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Indian Competition Law: Apple Case: DG concluded- Violation of Section 4 Abuse of Dominence: The supplementary investigation report by the regulator's Director General (DG) has concluded that Apple allegedly abused its market dominance in the relevant market, violating various provisions of Section 4 of the competition law. #competitionlaw #antitrustlaw https://lnkd.in/gpnVBkDe

Check out my latest article assessing the DOJ antitrust case against Apple

Indian Competition Law: Antitrust Law - Flipkarts' investigation Report - Xiaomi requested for recall Report: China's Xiaomi has asked India's antitrust body to recall its report that found the company and Walmart's Flipkart breached competition laws, arguing it contains commercial secrets, two people familiar with the matter said. Any recall of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) report could delay its antitrust investigation, which began in 2021. In a rare move in August, the commission recalled an antitrust report on Apple after the company similarly complained commercial secrets were disclosed. Xiaomi has told the commission in an application the investigation report on Flipkart contains sensitive business data on the smartphone company which was supposed to be redacted when the document was shared with parties in the case, said the two sources familiar with the matter. It wants the commission to ask parties to return the report and destroy any copies, allowing the watchdog to further redact the sensitive information and reshare the reports, said the first source. #competitionlaw #antitrustlaw https://lnkd.in/gBu2X4FN

India’s Unprecedented Recall of Antitrust Reports in Apple Investigation The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has recently made headlines by issuing an unusual directive to recall reports from an ongoing antitrust investigation involving Apple Inc. This action, initiated on… #Antitrust #Apple #CCI #India >>> Read more

09/13/2024 Boards, Policy & Regulation Regulatory Oversight Antitrust India lawmaker, trade group seek suspension of Amazon, Flipkart operations after antitrust breaches September 13, 202412:16 PM GMT+2Updated 4 hours ago Smartphone with Flipkart logo is seen in front of displayed Amazon logo in this illustration taken, July 30, 2021. NEW DELHI, Sept 13 - A lawmaker of India's ruling party and a key retailers' group urged the government on Friday to suspend the operations of Amazon (AMZN.O), and Walmart's (WMT.N), Flipkart in light of antitrust breaches. Indian antitrust investigation reports, which are not public, have found Amazon and Flipkart violated local competition laws by giving preference to select sellers and priority to certain listings, hurting competition, Reuters exclusively reported on Thursday. Praveen Khandelwal, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, told Reuters he will soon hold discussions with the federal government and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to call for action including "immediately suspending" the e-commerce companies' operations in India. "The practices of these companies are greatly damaging our manufacturing sector," he said. Goyal's office, Flipkart and Amazon India did not respond to requests for comment. The two companies have previously denied any wrongdoing and said they comply with Indian laws. They have not commented on the Competition Commision of India (CCI) reports. Khandelwal is also secretary general emeritus of India's powerful Confederation of All India Traders, which represents around 80 million shopkeepers and has for years protested against Amazon's and Flipkart's practices which it says hurts smaller retailers. The CCI findings follow a Reuters investigation, from 2021 which was based on Amazon internal documents and showed the company gave preferential treatment for years to a small group of sellers on its platform, some of whom were called "Special Merchants", and used them to bypass Indian laws. Traders and retailers are seen as a key voting bloc for Modi's ruling party, and the investigation findings come ahead of key state elections in the industrial hubs of Maharashtra and Haryana. Last month, Commerce Minister Goyal publicly called out Amazon by saying the company's investments often cover its losses and the funds were "not coming in for any great service." Page 1 Ended Smartphone with Flipkart logo is seen in front of displayed Amazon logo in this illustration taken, July 30, 2021. 

Apple Will Reportedly Face Antitrust Lawsuit Photo: Songquan Deng (Shutterstock) Apple could beryllium successful immoderate large ineligible occupation arsenic the Department of Justice (DOJ) is readying an antitrust suit against the iPhone maker, according to a study from Bloomberg Wednesday. The ineligible enactment could beryllium filed arsenic soon arsenic Thursday. Buy Now oregon Wait? How to Avoid Tech Buyer's Remorse The suit reportedly focuses connected Apple’s usurpation of antitrust laws by blocking entree to iPhone hardware and bundle features. Apple and the DOJ didn’t instantly respond to a petition for comment. Apple routinely finds itself successful ineligible occupation implicit its concern practices, but the institution finds ways to support winning. Last year, the ineligible conflict betwixt Epic and Apple implicit the App Store outgo options went each the mode to the Supreme Court, but Apple prevailed successful the end. On the hardware side, Apple has been fighting right-to-repair laws truthful that it tin keep repairs for its products in-house. However, the institution does look similar it’s changing its caput connected immoderate caller right-to-repair authorities successful definite states. But that’s successful the U.S. Over successful the European Union (EU), Apple has been getting spanked by regulations. Not lone did regulators marque Apple spell all-in with USB-C cables for the iPhone 15 past year, but the EU besides made Apple unfastened up its bundle to let third-party app stores onto its devices. The Biden medication has picked aggregate fights with immoderate large companies implicit antitrust violations. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon for operating an amerciable monopoly portion the DOJ filed a suit against Google for the aforesaid reason. Microsoft was besides the absorption of antitrust ineligible enactment erstwhile it acquired video crippled steadfast Activision. That deal was completed successful October, but the FTC appealed that merger successful December seeking to reverse it. https://ift.tt/7hwc13E

