Every year, the LIDC organises an international Congress to study in particular two questions related to competition law, intellectual property law and/or unfair competition.

The LIDC further organises Webinars on competition law, intellectual property and unfair competition issues of relevance and interest for its members. Working groups are constituted to study in-depth certain legal developments.

LIDC Annual Congress

Every year, the LIDC organises an international Congress to study in particular two questions related to competition law, intellectual property law and/or unfair competition.

The annual Congress is generally organised by a National Group of the LIDC.

NEXT CONGRESS – LONDON 7/9 November 2024

The LIDC Congress 2024 will be held in London from 7 until 9 November 2024. 

We are glad to inform you that the questions to be discussed during the London congress are as follows :

• Question A: What progress has been made, and is still to be made, in ensuring effective redress for harm resulting from infringements of competition law?

Background & Context:
It is generally accepted that private enforcement has an important role in increasing the effective functioning of competition regimes globally and that individuals and/or firms who suffer harm as a result of anti-competitive conduct should be entitled to compensation for their loss(es). Consequently, interest in, and the significance of, this aspect of the competition law ‘toolkit’ continues to grow.

There have been a number of initiatives in various jurisdictions to promote more private enforcement and provide the necessary legal and economic framework for this purpose. For example, in November 2014, the EU Damages Directive, which harmonised certain procedural rules for competition damages actions across all EU Member States (including the United Kingdom at the time) and sought to establish a level playing field across the EU, entered into force. Together with the 2013 Recommendation on Collective Redress, the Damages Directive was intended to make it easier for victims of anti-competitive conduct to obtain compensation.
During the past decade, the use of private enforcement of competition law has increased throughout Europe and beyond. However, the intensity and experience of private enforcement is very mixed. Some jurisdictions have considerable experience in dealing with damages actions, however, in others private actions are rare.

Major differences still exist among jurisdictions, even between the EU Member States. For example, in a number of Member States, there have not yet been any court rulings applying the provisions of the Damages Directive and, for temporal application reasons, many rulings are still based on pre-existing national law.

The 10th Anniversary of the EU Damages Directive provides the LIDC with an opportunity to take a critical look at how private enforcement has evolved around the world, taking stock of the progress that has been made and what obstacles remain, considering how these might be overcome to ensure: effective redress; and a balance between public and private enforcement.

National groups are invited to provide an account of the emerging practices and trends in private enforcement of competition law in their respective jurisdictions from a legal and economic perspective, reflecting on various factors such as: the relevant legal instruments; institutional developments; applicable jurisprudence; the relevant procedural, legal and economic framework; and key practical and litigation issues.

As announced previously, Andras M. Horvath has been appointed as International Rapporteur for Question A.

For those who have not already done so, we kindly invite you to designate your National Rapporteur for Question A and inform the LIDC as soon as possible and in any event no later than 15 December 2023.

• Question B:  How should we approach copycat packaging ? 

Do registered designs file against copycats and on what legal basis (IP and/or Unfair Competition Law)?

International Rapporteur, Prof. Ilanah Fhima has agreed to be the International Rapporteur for Question B.

Context to be updated

https://www.ligue.org/document/528624ec737a79aa043ef0b52f90bdec

Past Congresses

The last LIDC Congress was be held in Gothenburg (Sweden) on 21-24 September 2023.

The questions discussed were the followings:

Question A

Do recent developments in enforcement, case-law, and guidance from competition authorities and regulators make the delineation between legitimate and efficient purchasing and supply arrangements and infringing conduct sufficiently clear in practice that businesses and their advisors know how to stay on the right side of the law?

Question B

What mechanisms exist to avoid over-broad trademarks and address concerns that the trademark registers are clogged (e.g. bad faith in Sky v SkyKick; requirements for evidence of use), and are these mechanisms effective?

More info here: https://www.ligue.org/congress/2023/

The conclusions from the working sessions and the reports can be found here (only for logged-in members): https://www.ligue.org/resources/search-in-all-documents/

Congresses Resolutions / Conclusions

LIDC resolutions adopted by the LIDC during the annual congress are available in the section Resources.

