Competition Law & COVID-19 - Update 2020 - Online CPD

Package includes:

Online CPD Module  l  Electronic booklet  l  PowerPoint Presentation

Package Fee (incl GST)

• $125 - NZLS members and Associate members
• $175 - Non-members

Note: Access to the online files is via your "My CPD" page. If you would like to purchase multiple packages, please contact us here.

Online CPD Module

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has focused the lens on how competition law applies as the business environment rapidly changes. Your clients are facing new challenges to stay in operation and maybe exploring opportunities to collaborate with competitors. This seminar provides a practical approach to competition law in these extraordinary times with financial pressures which may result in companies attempting to merge.

This seminar will include:

• Competition law fundamentals refresher
• Overview of trade practices
• New "cartel conduct" prohibitions and mergers
• The recent “epidemic period” amendments to the Commerce Act
• The Commerce Commission’s COVID-19 guidelines.

Please contact us if you use a dial up internet connection.

Learning objectives

By completing this module you will be able to:

• Up-to-date on current issues in trade practices and mergers.
• Able to effectively advise clients on the recent legislative amendments and Commerce Commission guidelines which have been made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Electronic paper 

Authors: Neil Anderson, Dr Mark Berry, Lucy Cooper
Published: 21 July 2020
Pages: 22

Overview

Part 2 of the Commerce Act 1986 prohibits certain conduct (restrictive trade practices) including:

• contracts, arrangements or undertakings which have the purpose, effect, or likely effect of substantially lessening competition (SLC) in a market [s 27];
• entering into cartel provisions such as price-fixing, restricting output and market-sharing arrangements among competitors [s 30] – although there is a broad exception for collaborative activities [s 31];
• resale price maintenance (RPM) arrangements by which suppliers of goods set and enforce sale prices to be charged by re-sellers [s 37]; and
• taking advantage of a substantial degree of market power (SMP) for an anti competitive purpose [s 36].

There is the ability to seek authorisation, on public benefit grounds, of arrangements that might otherwise be unlawful on the basis of a substantial lessening of competition [s 58]. For arrangements that contain a cartel provision, a formal (and as yet unused) clearance process is also available, which requires analysis of the collaborative activities exception, and whether the arrangement would be likely to substantially lessen competition [s 65A].¹
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¹ During the “epidemic period”, it is also possible to apply for authorisation for an arrangement containing a carte provision – this is described in the final section of this paper.

PowerPoint Presentation

These are the slides included in the presentation.