Italian e-edition of book on vertical agreements now available

We are very proud to welcome the newest member to our European family of ‘Vertical Agreements in EU Competition Law’ monographs, an Italian e-book. A sincere thank you goes out to Filippo Fioretti, Maria Rosaria Raspanti and the whole team at Pavia e Ansaldo for their efforts to get the book published at Wolters Kluwer Italia.

Frank Wijckmans and Filip Tuytschaever published the third edition of ‘Vertical Agreements in EU Competition Law’ in 2018 at Oxford University Press. The book is the centerpiece of a European family of monographs to be published in about 20 jurisdictions (and counting). After adding Denmark to the family in May of last year, Italy now is the most recent addition. You can order it here.

Kristof De Wael in TRV-RPS

Kristof De Wael commented on a judgement from the Ghent Court of Appeal regarding the mitigation by the court of non-competition clauses in acquisition agreements (TRV-RPS nr. 2021/4). Read the article on our articles page.

ITP – Forum selection and choice of law clauses: they’re not just boilerplates...

Forum selection and choice-of-law clauses are not mere boilerplates casually inserted at the end of your contract. They can make a world of difference when a conflict arises. Frank Wijckmans and Benjamin Magnus zoom in on the matter in this month’s In the Picture newsletter.

Stefanie Colaers in RDC-TBH

The first application of the new prohibition on abuse of economic dependency in Belgian case law is a fact. Stefanie Colaers published a critical analysis of the prohibition in Revue de Droit Commercial Belge - Tijdschrift voor Belgisch Handelsrecht. Read the article on our articles page.

Hot off the press: ‘contrast competition codex – Belgisch mededingingsrecht 2021’

The 2021 edition of the contrast competition codex has arrived. The codex comprises the most relevant legislation and guidelines in Belgian competition law and unfair trading practices law (in Dutch). Its unique layout allows you to immediately find what you are looking for. You can order your copy: https://www.contrast-law.be/en/publications/books/contrast-competition-codex-belgisch-mededingingsrecht-2021/.

Conclusions after this year's 'Vertical Restraints & Distribution' conference

On June 24, contrast partner Frank Wijckmans chaired a well-attended one day Informa Connect conference dedicated to EU competition law developments in the area of vertical restraints. An update on the revision of the Block Exemption Regulation was provided by DG Competition’s Kassiani Christodoulou, whereas DG Competition official Sara Bacchio provided background with regard to the Video Games cases.

Representatives of national competition authorities from Denmark, France, Germany and the UK elaborated on important developments in their jurisdictions. Several other panels consisting of leading practitioners addressed some other key questions that are currently pending.

In his closing remarks, Frank highlighted that 'the issue of dual distribution was raised consistently throughout the day and therefore seems to be on everybody’s mind. The topic moved somewhat unexpectedly to the top of the agenda of the revision of the Block Exemption Regulation. It will be interesting to see which policy choice DG Competition is making in this respect.'

Privacy Talk – December 27, 2022?! Deadline for the new standard contractual clauses.

The new Standard Contractual Clauses for the international transfer of personal data have been published. Companies now no longer have an excuse for a wait-and-see attitude towards such transfers? Anouk Focquet, head of our privacy and data protection practice, tells you what you need to know and do in our most recent ‘Privacy Talk’.

Expert report VBER review published

The expert report by Frank Wijckmans and Sarah Jaques on the review of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) has just been published. This report contains contrast's expert advice on the use of active sales restrictions in different distribution models and combinations of such models. It is part of the European Commission’s Impact Assessment of the VBER.

The report describes the general regulatory framework and maps the difficulties encountered in respect of active sales restrictions under the VBER. It is based upon the experience resulting from the contrast practice, but also relies on input from practitioners in various Member States.

Conclusions at end of the Brussels School of Competition academic year

The Brussels School of Competition (BSC) recently ended its academic year with a special session dedicated to the interplay between arbitration and competition law. The session was presided by BSC director Charles Gheur and coordinated by BSC manager Valérie Tulkens. Olivier Caprasse presented the mechanics of arbitration,whereas Xavier Taton and Guillaume Croisant (Linklaters) focused on the arbitrability of competition matters.

contrast partner Frank Wijckmans addressed the application of the substantive rules of competition law in arbitration proceedings. His conclusion: 'The days that arbitration and competition law were hardly friends, seem to be over. The flexibility offered by arbitration proceedings is very well suited to address complex competition litigation. I expect a marked increase in the number of arbitration proceedings where competition law will play an important and possibly even preponderant role.'

Click here if you're interested in the 2021-2022 programme of the BSC. Deadline for applications is 13 September 2021.

Webinar 21 Oct: unfair contractual terms in B2B agreements

The new rules on unfair contractual terms in B2B agreements entered into force at the end of last year and have meanwhile become an integral part of contract practice. You can now register for a live and interactive webinar in October, during which contrasters Milena Varga and Laurence Vanhyfte, and Sofie De Pourcq of IP Porta zoom in on the matter. We foresee sufficient time during the webinar to answer possible questions. More information here.