On 24 November 2011, the General Court ("GC") handed
down its judgment in EFIM v. Commission. In its ruling, the GC
dismissed an action by the European Federation of Ink and Ink
Cartridge Manufacturers ("EFIM") against a previous 2009
European Commission decision to drop its antitrust investigation
into manufacturers of ink-jet printers. The GC ruled that the
Commission was right to find that EFIM did not, on the facts,
provide sufficient evidence to establish an infringement,
and was right to conclude that further investigation would
have been disproportionate, given the slim likelihood of finding a
breach....
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On 19 April 2012, a judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rejected an appeal by Tomra Systems ASA against a 2010 judgment of the General Court.
On 24 April 2012, the United Kingdom's Department for Business, Innovation & Skills published a 70-page document entitled Private Actions in Competition Law.
The European Commission has sent a statement of objections to Slovak Telekom and Deutsche Telekom in relation to their behaviour on several wholesale broadband markets in Slovakia, which it considers may infringe Article 102.
On 4 April 2012, the English High Court issued an order in a pending private damages claim arising out of the gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) cartel case, further to which it has granted the claimants access to a limited set of materials produced by the defendants in leniency applications made before the European Commission.
On 19 April 2012, the UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced its decision to fine British Airways (BA) £ 58.5 million (around € 71 million) for anti-competitive practices.
On 24 April 2012, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) launched a consultation on how best to encourage damages actions based on breaches of competition law.
The Competition Commission will require Anglo American and Lafarge to sell a significant portfolio of operations before their proposed construction materials joint venture can go ahead.
BIS has launched a consultation on private actions in competition law. The specific proposals are intended to make it easier for private parties to challenge anti-competitive behaviour and include: allowing the Competition Appeal Tribunal to hear stand-alone actions, introducing a fast-track procedure for SMEs, introducing an opt-out collective actions regime for competition law, promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution to ensure that the courts are the option of last resort and protecting the i