Object and the Commission agrees within 2S working days that a

Distinct market exists in that Member State and that competition in

That market may be significantly affected by the concentration, it may

Refer the case to that national authority and national law will apply in

That Member State. The Commission will apply EC law in other

Member States.

This pre-notification process will inevitably involve a degree of

Uncertainty pendingthe finalcase allocationand will therefore need to

Be managed carefully if the desired result (usually a single filing) is to

Be achieved. Clearly, this additional stage will tend to increase the

Timescale to obtain clearance. The criteria for post-notification

Referral of cases between the Commission and national authorities

And vice versa are also made more flexible.

E l

As a lawyer in the Competition Law department of your law firm, you want to

~~~~TI1 informone of your corporate clients who is considering a merger about the new

»p.j~31pre-notification process described above. Write a letter telling your client how

Pre-notification works and what advantages it would have for his firm.

In your letter, you should:

G state the reason you are writing;

\..Jexplain the cases in which a pre-notification request can be filed;

U point out the advantages of pre-notification;

U indicate possible disadvantages;

--.)offer to provide further information if required.

N9 n9 opinio 0

A competition law case which received a great amount of publicity was the Microsoft case.

Oneof the key chargesin the antitrust suits against Microsoft was that the packaging of the

Internet Explorerbrowserwith the Windows operating system constituted an illegal tie-in sale.

You can refer to the opinions of others uSing the fOllowing expressions:

The Microsoft vice president suggests/implies that ...

Attorney General John Ashcroft maintains/claims that.,.

Youcan say whether you agree or disagree by saying:

I completeljt agree/disagree. (with this vieW).

He/She is clearlY.right (With regard to this).

25 Read these diverging opinions on the effect of Microsoft's monopoly position

on the market and on consumers and say what you think. Has Microsoft's

position in the market helped or harmed competition and consumers?

US Attorney General John Ashcroft, on the settlement imposing restrictions

on Microsoft's behaviour:

'A vigorously competitive software industry is vital to our economy, and

Effective antitrust enforcement is crucial to preserving competition in this

Constantly evolving high-tech arena. This historic settlement will bring

Effective relief to the market and ensure that consumers will have more

choices in meeting their computer needs.'

Microsoft Vice President Bob Herbold in a letter to Ralph Nader, activist

attorney and consumer rights advocate:

'[The] premise that Microsoft has been a disincentive to competition and

innovation is simply wrong. As an AT&T executive observed last year, the

Cost of computing has fallen 10 million-fold since the microprocessor was

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 823