Competition Law and Regulation of Technology Markets

The influence of European Competition Law is global, and Competition Law and Regulation of Technology Markets takes a practical, integrated approach to competition law, which is becoming increasingly prominent in the technology sector in Europe - as demonstrated by a number of high profile cases such as Microsoft, Sony/BMG and Intel.

The book focuses on the information, communication and media markets, that form the 'new economy'. It provides a coherent analysis of these various markets by considering the regulatory context, and by addressing the issues, and ensuing legal problems, that are common to them. These include; high fixed costs, the importance of intellectual property and standards, the impact of interoperability, and the prevalence of the network effect.

The book considers how EU competition rules interact with regulation, intellectual property law and data protection rules, and goes on to analyse the application of competition rules in four fields; communications networks, industrial intellectual property, creative intellectual property, and electronic commerce and services.. The book charts a clear path through this complex interaction of rules, and provides the competition law practitioner with the necessary tools to advise on legal problems in these sectors.

• The first practitioner work to give full examination to EU Competition Law within the information, communication and media markets
• Written by an official in the Directorate General for Competition in the European Commission with prior in-house experience at a global communications firm
• Outlines the areas where reform is being considered
• Refers to US developments where appropriate, for example, the US Microsoft case, and the Department of Justice business review letter on ex ante standardisation.