McDermott Will & Emery (LexBlog Italy)

On 19 January 2017, the Italian Competition Authority (the Authority) issued a decision concerning alleged anticompetitive agreements in the home ventilotherapy and home oxygentherapy supply services sector in Italy. The decision acknowledges the importance of implementing and updating effective compliance programs, in order to be able to benefit from a mitigation of the fine. In...

On 23 December 2016, the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (the TAR) annulled the decision of the Italian Competition Authority (the Authority), against Sky Italia S.r.l. (Sky); Reti Televisive Italiane S.p.A. (and its subsidiary Mediaset Premium S.p.A.) (RTI); the Italian Football League (Lega Calcio); and Infront Italy S.r.l.(Infront), concerning an alleged violation of Article 101...

On 11 November 2016, the Italian Competition Authority (the Authority) fined eight modelling agencies (B.M. S.r.l. – Brave, D’management Group S.r.l., Elite Model Management S.r.l., Enjoy S.r.l., Major Model Management S.r.l., Next Italy S.r.l., Why Not S.r.l. and Women Models S.p.a.) and their trade association (Assem) of € 4.5 million for alleged price collusion. According...

On 20 October 2016, the Italian Council of State (the “Council of State”) upheld the judgment of the Administrative Court of Lazio (“TAR”) on the cartel in the sector of international road freight forwarding to and from Italy and confirmed the ranking applied in granting the reduction of the fine. According to the Council of...

The regulatory framework for solar photovoltaic plants in Italy is constantly evolving. Plant owners, asset managers and investors need to stay informed in order to adapt to developments in this sector and avoid adverse outcomes. The following highlights the key updates in this market in the last 12 months. Read the full article.

The Italian Competition Authority has updated its merger control turnover thresholds. Effective 14 March 2016, Section 16(1) of Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990 requires prior notification of all mergers and acquisitions where both the following conditions are fulfilled: Aggregate turnover in Italy of all undertakings involved is above € 495 million (revised under the terms of...

On April 28, 2015, the Italian Data Privacy Authority (the Authority) launched a public consultation on the Internet of Things aimed at collecting contributions from stakeholders and assessing its potential impact on consumers’ privacy. This public consultation in Italy follows the opinion of the EU Article 29 Working Party of September 2014 and a more...

Italy is reported to have given formal notice to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Rumours of Italy’s intention to leave the ECT had been circulating since last autumn. IAReporter now revealed that Italy has delivered its official notice of withdrawal in January 2015. According to the journal, Italy’s decision to withdraw, is to...

Owners of early generation Conto Energia I photovoltaic (PV) plants are currently receiving letters from the Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) announcing that it will adjust the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) downwards and claim reimbursement of, or set-off with, the excess payments it made in past years. An example of one of these letters is attached...

The introduction of retrospective tariff cuts to photovoltaic (PV) plants and the abolition of the Robin Tax by the Italian Constitutional Court, combined with simplified regulation and taxation of new forms of debt financing, have turned the attention of foreign investors from PV assets to other renewable energy sources (RES) assets. Italian plants producing energy...

The Italian Competition Authority has updated its merger control turnover thresholds. Effective today, 16 March 2015, Section 16(1) of Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990 requires prior notification of all mergers and acquisitions where both the following conditions are fulfilled: Aggregate turnover in Italy of all undertakings involved is above EUR 492 million (revised under...

On 27 November, the Italian Competition Authority dawn raided a major South African company for alleged excessive pricing of its oncology products in Italy. According to a complaint by one of the most active consumer associations in Italy, the group would have required the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) to align the price of its products,...

McDermott has contributed to the Italian chapter of the 2014 edition of “Pharmaceutical Antitrust” published by Getting the Deal Through, a valuable work tool for legal practitioners dealing with antitrust rules in the pharmaceutical sector.  The chapter addresses the most significant regulatory and antitrust issues affecting the marketing, authorization and pricing of pharmaceutical products in..

The recent investigations into two pharmaceutical companies active in the ophthalmic drugs market in Italy and France serve as a reminder of the cooperation that takes place between national competition authorities. International groups should therefore take into account all the jurisdictions where they have a presence or do business when developing their antitrust audit and...

The Italian Competition Authority has updated its merger control turnover thresholds. Effective from 10 March 2014, Section 16 (1) of Law No 287 of 10 October 1990 requires prior notification of all mergers and acquisitions where: Aggregate turnover in Italy of all undertakings involved is above EUR 489 million, and Aggregate turnover in Italy of...

