Be Careful What You Discuss With Competitors

Be careful what you discuss with competitors

EU and Irish competition law requires competitors to act strictly independently of each other in the market and prohibits businesses from entering into anti-competitive agreements or engaging in concerted practices. This is not limited to formal agreements, and includes any sort of informal arrangement or discussion between businesses, whether written or verbal, that has an anti-competitive object or effect.

Trade associations, companies and individuals (such as directors) may all be liable for breaches of the competition rules. Sharing competitively sensitive information (whether directly or indirectly through a third party) can breach competition law, as it may facilitate collusion between companies, allowing those companies to engage in cartel activities such as price fixing, market sharing, limiting output and bid rigging.