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ARTICLE · 26 SEPTEMBER 2025

Cartel Intel – Updates From Our Global Network

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

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As competition authorities across the EU and the UK continue to focus on cartel enforcement, this bulletin provides an update on key developments in recent months.

GlobalAntitrust/Competition Law
Francesca Morra
Francesca Morra
Marcel Nuys
Marcel Nuys
Henar González Durántez
Henar González Durántez
Sergio Sorinas
Sergio Sorinas
Kyriakos Fountoukakos
Kyriakos Fountoukakos
Stephen Wisking
Stephen Wisking
Jean Meijer
Jean Meijer
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Welcome to the 15th edition of Cartel Intel!

As competition authorities across the EU and the UK continue to focus on cartel enforcement, this bulletin provides an update on key developments in recent months. In particular, we discuss the German Federal Cartel Office's fine imposed on Sennheiser and Sonova for resale price maintenance practices in the distribution of premium headphones, in which sales teams used coded language and digital tools to align resale prices within a selective distribution system. We also report on the Italian Competition Authority's investigation into the National Bar Council's "fair remuneration" rule, which the authority considers may restrict competition by dissuading lawyers from offering discounted fees, even in the absence of significant client bargaining power. We cover the Spanish National Court's annulment of fines imposed by the Spanish Competition Authority on several textbook publishers and a trade association, after

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