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The Protection of Economic Competition with Special Regard to Pricing
Cejpek, Jan ; Horáček, Vít (advisor) ; Eichlerová, Kateřina (referee)
Legal rules protecting the economic competition against abusive pricing practices are traditionally part of the public branch of competition law. Sensitive drafting of the law by legislator or the prudence of law interpretation by the competition authority or the court in the specific case predetermines the companies` willingness to develop dynamically on the relevant market. Legislation of the poor quality prospectively misleading decisional practice can lead in two extreme situations; on one side unlimited freedom for the dominant company, on the other side unfounded and excessive sanctions, which distract the companies` ambitions to achieve excellence. The topic - The Protection of Economic Competition with Special Regard to Pricing - is dealt in five chapters of the thesis. The aim of the paper is to analyze substantial components in each price form of abuse, solve the relevant questions of law with regard to case study concerning both the European and the Czech context and consider where the development of this law field currently results in. The methodology is mainly based on the comparative and critical research of the decisional practice. Chapter One surveys predatory pricing. It contains passage on the price-costs test, which is the major issue also for the following chapters of the study....
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Information exchange among competitors with a focus on trade associations
Stoláriková, Monika ; Šmejkal, Václav (advisor) ; Svoboda, Pavel (referee)
The subject matter of the present diploma thesis is an exchange of information as an individual cartel behavior. It focuses on processes and operations that are performed within the frame of activities of trade associations. It should, first, be noted that in most cases, the exchange of information is an absolutely legal way how to make qualified and successful decisions on the transparent market. However, under particular conditions, it may represent a danger in the form of violation of competition law. Such violation can present particularly an exchange of information that removes uncertainty in market relationships and enables companies to foresee behavior of other competitors. The primary objective of this thesis is to complexly describe an attitude that evolved in the interpretation and application practice of the European Commission, or as the case may be of the European courts. On the base of theoretical findings and analysis, the thesis defines criteria that are applied when assessing exchange of information and determines the border between the legal and illegal exchange of information among competitors in the actual law of the European Union. So far as the content is concerned, the thesis is divided into five separate chapters. The first one provides a general definition of the exchange of...
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A comparison of the control over horizontal mergers in the EU and the USA with a special focus on advantages of a merger and the protection of an insolvent company
Svoboda, Karel ; Svoboda, Pavel (advisor) ; Zemánek, Jiří (referee)
A comparison of merger control in the EU and the USA focusing on efficiency defence and failing company defence This paper compares the interpretation of efficiency defence and failing company defence in horizontal mergers in the EU and the USA. The arguments for each were first introduced in the decisional practice of US antitrust authorities and then included in the Merger Guidelines. Over the years both types of defence have been used in US antitrust law. Harsh criticism of the prohibition of several mergers at the beginning of the 21st century led to the reform of European merger control. Among other things, the reforms introduced efficiency defence and failing company defence. Given the complexity of competition law and the many factors that influence it, several background issues must first be analyzed, such as basic economic theories of competition law, the economic grounds for mergers and the political background. After comparing the relevant written law, the case law regarding efficiency defence and failing company defence in both jurisdictions is described. In this way the developments of the doctrines are clearly visible. Subsequently the current situation is described by comparing the requirements set by written law and their interpretation by decisional practice. It was found that the...
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Protection of competition - block exemptions
Šafaříková, Barbora ; Horáček, Vít (advisor) ; Pelikán, Robert (referee)
PROTECTION OF COMPETITION - BLOCK EXEMPTIONS The main purpose of my thesis is to describe and analyze one aspect of a block exemption regulation for vertical agreements, namely resale price maintenance. The thesis is composed of six parts, one of them dealing with block exemptions in general and the rest of them focusing on resale price maintenance. Chapter one introduces the topic of block exemptions and explains the features of block exemptions that are common to all of them. Chapter two presents the definition of resale price maintenance and describes the difference between fixed, minimum, maximum and recommended prices. Chapter three describes economic theories, which have influence on legal treatment of resale price maintenance. The chapter is divided into three subchapters, whereas the first one explicates pro-competitive effects of resale price maintenance, the second one focuses on its anticompetitive effects and the third one summarizes the economic theories of impact of resale price maintenance. Chapter four examines the legal framework of resale price maintenance in European law. Firstly, it describes the treatment of fixed, minimum, recommended and maximum prices. Then it analyzes resale price maintenance as an object restriction and examines possible exemption under Article 101 (1) of...
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Patent, protection of originality or limitation of the competition ?
Kodad, Jiří ; Dobřichovský, Tomáš (advisor) ; Pítra, Vladimír (referee)
This master's thesis deals mainly with the interface between patent law and competition law. The main objective is to provide the reader with a complex patent law overview and explanation of basic concepts related to intellectual property law, with a pivotal focus on patent law. In order to do so, author examines how national legislation contained primarily in Act no. 527/1990 Coll., On Inventions and Rationalization Proposals, as amended works and then analyzes Paris Convention and other treaties, which still remain to be the cornerstone of the international law. After introduction to a patent protection there are examined three of the most significant patent systems in the world - European Union, United States of America and Japan and their respective approaches to patent protection. In addition to exploring limits of a patent rights protection, there are explained doctrines relating to intellectual property rights, with closer attention to patents. Another objective of the work is the analysis of patent law's interface with the competition law. As part of this examination there is paid attention mainly to the abuse of a dominant position through the exercise of patent rights, essential facilities doctrine and FRAND licensing. In conclusion, the author tries to critically assess what the current problems...
