43,574 crores to acquire a 9.99 percent stake in Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL). It is the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) in the technology sector in India thus far. The deal brings together Jio, India’s biggest telecom and...
An Evidence Based Analysis of Relevant Market: The Case of Ridesharing in Delhi National Capital Region (India)
[Amol Kulkarni is Director (Research), at CUTS International, Jaipur, India. Swasti Gupta is a Research Associate at CUTS International, Jaipur, India. Parveer Singh Ghuman is a former employee of CUTS International who participated in the study. Ujjwal Kumar is a Policy Analyst at CUTS International, Jaipur, India. This post was originally published in the Oxford Business Law Blog, and can be...
Competition Conundrum during the Crisis
[Surbhi Lahoti is a fourth year law student at Government Law College, Mumbai] COVID-19, a health emergency, has taken an unprecedented toll on the world economy. The lockdowns in India have resulted in supply chain disruption and panic buying by the consumers even after multiple assurances from the Government. The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 regulates the prices of the essential goods and...
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