On 3 March 2014, the Milan Court of Appeal overturned a previous decision issued by the Milan Tribunal, declaring a class action brought by an Italian consumers association, Altroconsumo, against local railway operator Trenord as non-admissible. On 8 November 2013, the Milan Tribunal had dismissed the class action started by Altroconsumo on the grounds inter...

On 24 October 2013, Chair of the Italian Competition Authority, Giovanni Pitruzzella, and Italy’s Minister of Justice, Anna Maria Cancellieri, spoke in favour of effective ad hoc antitrust compliance programs and their value as a mitigating factor in investigations.  Mr Pitruzzella underlined the importance of an effective compliance program because “imposing fines is not appreciated...

by Veronica Pinotti, Martino Sforza and Nicolò di Castelnuovo The Italian Competition Authority has decided that the 2014 mandatory annual fee due by limited companies based in Italy, that have total revenues exceeding EUR 50 million, will have to be paid by July 31, 2014, while for the current year no payment is due. Entities Subject to the...

by Martino Sforza The Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA) has published a guide on cloud computing, “How to Protect Your Data Without Falling From a Cloud,” which contains useful recommendations on how to select and appoint cloud providers and vendors of data management and storage services.  This is the first official guidance issued by the...

by Veronica Pinotti and Martino Sforza.  The main developments in antitrust are: 1. Merger Control (Art. 5-bis) From January 1, 2013: The Italian merger control thresholds will be cumulative and no longer alternative (i.e. the combined turnover in Italy of all undertakings concerned exceeds € 468 million AND the Italian turnover of the target exceeds €...

by Veronica Pinotti and Martino Sforza On March 6, 2012, the members of the Italian Antitrust Association met with the new Chair of the Italian Competition Authority (ICA), Giovanni Pitruzzella. During the meeting, Pitruzella stated that ad hoc qualitative compliance programs will continue to be considered as an effective mitigating factor, confirming the ICA’s attitude...

by Carsten Steinhauer On January 20, 2012, Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), the publicly-owned company that promotes renewable energy sources in Italy, announced that the budget for the second half of 2012 for large solar photovoltaic (PV) plants has already been used up by excessive demand in 2011. Consequently, there will be no registration procedure...

Public Consultation on Settlement and Compliance Programs Launched by the French Competition Authority by Louise-Astrid Aberg and Lionel Lesur On October 14, the French Competition Authority (FCA) launched a two-month public consultation for guidelines on settlement and compliance programs.  Both these guidelines have been highly anticipated since they were first announced last May. The draft...

by Veronica Pinotti and Martino Sforza On Sunday November 13, 2011, Mario Monti, a former member of the European Commission, conditionally accepted a mandate to form a new Government.  The main task of the new Italian Government will be to adopt a package of economic reforms considered necessary by the European Union to cut Italy’s massive...

by Veronica Pinotti The Italian Competition Authority has found that four health care insurance providers—HDI-Gerling Industrie Versicherung AG, Faro Compagnia di Assicurazioni e riassicurazioni S.p.a., Navale Assicurazioni, and Primogest (a multi-firm agency)—participated in anti-competitive behaviour between 2003 and 2008. The Authority has imposed fines against the companies totalling more...

by Veronica Pinotti and Martino Sforza On 8 August 2011, the Italian Competition Authority blocked the proposed acquisition by Compagnia Valdostana delle Acque (CVA) of Deval and Vallenergia, both active in the retail sale of electricity in Valle d’Aosta, a mountain region in the north of Italy, close to the border with France. The case is interesting...

by Veronica Pinotti, Philipp Werner and Martino Sforza On 6 November 2010, the Italian Competition Authority launched an investigation into the role of large-scale retail distribution in Italy’s food sector.  The investigation aims at assessing potential antitrust issues in this sector, and will focus on the agreements and strategic negotiations between suppliers and large-scale distributors, the.

by Veronica Pinotti and Martino Sforza The Italian Competition Authority has updated its merger control turnover thresholds.  Effective as of 31 May 2010, Section 16(1) of Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990 requires prior notification of all mergers and acquisitions where either of the following conditions is fulfilled: Aggregate turnover in Italy of all...

by Veronica Pinotti and Martino Sforza The Italian Competition Authority today updated its merger control turnover thresholds. As of 27 July 2009, Section 16(1) of Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, requires prior notification of all mergers and acquisitions involving the following: aggregate turnover in Italy of all undertakings involved above EUR 461 million...