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Legal consequences of agreements interfering with economic competition
Sloupová, Jana ; Horáček, Vít (advisor) ; Eichlerová, Kateřina (referee)
This work presented here, named "Legal consequences of agreements interfering with economic competition" seeks to answer several questions, that are dealt with in five sections. Principal notions are explained in first three chapters. The core of the work is found in chapters four and five. The first part describes the competition policy in general. Precise definition of Competiton doesn't actually exist. In practice the economic-viewed interpretation is mostly used. It is a very dynamic process, which, as history shows us, needs for its effective functioning not only to be secured by fundamental freedoms, but also needs a framework of strict rules of law. These boundaries are established by the Competition Law. This branch of law overlaps both the Public law and Private law. My work addresses ontly the part of the Competition Law that depicts protective methods concerning anti-competitive agreements and its violations. Regarding the applicable law sources needs to be examined within the frame of the membership of the Czech Republic in European Union. The third part deals with prohibited agreements in the scope of the Substantive Law. An interesting point of view is brought in by comparing particular characteristic features and its concept with regard to the decisional practice of both The European...
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Current Patent Strategies in Pharmaceutical Industry and their Impact on EU Competition Law Policies
Molitorisová, Alexandra ; Dobřichovský, Tomáš (advisor) ; Pítra, Vladimír (referee)
The thesis reviews current patent strategies of original pharmaceutical companies and their tangled role in the fabric of European pharmaceutical innovation and competition. It addresses several components of the European pharmaceutical industry such as regulatory framework, patent filing and dispute strategies and competition law. It argues that patent law is embedded in a broader competition law framework however plays on a separate field where it governs primarily the entry to its exclusive space by market actors. However it asserts that competition law should serve as a time referee for the patent law playfield and check if the abusive prolongation of exclusive patent position does not occur. The thesis deliberates that in view of ever rising number of patent applications, abuse of the patent system may become symptomatic to the system. The Commission data presented in the Final Report on the pharmaceutical sector inquiry are again inspected. Although data should be used with caution, it revealed a good quantitative base for assessment of a system which seemingly becomes more entropic, complex and susceptible to abuse. Therefore the underlying principles in both patent and competition law should be upheld more strongly than ever. It is the principle of fairness that should have normative force...
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An Impact of the Leniency Program and the Institution of Settlement upon the Civil Enforcement of Competition Law
Knebel, Petr ; Šmejkal, Václav (advisor) ; Svoboda, Pavel (referee)
Impact of the Leniency Program and the Institution of Settlement upon the Civil Enforcement of Competition Law Keywords: competition law, leniency program, private enforcement of competition law The purpose of this thesis is to assess the mutual interference between the private and public enforcement of competition law. In the public enforcement there is growing trend of using modern tools such as leniency programme or settlement decisions. These are based on the cooperation between competition authorities and undertakings. On the other hand such cooperation and very often disclosure of confidential information by undertakings may threaten their position in terms of potential civil law suits by consumers or business partners. It is often claimed that private and public enforcement are complementary but when it comes to these modern tools a clear conflict arises. The thesis consists of two following two chapters. First chapter describes the evolution of private enforcement of competition law within EU. From its underdeveloped beginnings ten years ago it started to attract attention. European Commission has recently published a proposal of a directive which should foster the private enforcement within EU. Second half of the first chapter describes the development of new modern tools within the public...
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Abuse of dominance with respect to pricing practices
Ryneš, Oto ; Horáček, Vít (advisor) ; Horáček, Tomáš (referee)
- english This thesis is dedicated to the abuse of dominant position with respect to the pricing practices. Initially, it analyses the relevant legal framework of the abuse of dominant position as the legal phenomenon. Then, it draws attention to the field of individual anti-competition pricing practices, including the developing field of margin squeeze abuses. Major contribution rests with the analysis of the award of damages in particular cases in the Czech Republic. This work also includes an in-depth philosophical examination of selected competition law issues.
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Abuse of dominant position in Czech law and European law
Peták, Šimon ; Černá, Stanislava (advisor) ; Patěk, Daniel (referee) ; Kindl, Jiří (referee)
This paper analyzes regulation of abuse of dominant position under the law of the European Union and under the Czech law. Both the European and Czech competition laws are not only very similar, as the Czech Act on Protection of Competition is inspired by the European competition law, but after the so called modernization of the European competition law, including the decentralization of its enforcement, the Czech authorities are entitled (and obliged at the same time) to apply the European competition law. Given the special relation between the two legal orders, this paper does not attempt to compare the two, but rather to analyze them it their mutual relation, which is the basic view for the submitted analysis. Firstly, a basic introduction to the problems of competition economics is presented, including characteristics of the basic functions and principles thereof. An explanation of the economic background and different models of competition follows, particularly of those important for understanding the specifics of dominant undertakings' behaviour and motivation. Models of monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition are briefly described in opposition to the model of perfect competition and also some other important approaches to this issue are addressed, including the basic views of the...
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