April 14, 2016
Although the Competition Act 2010 does not cover the concept of parasitic copying or copycat packaging, in its recent order against Dawn Foods, the Competition Commission broadened the scope of deceptive marketing practices – which are strictly prohibited under Section 10 of the Competition Act 2010 – by recognising unfair competition through the practice of parasitic copying and copycat packaging for the first time in Pakistan.
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March 18, 2016
Overview
On February 25th 2016, the State Council published the Anti-Unfair Competition Law (Draft Amendment) (the law hereinafter the “AUCL”, the draft amendment hereinafter the“Draft”) for public comments. Certain issues have arisen since the implementation of AUCL in 1993, for example, new types of unfair competitive behaviors have been under-regulated and the penalties do not have enough deterrent effects. Also, since 2008, the enactment of the Antitrust-Monopoly Law (“AML”) has resulted in overlaps and inconsistent standards of application.
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March 15, 2016
Ride-booking services, which connect customers directly with drivers through smartphones, have threatened the old-style taxi sector — which often generates income for local authorities — and contributed to protests by cab drivers in China.
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March 14, 2016
On 25 February 2016, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council issued a new draft of the amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law (“Draft”) for public comment. The Draft entails an important overhaul of the current law, which was first enacted in 1993. It aims to bring the Anti-Unfair Competition Law (“AUCL”) in line with more recent domestic legislation (e.g., the Trademark Law and the Anti-Monopoly Law), harmonize the Chinese law with international legal standards, codify the majority view in Chinese jurisprudence, and modernize the AUCL through the adoption of an array of brand-new principles and provisions.
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March 14, 2016
Competition watchdog Authority for Consumers and Markets launched an investigation into the relationship between Schiphol and airline KLM. The ACM will investigate whether KLM’s many financial and organizational advantages at the airport does not lead to unfair competition with other airlines, Trouw reports.
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February 15, 2016
With regard to allegations of unfair business practices against Uber, CCI said the fluctuating market share figures of the various players show that the competitive landscape in the relevant market is quite vibrant and dynamic.
Competition Commission has rejected allegations of unfair business ways against taxi hailing apps Ola and Uber after finding no evidence of anti-competitive practices by them in the national capital.
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January 19, 2016
Taxi-hailing app mytaxi will no longer be allowed to offer customers 50 percent off trips, a court in Frankfurt has decided, saying that the deals represent unfair competition.
Daimler subsidiary mytaxi has regularly offered 50-percent deals over short time spans to interest more customers in booking their rides using the app.
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By the Cabinet decision of October 9, 2015, the Partial Amendment of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, which was enacted on July 3, 2015, will come into force on January 1, 2016. However, the amendment to extend the statute of limitations relating to bringing injunction claims against an unauthorized use of trade secrets to 20 years is already in force.
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France’s Competition Authority has imposed a EUR 10.7 million fine on mobile operator SFR and its Reunion subsidiary, SRR, for unfair competition in the enterprise market. The antitrust regulator found that there was too large a difference between prices charged for on-net and off-net calls. This pricing behaviour took place for 12 years in Reunion and for 6 years in Mayotte. The decision follows a EUR 46 million fine set in June 2014 for the same practice in the consumer market.
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On November 26, 2015, Germany’s new law combatting commercial corruption came into force. The law amends the provision on commercial bribery in the German Criminal Code.
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