Polish Competition Authority Clarifies Merger Control Rules On Notification Of Extraterritorial Joint Ventures

Poland's Competition Authority has imposed record fines exceeding PLN900 million on major pharmaceutical wholesalers for systematically exchanging commercially sensitive information about drug prices, sales volumes, and commercial terms. The decade-long information exchange, conducted through IT tools embedded in pharmacy partnership programs, allowed wholesalers to avoid price competition and synchronize their pricing strategies. This landmark enforcement action demonstrates that sharing strategic commerci

The non-confidential version of the Dahua decision is not available yet and the case is not final. If the decision is appealed, the judgment(s) will be relevant for the PCA's investigative practice.

At the end of November, the Polish Competition Authority (UOKiK) imposed a fine exceeding PLN 76 million (approx. EUR 16.5 million) on Eurocash for the...

On 5 March 2025, the President of the Polish antitrust office (UOKiK) imposed more than PLN 66 m fines on Jura Poland sp. z o.o. and distributors for price fixing in relation to Jura equipment offered on the Polish market.

In response to the growing threat of fraud committed through online payment mechanisms, on October 23, 2024, the Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Authority ("UOKiK") presented recommendations for payment service providers titled "Actions to Reduce the Risk of Fraudulent Transactions".

This is made easier when they can view the bigger picture across Europe.

In a press release dated 5 April 2022, the DG COMP announced its decision to open a second-phase review of the proposed acquisition of Pfleiderer Polska sp. z o.o. by Kronospan Holdings P.L.C. after the merger was formally notified ...

UOKiK has published the final version of guidelines on commitment decisions, following public consultations which took place in June this year.

On July 24, 2025, amendments to Poland's investment control regime entered into force. Notably, the temporary foreign direct investment (FDI) provisions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 have now become permanent.

The takeover of online store Merlin.pl by NFI Empik, the owner of Empik, one of the biggest bookstore chains and online store in Poland has been blocked by UOKiK.

Japan has enacted sweeping amendments to its Act on the Protection of Personal Information, introducing an administrative surcharge regime with monetary penalties for data protection violations, new protections for children under 16 and biometric data, and expanded exceptions for data utilization in statistical analysis and AI development. The reforms, which take effect in stages through 2028, fundamentally reshape Japan's privacy enforcement landscape by granting the Personal Information Protection Commiss

The SEC has issued a groundbreaking Innovation Exemption allowing tokenized securities venues to facilitate trading of tokenized NMS stocks using automated market makers and liquidity pools. This temporary five-year exemption from exchange and dealer registration requirements establishes conditions for permissioned blockchain-based trading while granting public companies a 30-day window to object to third-party tokenization of their securities.

The European Commission's Industrial Accelerator Act proposes to reshape battery supply chains by conditioning access to EU public procurement and support schemes on strict origin requirements. As China controls over 80% of global battery manufacturing capacity, the legislation introduces escalating component-count thresholds that could fundamentally alter market access, financing structures, and supplier eligibility across the battery value chain.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued a circular that sets forth comprehensive guidelines and expectations for licensed corporations (LCs) regarding the responsible use...

The European Union's new Regulation on packaging and packaging waste has fundamentally transformed compliance requirements for companies placing packaged goods on the EU market, replacing decades-old directive-based frameworks with directly applicable product-law rules. While promising regulatory harmonization across member states, the reality presents a complex dual-compliance landscape where businesses must navigate both EU-wide packaging standards and diverging national implementation approaches.

Spain's draft Royal Decree introduces stringent energy sustainability, environmental, resilience and digital sovereignty requirements for data centers, including renewable additionality, hourly correlation, and efficiency standards. The regulation applies to all access and connection permits obtained after entry into force, with specific compliance deadlines for projects in progress and those with granted permits not yet connected to the grid.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, introducing two tailored exemptions from Securities Act registration requirements for certain offerings of covered investment contracts involving crypto assets. The proposal establishes a startup exemption allowing up to $5 million in offerings over four years and a two-tier fundraising exemption permitting offerings up to $75 million...

California has enacted a comprehensive package of four bills that fundamentally reshape online safety protections for minors, targeting addictive design features, data privacy practices, age verification systems, and platform liability. These new laws establish strict requirements for social media companies, including mandatory stripped-down interfaces for users under 16, enhanced privacy defaults, and potential damages up to $1 million for negligent harm to children. The legislation represents one of the m

One of the goals of the Mexican Constitutional reforms is to make the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) an "empresa productiva del Estado".

California Senate Bill 574 proposes a groundbreaking statutory framework that would prohibit attorneys from delegating legal practice to generative artificial intelligence, while imposing disclosure requirements and verification standards across litigation, arbitration, and court filings. The legislation raises fundamental questions about how traditional definitions of "the practice of law" apply to AI-augmented legal work, from document review to contract analysis. If signed by Governor Newsom, California