International and National Reports

LIDC international and National Reports adopted by the LIDC during the annual congress are available in the section Resources.

Photo Gallery

LIDC Webinars

Since 2018, the LIDC organises regularly lunchtime webinars on competition law and intellectual property hot topics. In the LIDC spirit, these webinars offer a comparative law approach to members.

The webinars are organised by Michel Ponsard and Nathalie Lobell Lastmann (Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the LIDC) and held jointly with the English and French Competition law association.

Next Webinars

The LIDC and Nex Gen will be holding a lunchtime webinar on Thursday 25 January from 1pm to 2.00 pm (CET) on: “Ownership of AI Works: IP and Competition Views”

Speakers:

Ben Evans LLM, School of Law and Centre for Competition Policy, UEA (UK)
Luca Schirru, Brazilian Copyright Institute and Centre for IT & IP Law (KU Leuven)
Dr Aris Georgopoulos, University of Nottingham, Law School (UK), Attorney Supreme Court (Greece)

Please see the flyer at this link for full details.

Past Webinars

LIDC Webinars 2023:

• 15 June on : “Interim Measures in Competition Law Cases: status, recent developments and areas for improvement – Part II”
• 20 April on “Green Claims as an Unfair Commercial Practice” ;
• 11 May on “Interim measures in competition law cases- status, recent developments and areas for improvement – Part I” ;
• 27 January on : “THE IMPACT OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE ON THE ENERGY MARKET AND THE ENERGY REGULATION”.

LIDC Webinars 2022

The LIDC organised various webinars during 2022: 

• 1 December 2022 on :“Exclusive dealing after Intel, Qualcomm and Google (Android) – a farewell to formalistic analysis?”
• 7 September 2022 on: “Digital Influencers and Online Advertising: regulatory landscape and issues” ;
• 8 March 2022 on: “What are the perspectives for the future of the Automotive Sector”;
• 19 July 2022 – on “Joint Purchasing and Buyer Cartels: a distinction without a difference?”

LIDC Webinars 2021

The LIDC organised various webinars during 2021: 

• 18 March at 1pm CET – “superior bargaining power/abuse of economic dependence”;
• 29 April at 2pm CET – “data protection in distribution”;
• On Thursday 11 February 2021, the LIDC hold a webinar on “Green Pact: New approach on competition and environment”.
• On 14 January 2021, the LIDC hold a webinar on “Protection of Brand Reputation”.

LIDC Webinars 2020

• Thursday 10 December 2020 – “Antitrust enforcement in relation to online sales”.

National competition authorities from around the world discussed their recent experience of applying antitrust laws to online sales.

• 15 October – “European Commission reform of the rules on verticals”;
• 12 November 2020 – “Protection of trade secrets/know-how in distribution relationships”;
• 30 April 2020 – “State Aid and Coronavirus– the UK and EU Perspective”.

LIDC Webinars 2019

• 5 November 2019 – “Excessive Pricing Cases in the UK and Italy”;
• 29 January 2019 – “E-Commerce/Geo-blocking in UK, France and Switzerland”;

LIDC Webinars 2018

• 23 November 2018 and 8 February 2019 – “Merger Control Regulation Hot Topics”.

Webinar recordings and webinars flyers are available in the section Resources.

Webinar Series

Since October 2020, the LIDC organise a series of webinars on verticals particularly related with the reform of the Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation (VBER).

The Webinars of the series held so far are the following:

• 15 October 2020 – “European Commission reform of the rules on verticals”;
• 12 November 2020 – “How to protect trade-secrets, know-how and other valuable information in distribution relationships”;
• 10 December 2020 – “Antitrust enforcement in relation to online sales”.
• 22 June 2022 – “THE REFORM OF THE RULES ON VERTICAL AGREEMENTS – WHAT’S NEW?”

LIDC Working Groups

LIDC members have always worked together in “transnational working groups” on relevant and current topics of interest.

The working groups provide a forum for informal discussions among members, and serve as an invaluable source of information and ideas based on a comparative method.

Members of the LIDC national groups and individual members of the LIDC are invited to join the following groups by simply sending an email to the LIDC Secretariat.

