Monthly Archives: July 2016

July 12, 2016

On 24 June 2016, the long-awaited decision on ad blocking software was adopted by the Higher Regional Court of Cologne (6 U 149/15 Axel Springer./.Eyeo). This is the first decision on the subject matter taken by an Appellate Court in Germany, and it is a decision that takes a critical view on ad blocking software applications with so-called whitelisting. The judgment is in favor of claimant Axel Springer, Germany’s largest publishing house and provider of online content, and it limits the activities of ad blocking provider Eyeo GmbH. The decision will further fuel the debate that recently reached a preliminary peak, with the commission on media convergence (BundLnder-Kommission zur Medienkonvergenz) proposing a prohibition of ad blocking software to secure media diversity.
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July 6, 2016

Abuse of superior bargaining position laws prohibit a party to a business arrangement, holding what is considered to be a superior bargaining position relative to another party to the arrangement, from engaging in activities that are deemed to be unfair trade practices. Several jurisdictions in Europe and Asia have such laws, including France, Germany, Japan and South Korea. China is considering adding such a prohibition to its Anti-Unfair Competition Law, defining a superior bargaining position as “an advantageous position in a specific transaction held by an undertaking in terms of capital, technology, market access, distribution channel and material procurement, etc. and its trading counterparty is reliant on such undertaking and is difficult to switch to other undertakings.”
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July 4, 2016

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona among teams Brussels finds guilty of unfair competition after receiving state finance

Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and five other Spanish football clubs must repay tens of millions of euros in illegal state subsidies, after the EU executive found they had received unfair financial aid from their government.
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June 24, 2016

Hotels accuse accommodation-booking platform of not paying enough tax in its second biggest market

A leading French hoteliers’ association has lodged a formal complaint against Airbnb and other online accommodation-rental services, arguing that they compete unfairly in the country.
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June 20, 2016

Big-four bank NAB is being tipped off each time a business banking customer goes to a rival for a loan, sparking fears about privacy breaches and unfair competition.

For years Sarah did her personal and business banking with NAB. But, in April, dissatisfied with the bank, she applied for a car loan with ANZ, which offered better rates.
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