6th GRUR Int./JIPLP Joint Seminar “Internet search engines in the focus of EU antitrust law – a closer look at the broader picture”

Since the beginning of 2013, the German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (GRUR) and Oxford University Press (OUP),have formed a publishing partnership to foster the exchange of content between GRUR’s journal Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht, Internationaler Teil (GRUR Int.) and the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (JIPLP), a publication of OUP. Under the agreement, both journals are including a section in each issue which is filled by interesting content from the partner journal. In addition to that, the partners are offering a series of bi-annual Joint Seminars in London and Munich.

Against the background of the EU Commission’s current investigation regarding Google Search, the 6th GRUR Int. / JIPLP Joint Seminar, which will be held at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich, will examine and discuss the challenges concerning the application and enforcement of competition law in digital markets in particular with regards to search engines. Furthermore, it will be explored whether an adaptation of established concepts and instruments of competition law is warranted in order to adequately account for the distinct economic characteristics of digital markets.

Experts in law and in economics from Germany and the UK will

• inform on the allegations against Google in the EU Commission’s current investigation;
• identify the economic characteristics of the relevant digital markets and discuss the potential competition concerns;
• develop principles on the definition of the relevant markets that necessarily has to precede the identification of market dominance;
• discuss potential theories of harm as a basis for enforcement action;
• look at justifications available to dominant operators of search engines;
• discuss the potentials of public and private enforcement of competition law in digital markets;
• analyse the competition, consumer protection and privacy concerns that arise from the use of data in such markets;
• and discuss whether in view of the particular features of digital markets competition law is in need of reform.

The Seminar will take place on Wednesday, 28 October 2015 from 14.00 – 19.30 at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich, Germany. It will be held in English language without simultaneous translation. The seminar is open and free of charge. Please note that room availability is limited to 100 seats so that we recommend an early registration. The will be event by a cocktail reception for all participants.

Programme

The presentations of the speakers are now available for download. For access please click on the tab "Downloads" below.