ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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Towards a Better Digital Market Governance

Looking into the efficacy of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, a model for platform regulation is suggested for India. Ensuring a level playing field in the Indian digital markets could pose a challenge, where the Competition Commission of India needs to cater to the interests of the consumers as well as the industry and ensure economic democracy for new players, big or small, in the market.

A Study of Technological Advent and its Impact on Competition In India

Technology-based innovations and the dynamics of their commercialisation have piqued the interest of entrepreneurs and the business community. Compared to traditional "brick and mortar" markets, competition in the digital economy necessitates more attention. The two-way user community that links the service supplier and the consumer is a distinctive feature of the digital economy. The abuse of the dominant position in the digital market is becoming more widespread than in traditional marketplaces. One of the numerous variables contributing to the rise in abuse of the dominant position in the digital market is the lack of entry restrictions. Google is one such example criticised for stifling competition and innovation. Furthermore, Mergers and Acquisitions is a robust platform that can foreclose future markets and curb innovation; instead of competing on merits, it would leverage its market power and is likely to prevent others from competing on merits. The Whatsapp-Facebook merger, a landmark transaction, was regarded as a restriction of competition in the relevant market. In a series of cases, the Competition Commission of India has highlighted blatant problems in identifying and interpreting the CCI’s jurisdiction after technological advancement. The paper will discuss anti-competitive aspects, the effects of mergers and acquisitions, and the privacy risks of the digital economy, with an emphasis on the Indian scenario.

Hyundai and the Law of Resale Price Maintenance in India

The Competition Commission of India’s landmark order in the Hyundai case on resale price maintenance is analysed in light of the CCI’s broader decisional practice on RPM. It finds that, unlike in other cases, the CCI did not examine the possible benefits of RPM in increasing the sale of cars. In effect, the CCI presumed that the very existence of the discount control measure was unlawful, without the need to assess competitive effects. The Hyundai case is used to highlight the inconsistencies in the CCI’s decisional practice on RPM.

Conflict between Regulation and Competition Law in the Indian Telecom Sector

The debate regarding the respective realms of competition law and economic regulation is not new. In the Indian context, complaints filed against the telecom incumbents Airtel, Vodafone and Idea by Reliance Jio before the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Competition Commission of India bring to the fore such an example. This case is analysed primarily through the legal standpoint, and it is argued that competition law intervention is warranted only in “gap” cases: where the regulatory regime cannot account for consumer welfare. Where the regulatory and competition agency reach conflicting decisions, the issue can be resolved by a third body whose decision is binding on both the regulator and the competition agency.

Two Countries, One Corporation and Its Intellectual Property Rights

Monsanto is known to throw tantrums when it does not get the kind of protection it wants from governments for its intellectual property assets, threatening to leave countries if they do not provide it. This has happened in Argentina and now in India. These may look like country-specific disputes on genetically modified seed technologies, but there is much more than what meets the eye.

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