Twin antitrust probes into Google’s Play Store

 

Twin antitrust probes into Google’s Play Store

Google has confirmed that the European Commission is investigating its Play Store in an abuse of dominance inquiry.

This confirmation was made in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It comes on the heels of the launch by the UK Competition and Markets Authority of a similar probe in June.  The European Commission has not yet confirmed its investigation at this stage, although it is usual for it to announce the opening of a formal investigation.

It appears that the Commission’s investigations relates to Google’s requirement that app developers use its own payment system or they will be removed from the App Store.  A similar theory of harm runs through the statement of objections that the Commission sent to Apple in 2021 concerning the music streaming market.

The CMA’s latest probe into Google’s Play Store is accompanied by its final report in its mobile ecosystem market study.  This found that Apple and Google have a ‘stranglehold’ over certain markets due to their effective duopoly in mobile ecosystems.

Google has also confirmed that it is bringing an appeal to the European Court of Justice against the General Court’s finding that upheld the major part of the Commission’s Google Android decision.

Google also confirmed in its regulatory filing that it is appealing to the European Court of Justice against the General Court’s ruling last month that largely upheld the commission’s Google Android decision.

https://app.quotemedia.com/data/downloadFiling?webmasterId=90423&ref=117011882&type=HTML&symbol=GOOGL&companyName=Alphabet+Inc.&formType=10-Q&formDescription=General+form+for+quarterly+reports+under+Section+13+or+15%28d%29&dateFiled=2022-10-26&CK=1652044

European Commission issues statement of objections in abusive patent filing case

 

European Commission issues statement of objections in abusive patent filing case

The European Commission has sent a statement of objections to Teva alleging that it has abused its dominant position contrary to Article 102 TFEU through conduct that is intended to block or delay competition with its multiple sclerosis drug, Copaxone.

The Commission has made a provisional finding that Teva engaged in abusive practices in the markets for glatiramer acetate which is the active ingredient in Copaxone, in Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

Teva's basic patent for glatiramer acetate expired in 2015.  The Commission contends that Teva has artificially extended patent protection for Copaxone by strategically filing and withdrawing secondary patent applications (for divisional patents).  According to the Commission this caused competitors to have to bring new legal challenges which delayed their market entry with an alternative.

The exclusionary effect of (patent) filing strategies on competition between incumbents and new entrants was examined in detail by the Commission as early as 2008 in its Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry.  It is not surprising that owners of patents develop commercial strategies that are aimed at and have the effect of extending the breadth and duration of their IPR protection which affects the ability of new entrants to enter and expand on the market. The question is whether this is abusive.

A dominant company may not use regulatory procedures in such a way as to prevent or make more difficult entry of competition in a market, unless it can as an undertaking engaged in competition on the merits, rely on grounds relating to the defence of legitimate interests or objective justification.

The case has some parallels with the Commission’s finding that AstraZeneca infringed Article 102 TFEU through two practices: (1) making misleading representations before the national patent offices and before the national courts in order to obtain supplementary protection certificates for its Losec drug (which extend patent protection); and (2) filing requests for deregistration of marketing authorisations combined with the withdrawal from the market of Losec capsules with the intent of blocking the entry of generic products or preventing parallel trading. C-457/10 P AstraZeneca v Commission, ECLI:EU:C:2012:770

The Teva case represents an uptick in the Commission’s enforcement strategy against abusive conduct in the context regulatory procedures in the pharma sector.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_6062

 

 

Ofcom launches market study into cloud services

 

Ofcom launches market study into cloud services

Ofcom has launched a market study into the provision of cloud services in the UK.

Cloud services are services related to the provision of remote access to computing resources (compute, storage and networking).

The main suppliers of cloud services in the UK are Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Google (known and ‘the hyperscalers’).

Cloud services are important to businesses across the economy, especially in telecoms and broadcasting.  Ofcom wants to examine whether there is any feature of the market that could limit competition and harm consumers and intends to focus on the ‘public cloud’.  It will consider whether any feature of the market might favour the hyperscalers and make it more difficult for others to enter and expand.

Ofcom seeks comments including on whether it should make a market investigation reference to the Competition and Markets Authority, by 3 November 2022.

Ofcom expects to publish an interim report for consultation in around six months’ time.

Ofcom says that it is doing this as part of a new programme of work to ensure that digital communications markets are working well for people and businesses in the UK.

 

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-3/cloud-services-market-study