• Data Regulation & Digital Economy. The focus and other information about the group can be found below.
• Distribution, Franchising & eCommerce. The focus and other information about the group can be found below.
• State Aids.
• Unfair Competition. The focus and other information about the group can be found below.
• Copyright.

Jacques Lassier Price

To honour the memory of one of its former chairmen, Jacques LASSIER, Lawyer at the Bar of Paris, the LIDC has organised a competition to encourage written work on the subject of competition law.

The Jacques Lassier prize has lastly been awarded during the Congress that was held in Paris in 2019.

You will find here the Rules 2019 in English and in French.

Jacques Lassier Laureates since 1982

• 2019

Godefroy de Moncuit (France)
Faute lucrative et droit de la concurrence

• 2015

Nikolas Guggenberger (Germany)
Netzneutralität : Leitbilder und Missbrauchsaufsicht

Jan-Christoph Rudowicz (Germany)
Gun-Jumping under the EC Merger Regulation

Special Mention awarded to Benjamin Lehaire (France)
L’action privée en droit des pratiques anticoncurrentielles : pour un recours effectif des entreprises et des consommateurs en droit français et canadien

• 2013

Eckart Bueren (Germany)
Settlements in cartel cases
An examination of the European Commission’s settlement procedure with a comparative study and a law and economics analysis

• 2011

Jérôme Gtalter (France)
Le droit de la concurrence appliqué aux droits de propriété intellectuelle-Réflexions sur les nouveaux monopoles de la société de l’information.

Pablo Ibanez Colomo, (Spain)
European Communications Law and Technological Convergence. Deregulation, Re-regulation and Regulatory Convergence in Televison and Telecommunications.

• 2008

Nicolas Petit (Belgique/France)
Oligopoles, collusion tacite et droit communautaire de la concurrence.

• 2006

Laetitia Driguez (France)
Le droit social et le droit de la concurrence

David Bosco (France)
Le contrat exclusif

• 2002

Raphaël Arn (Suisse)
La publicité choquante – Vers une nouvelle dimension du droit de la concurrence déloyale

• 1998

Friedrich Ruffler (Autriche)
Der Einfluss des Europarchets auf das Österreichische UWG

• 1994

Daniel Fasquelle (France)
Droit américain et droit communautaires de ententes

• 1990

Dominique Graz (Suisse)
Propriété intellectuelle et libre circulation des marchandises

• 1986

Louis Vogel (France)
Concentration économique et système de droit de la concurrence

• 1982

Ludwig Linder (Allemagne)
Privatklage aund Schadensersatz in Kartell

LIDC ad-Hoc Groups

The General Reporter and the deputy General Reporter may, when agreed by the President, set up ex officio an ad hoc Committee entrusted with studying and taking a formal position, on behalf of the League, on particular questions or evolutions of competition law or commercial practices. They are responsible for appointing the president of such Committee.

Any member of the League, who has made sure that at least two members from other groups will participate, may request the setting up of an ad hoc Committee. To this end, the member should send a draft proposal of the subject to the General Reporter. This member will become the president of the ad hoc Committee.

As soon as an ad hoc Committee has been instituted, the presidents of the national groups shall appoint one or two members of their group, representing the interests concerned, who will participate in the Committee’s works.

Information about the setting-up of an ad hoc Committee and progress of its work shall be given as soon as possible on the website of the League, where the final report of the Committee will also be published.

Any proposal of adoption of a position on behalf of the League shall be submitted, before it is published or advertised, for the approval of the President and the General Reporter, who will check that it is representative and, in case of conflicting views, make sure that all important opinions are expressed.

The President and the General Reporter shall decide upon the communication of the results of the ad hoc Committees’ work out from the League.

The ad Hoc Committees, created so far, drafted the following documents:

• LIDC consultation on the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation;
• Remarks of the LIDC concerning the Draft of European Commission Regulation on Vertical Agreements;
• Comments on the Commission’s Green Paper on damages actions for breach of EC antitrust rules.

Other LIDC events

You will find in this page information of other events organised by the LIDC.

Register to the next LIDC events

In this page it would be possible for you to register for the next LIDC events.