Italian Antitrust Authority fines a pharmaceutical group for nearly 3.5 million euros
The Italian Antitrust Authority (in Italian, “Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato”, “AGCM”) ended an investigation against a pharmaceutical group for abuse of a dominant position in the Italian market concerning the production and sale of a life-saving medicine. According to the AGCM, since June 2017, the pharmaceutical group imposed unreasonably onerous prices to the Italian National Healthcare Service for the sale of the above-mentioned medicine.
Considering the life-saving nature of the medicine, the AGCM fined the pharmaceutical group for nearly 3.5 million euros.
Source: Italian Antitrust Authority’s official website
Italian Antitrust Authority suspends the activation of unsolicited electricity and gas supply contracts
The AGCM adopted a precautionary measure against a gas and electricity supplier, suspending provisionally any action of the company aimed at activating electricity and gas supply contracts through teleselling, in the absence of a corresponding consent by the consumer, or as a result of misleading information, omission of information and undue conditioning.
Following the analysis of the complaints, the AGCM found that the seriousness and relevance conditions of the alleged practices existed. The Company must notify within 10 days the measures taken to suspend these practices.
Source: Italian Antitrust Authority’s official website
Italian Copyright Law: the Article 110-quater comes into force
On June 7, 2022, the Article 110-quater of the Italian Copyright Law, introduced by Legislative Decree no. 177 of November 8, 2021, pursuant to the European Directive known as the “Copyright Directive”, came into force.
The Article provides an obligation on licensees or assignees of rights of economic use to provide authors and performers, at least every six months, with updated, relevant and complete information on the use of their works and artistic performances.
The Italian Ministry of Economic Development on international patent applications entering the Italian national examination phase by the Italian Patent and Trademark Office
With circular no. 618 dated June 6, 2022, the Ministry of Economic Development (in Italian, “Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico”, “MISE”) provided clarifications regarding the filing and examination procedures of international patent applications entering the Italian national examination phase by the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (in Italian, Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi, “UIBM”).
In particular, the above-mentioned circular provides instructions regarding the documents to be submitted to open the examination phase by the UIBM, the deadlines for activating such phase and other details relating to conformity declarations of the Italian translation of documents originally drafted in a foreign language.
Source: Italian Ministry of Economic Development’s official website
The new call for proposals relating to the Italian 5G Plan
On May 20, 2022, Infratel Italia, an in-house company of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, published the new call for proposals relating to the Italian 5G Plan (in Italian, “Piano Italia 5G”), concerning the allocation of public subsidies for the construction of new network infrastructures capable of providing mobile radio services with transmission speeds of at least 150 Mbit/s in the downlink and 30 Mbit/s in the uplink.
The Italian 5G Plan aims at promoting the dissemination of mobile networks in 5G technology that can ensure a significant improvement of connectivity quality in areas where a network suitable for providing 30 Mbit/s connectivity under typical rush-hour traffic conditions is not present, nor will be in the next five years.
Source: Infratel Italia’s official website
Italian Communications Guarantee Authority warns the Italian national public service broadcasting company
With resolution no. 185/22/CONS published on June 8, 2022, the Italian Communications Guarantee Authority (in Italian, “Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni”, “AGCOM”) formally warned the Italian national public service broadcasting company for violating the principles of par condicio and pluralism of information during the 2022 referendum campaign.
According to the Authority, during the monologue of an actress, host of a well-known Italian variety programme, voting information was provided, although indirectly, in violation of Italian Law no. 28 of 2000.
Source: Italian Communications Guarantee Authority’s official website
The Court of Rome on unfair competition’s discipline
With judgment no. 7955 /2022, the Court of Rome held that an essential condition of unfair competition is the existence of a competitive situation between two or more entrepreneurs, arising from the simultaneous exercise of the same industrial or commercial activity even in a potential common territorial area.
The Court of Rome specified that a situation of commonality of customers is required, consisting not in the subjective identity of the products’ purchasers, but in the totality of consumers who feel the same market need and, as a result, turn to all the products capable of satisfying that need.
