In Conversation With IPR & Competition Law

In this final episode of three part series with Mr. Alexei Ghertescu, Aditya Trivedi discusses with him some concepts of competition law and his views. They discuss competition compliance for businesses; enforcement tools to investigate anti-competitive practices; merger control; leniency programs and their effectiveness to detect and deter cartels. Finally, they discussed consumer welfare which is often cited as a primary objective of competition law.

In this episode, Aditya Trivedi discusses with Mr. Alexei Ghertescu, Chairman, Moldovan Competition Council on Moldova's EU Accession and Competition Regulations of the jurisdiction. They discuss basic features of the competition law of Moldova, and the decision of Moldova's accession to the EU, its impact on competition regulations, challenges in the process etc. They discuss a great detail on state aid legislation and jurisdiction of the Council on public authorities. Hon'ble Chair also mentioned how he utilizes his experience of being a lawyer and academician in his current role as an enforcer.

In this podcast with Mr. Anshuman Sakle, Partner at Khaitan & Co, Aditya Trivedi and Ritika Ghosh, explore the dynamic nexus of private equity and competition law. Delving into the nuanced challenges of regulatory advancements, common directorships, merger control and enforcement hurdles faced by PE firms. Insightful discussion with Mr. Sakle where he walks through on navigating this complex landscape vis-a-vis shedding practical light on the process and regulatory protocols.

In this episode, Aditya Trivedi interacts with Mr Arjun Nihal Singh, Partner designate, Luthra and Luthra Law Offices India on Cartels and Leniency from a practitioner's point of view. The conversation includes practical insights into cartel cases, investigations, compliance, advice to businesses etc. They discussed the draft regulations by CCI on Lesser Penalty (including Leniency Plus); global collaboration between competition authorities; landmark cases on cartels and their status; digital markets and cartels; cross border cartel investigations; hub and spoke cartels and CCI's investigations and market study in cement sector.

In this episode, Pablo Trevisán, Former Commissioner, Argentine Competition Commission, interacts with Aditya Trivedi on the pitfalls of Antitrust Enforcement and overview of Argentine competition law. They discuss the functioning of the National Commission for Competition Defense, Argentina and institutional setup of Defence of Competition (LDC) in Argentina. He explains what he considers as 'pitfall' with respect to antitrust enforcement and to what extent and by what means they are curable. They also discuss ex-post assessment of merger remedies, challenges and balance needed. He lastly commented on the antitrust enforcement regime in Argentina and the need for reforms.

In this episode, Mr. Akshayy S Nanda, Partner, Saraf and Partners, interacts with Aditya Trivedi on India's latest Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and its interface with competition laws. They discuss the salient features of the legislation, Supreme Court's verdict on right to privacy; legislative history of the Act; comparison with Europe's GDPR; expected government regulations; and finally its interplay with competition laws, jurisdiction overlaps between CCI and the Proposed Data Protection Board, et al.

In this episode with Mr. Michele Carpagnano, Head of Antitrust Practice, Dentons, Italy, strike an interesting conversation with Aditya and Ritika, the hosts, on Foreign investment screening laws in the lens of national security risks, interacting closely with competition law. He highlights, FDI regulation involves scrutiny in Europe, cooperation among member states, and a delicate balance between openness and safeguarding strategic interests. He answers on intersection of FDI screening and merger control necessitates cooperation to address security concerns and maintain fair competition. Takeways on Tightening national investment screening will impact FDI inflows, requiring a careful balance between security and economic openness.

In this episode, Mr. Gene Burrus, US based Competition Attorney and Former Director of Spotify's Global Competition Policy interacts with Aditya Trivedi and Rishika Jain on 'Competition law in Digital Markets: Changing Dynamics'. They discuss briefly the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. Further, practices like self-preferencing, data portability, cases of FTC, network effects and market power of digital platforms, AI and Blockchain, data and antitrust were discussed in detail from a global and American antitrust viewpoint.

In this episode, Dr. Assimakis Komninos, Partner, White & Case, Brussels discusses with Aditya Trivedi and Ritika Ghosh about Antitrust and Populism - Emerging Global trends. They discuss the evolving relation between populism and antitrust in today's global landscape. Dr. Komninos, drawing on his extensive research and expertise, shed light on the influence of populist movements and political pressures on antitrust decisions in different jurisdictions, providing notable examples of how these forces shape policies and enforcement. Populist sentiments were shown to particularly target big tech companies, raising concerns about their market power and influencing the regulatory landscape in the digital sphere. Dr. Komninos also emphasized the tension between economic theories and populist-driven policies, examining how regulators navigate these challenges. Dr. Komninos shared insights into the European Union's response to populism in its competition policy. Looking ahead, the discussion pondered the most pressing issues at the intersection of antitrust and populism in the coming years.

