Competition law and anti-trust/cartel law

To be able to cope with daily competition is both objective and driving force at the same time – but the end does not justify the means. When dealing with the question as to how you (may) respond to changes in market conditions or your competitors, the provisions of competition and anti-trust law need to be observed to avoid applications for an injunction and high financial penalties.

Competition Law - Unfair Competition

What kinds of business practices are still or no longer permissible – at what point is advertisement considered as misleading and how can I compete against competitors? We provide you with support in organising your market behaviour in a legally compliant manner and in putting an end to unfair business practices of your competitors both quickly and effectively.

We take charge for you, in particular, of:

  • the review under fair trading law of your own or of third-party business practices of all kinds, especially advertising and marketing;
  • the defence against or implementation of claims from anti-competitive behaviour, especially interim injunctions.n

Anti-Trust and Distribution Law

Besides competition law, distribution is primarily determined by the provisions applicable under anti-trust law, regardless of the selected form of company. We safely guide you through anti-trust law.

You can rely on our legal expertise, in particular in the:

  • structuring and review of agreements, especially distributions agreements, such as commercial agency agreements, franchise agreements and GTCs;
  • representation in proceedings under anti-trust law, including, in particular, but not limited to, house searches by the Austrian Federal Competition Authority (Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde – BWB) or by the European Commission.

Compliance

Anti-trust law does not only have an impact on the contractual structuring of purchase and distribution agreements, but also on the communication between and the behaviour of the sales employees. To ensure compliance with anti-trust law by the employees, a corresponding compliance programme is indispensable.

We take charge, in particular, of:

  • the creation and implementation of compliance programmes;
  • the training of (sales) employees, including the preparation of guidelines for house searches.

Our areas of expertise

Our law firm is a member of the International Practice Group.