Month: September 2012

Following the UK Office of Fair Trading’s decision not to refer Facebook’s proposed acquisition of Instagram to the Competition Commission (as we reported here), the US Federal Trade Commission has closed its investigation without taking any action. The FTC announced...

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The Pilbara saga continues

September 25, 2012 | 0 Comments

The High Court has delivered its decision on Fortescue’s long running attempt to get access to two of Rio Tinto’s railway lines in the Pilbara under Part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (as it was...

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A court in the US has fined Taiwanese LCD manufacturer AU Optronics (“AUO”) $US 500 million for its involvement in a price fixing cartel. Two former company executives, Vice-Chairman Hsuan Bin Cheng and Executive Vice...

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New Zealand’s Commerce Commission has reached a settlement with insurer IAG New Zealand Limited after it admitted to breaching the NZ Fair Trading Act in relation to more than 150,000 insurance policies. As a result...

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Breach of undertaking puts acquirer in the poo

September 21, 2012 | 0 Comments

Canada’s Competition Bureau has announced criminal charges against Progressive Waste Solution Ltd for multiple breaches of a merger consent order under section 66 of the Competition Act 1985. It is alleged that Progressive violated the...

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Justice Bennett v Justin Bieber

September 19, 2012 | 0 Comments

The Full Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by two Australian mobile premium service providers against an earlier judgment that particular advertisements were misleading or likely to mislead consumers about continuing premium rate mobile phone...

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Step-by-step

September 17, 2012 | 0 Comments

The UK OFT has published new guidance on the setting of penalties for competition law infringements, reflecting its experience of applying penalties and recent judgments, international developments and comments from public consultation. The most recent...

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ACCC gives industry a peek at its hand

September 14, 2012 | 1 Comments

As noted in our post on the UK petrol inquiry, Rod Sims gave a speech on 12 September 2012 to the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association (available here), in which he outlined the ACCC’s...

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UK petrol stations under the pump

September 14, 2012 | 0 Comments

The crusades against petrol prices continue, with the UK OFT the latest regulator to take up the cause. Since at least February this year, the OFT has been fielding calls to investigate petrol retailers. It...

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Reinforcing the ACCC’s enforcement priorities

September 14, 2012 | 0 Comments

Rod Sims has been busy on the speaking circuit – further to Kat Evans’ report on a speech in Melbourne on the 12th of September, on the 13th of September 2012, the ACCC Chair addressed...

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