In this episode we have Niharika Salar who is a PhD Candidate at Queens University, Belfast who formerly served as an Assistant Professor of Law at NALSAR Hyderabad discusses with Isheta and Sonal about Intellectual Property within cultural appropriation; Beyond IP, what are some other ways in which cultural appropriation harms a cultural identity; Protection the indigenous people can rely on from the current IPR regime, and the gaps in the regime where it fails; Concept of the 3 C’s of IPR developed by the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative, which talks about consent, credit and compensation; et al.

In this episode, Thibault Schrepel discusses with Aditya Trivedi and Ananya Srivastava on 'Generative AI and Competition law'. They discuss aspects of generative artificial intelligence (AI); interconnection between network and platform effects; computational resources; Bigtech and generative AI; competition policies and AI; non-price competition; FTC cases; data and antitrust; and antitrust enforcement strategy and tools needed to tackle unfair aspects of generative AI. Questions - 1. Welcome to the Podcast, Sir. Please explain the interconnection between network and platform effects and how could Generative AI use them against healthy competition? 2. What are computational resources, which are deemed as one of the key building blocks of Generative AI and how it could be abused to cause unfair competition? 3. How do you think Generative AI can strengthen the positions of the Big Tech in the digital market? 4. How can the policies formulated be accommodating of the dynamism of Generative AI, and what are some indispensable considerations that must be made in such policies? 5. In your working paper titled "Competition Between AI Foundation Models: Dynamics and Policy Recommendations", there is primarily non-price driven competition. What should be the focus of enforcement agencies to effectively regulate competition? 6. The FTC and DOJ have cited several possible anti-competitive conducts that might emerge from Generative AI. Do you think that there could be more such conducts that the FTC and DOJ might have lost sight of and that require equal or more of their attention? 7. As a former FTC official once explained, “everywhere the word ‘algorithm’ appears, please just insert the words ‘a guy named Bob’ . . . . If it isn’t ok for a guy named Bob to do it, then it probably isn’t ok for an algorithm to do it either.” What is your opinion regarding this statement? 8. The FTC has argued that “incumbents have accumulated large amounts of user data over years” and have “developed and honed proprietary data collection tools”. What (measures) according to you would help the new players compete effectively with incumbents when it comes to data collection? 9. Do you think that robust enforcement is the right approach for tackling anti-competitive conducts of Generative AI?

In this episode, Carolina Diniz Panzolini who is an International Consultant & Professor on Copyright & Intellectual Property, talks about importance of copyright registration for filmmaker, with Isheta & Sonal about the process of work, and what benefits can filmmakers gain from registering their works with copyright offices; Collaboration between creators and organizations like WIPO and CISAC can significantly impact the protection of intellectual property rights in the film industry, success stories or examples where such collaborations have made a notable difference for filmmakers; Emphasised on free publications made available by WIPO on the wipo.int website, including materials with specific information for cultural and creative economic chains, authors and rights holders, as is the case with audiovisuals; the advent of new distribution models and online platforms, global audiences now have easier access to films if it affects the enforcement of intellectual property rights, especially when dealing with potential copyright infringement across international borders; examples of well-executed brand integrations in movies as we can see in the case of The Barbie movie collaborating with ALDO, Fossil, Airbnb and many more brands, and how can they contribute to the film's success; In the context of movies and TV shows, what is the key difference between product placement and brand endorsement, and how do they impact the on-screen narrative and viewer perception et al.

In this episode, Aditya Trivedi discusses with Mr Alexei Ghertescu, Hon'ble Chairman, Moldovan Competition Council about the challenges faced by small competition agencies like Moldova. They discuss resource constraints, need for inter-agency cooperation, changes after prospective accession to EU, etc. This episode highlights the differences in approach of supranational antitrust agencies and national agencies, importance of inter-agency working groups, international competition network, etc.

In this episode, Aditya Trivedi and Ritika Ghosh interact with Yordan Manev, Legal & Compliance Officer, CUSOP (Payments) DAC. They discuss his thesis on Political economy of (substantial) market power. The conversation centres around structural contradictions within competition law; economic underpinnings; Keynesian economics on effective demand and state intervention; regulatory interfaces of competition policy; and political nature of competition policy with dominant economic ideology. Disclaimer: the WWII casualty figures quoted in this recording include military personnel only. Note: The views of the guests are personal and have no affiliation with the podcast or the hosts.

In this episode, Ms. Ivančica Bobek, a corporate lawyer based in Croatia discusses with Aditya Trivedi and Subhi Pastor about the Commitments under Croatia Competition Regime. They discuss about the objective of commitments in a competition regime and how commitments differ from the settlements. She comments on how the Croatian Competition Agency (“CCA”) views commitments and whether CCA accepts commitments for cartel infringements. Further, they also discuss if the excessive use of the commitments framework potentially is harmful for competition regimes and the need of proper regulations to strike a balance. Lastly, they conclude by discussing some of the lessons that the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) must learn from the CCA and the EC in light of Competition (Amendment) Bill,2023 which introduces the Commitments regime in India.