Dominance in 2011: the Many Guises of Abuse

In 2011, many competition authorities around the world continued their vigorous enforcement of abuse of dominance laws. While some authorities are of course more active than others, global economic recession has not resulted in any discernible softening of approach, and authorities are still investing significant resources in this area. The range of types of abuse being identified by authorities also continues to develop, and this is due at least in part to the fact that many enforcers are now extending their attention beyond their traditional hunting grounds of the erstwhile monopolists in telecommunications, postal services and energy, and increasingly scrutinising the high technology and internet-based markets. Another key trend is the, albeit gradual, increase in private damages claims being brought by parties claiming loss as a result of abuse of dominance, following the general trend in the cartels area. Although not frequent anywhere outside the US, such cases are now occurring in quite a number of jurisdictions in the dominance area.