The antitrust suit against Apple is a strong start to an uphill battle to prove the company has an illegal monopoly. The DOJ describes a sweeping arc of behaviors by Apple, arguing that it adds up to a pattern of illegal monopoly maintenance. Rather than focusing on 2-3 illegal acts, the complaint alleges that Apple engages in a pattern of behaviors that further entrench consumers into their ecosystem and make it harder to switch, even in the face of high prices and degraded quality. The interlocking pattern of illegal behavior is epitomized by five examples, like the “green bubble” non-interoperability in messaging between iPhones and Android phones. (Other examples include Apple’s exclusion of superapps from the App Store, cloud streaming, lack of compatibility with competitors’ smartwatches, and its policies around Apple Wallet.) Apple continues to expand and shift the scope and categories of anticompetitive conduct such that the cumulative anticompetitive effect of Apple’s conduct is even more powerful than that of each exclusionary act standing alone. Apple’s allegedly anticompetitive behavior could have consequences well into the future. For example the idea that parents don’t want to get their kids Android phones if they have Apple phones, because it really degrades their ability to interoperate, and interconnect. In this market where you pick an ecosystem kind of for life, that’s really powerful because now that kid is locked in. Still, the details of the case will be challenging to prove. One key fight will likely be over what the relevant market is — a common area of contention in antitrust litigation. The DOJ defined two different relevant markets, giving it some strategic flexibility in the fight up ahead. One is the overall smartphone market in the US, of which the DOJ says Apple has a 65% market share. The other is a subset of that market that the DOJ calls the performance smartphone market (basically high-end smartphones), of which the government says Apple has a 70% market share. To understand whether this market share actually gives Apple dominance that it can wield in ways that exclude rivals, the government will need to show that Apple is able to increase prices or degrade quality without losing customers — something you’d expect to happen if customers are able to freely choose the best option out there. DOJ Antitrust Division prefers so-called structural remedies (or breakups) to behavioral ones (i.e. requirements to change or stop anticompetitive conduct). #antitrust #apple https://lnkd.in/gRMp9g5m?

The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly nearing the culmination of its investigation into Apple's potential antitrust violations, with a sweeping case expected in the first half of this year. Key focus areas include Apple's tight integration of hardware and software, limiting consumer choice and stifling competition. 🧐 📱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲'𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆: • Investigation into Apple Watch's exclusive synergy with iPhones. • Locking competitors out of iMessage service. • Examination of Apple's payments system blocking rivals. 💼 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀: • Apple could face one of the most significant federal antitrust lawsuits. • Challenge to Apple's integrated business model connecting iPhone, Apple Watch, and services. 🗣️ 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲: • Senior leaders reviewing investigation results. • No final decision on lawsuit yet. • Apple's previous stance: Practices do not violate antitrust law. 🌐 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲: • European regulators expected to enforce app store accommodation beyond Apple's own. • Ongoing European Commission investigation into Apple's antitrust violations. • Increased regulatory scrutiny impacting Apple's $2.83 trillion business. 💡 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁❓ • Potential impact of European regulatory compliance on the U.S. case. • Apple is facing heightened regulatory pressure amid slowing business. ⚖️ 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲: • Apple facing class-action lawsuit over alleged market power abuse in peer-to-peer payment services. • Previous legal challenges, including the 2012 conspiracy case with book publishers. Sources:  https://lnkd.in/eWbK88Rg https://lnkd.in/eNSm3Z7g #Antitrust #TechNews #Apple #LegalBattle #Law #Technology #Innovation #Payment #Market #US #Europe #iPhone #AppleWatch

The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys webinar - Fallout from the Supreme Court Amazon decision. Our trade mark experts, Sarah Husslein and Victoria Mara Rodriguez, will help you understand what amounts to "targeting" in the UK and how the UK Courts should approach the assessment, identify potential risks of trade mark #infringement due to unintentional targeting or sales and to develop strategies to mitigate #legal risks when operating online in multiple jurisdictions. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/eydYBzCg

⚖️ Day 16: The Right to Fair Competition The Right to Fair Competition is a vital component of a healthy business environment, regulated under the Competition Act, 2002 in India. This law promotes and sustains competition in markets, protects consumer interests, and prevents practices that hinder fair competition. Key points for today: 📌 Anti-Competitive Practices: The Act prohibits agreements or practices that harm competition, such as price-fixing, market-sharing, or bid-rigging, ensuring businesses operate fairly. 📌 Abuse of Dominance: A company holding a dominant market position is restricted from abusing its power by engaging in practices that stifle competition, like predatory pricing or denying market access. 📌 Merger Control: Mergers and acquisitions that may lead to a substantial reduction in competition are scrutinized to maintain market balance. 📌 Landmark Case: In the CCI v. Google (2022) case, the Competition Commission of India penalized Google for abusing its dominant position in the Android ecosystem, highlighting the importance of fair market practices. 🔎 Legal professionals play a crucial role in advising businesses on compliance with competition laws and representing them in cases of anti-competitive practices. #CorporateRights #FairCompetition #CompetitionAct #BusinessLaw #ConsumerProtection #CommercialLaw #Day16