One of Morrison & Foerster’s greatest strengths is its competition practice. In addition to frequent contacts with the European
Commission in Brussels, our lawyers are dealing on a regular basis with antitrust agencies in the different EU Member States.
We also have significant experience advising companies with respect to the EU Merger Control Regulation and national merger
control filings and are recognized as a market leader in assisting global businesses to devise practical and strategic solutions
to the challenges posed by international privacy and data protection laws. We advise on all issues relating to privacy and
trans-border data transfers around the world. Lawyers in our European offices have extensive experience in advising clients
from all sectors on privacy and data protection issues and in consulting and negotiating with the European institutions and
national data protection authorities throughout Europe on privacy matters.
Investigations
Lawyers in our Brussels office have successfully represented companies in antitrust proceedings in different industries, ranging
from telecommunications, IT and banking to food additives and the chemical industry.
Morrison & Foerster has a particular expertise in dealing with IP and antitrust related issues. For example, we are currently
involved in a number of Commission investigations of patent pools as well as the Commission’s investigation of standard setting
the in mobile industry.
Together with their colleagues in the U.S., lawyers in the Brussels office have also represented European companies and individuals
in criminal price fixing investigations in the U.S.
Merger control proceedings
We frequently counsel companies contemplating mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures as well as represent them if their
transactions are reviewed by the European Commission or Member State antitrust agencies. Lawyers in our Brussels office have
assisted clients in obtaining approval of a number of significant mergers and acquisitions in a variety of industries in recent
years, including Digital Rights Management, LCD technology, hardware (hard disks and other recording media), and software.
Counseling practice
The firm’s lawyers counsel clients regarding a wide range of antitrust issues. Lawyers in the Brussels office regularly provide
advice with reference to IP licensing, life sciences, collaboration agreements and patent pools. In this respect, we have
developed a particular expertise in advising bio-tech companies with respect to antitrust issues relating to their collaboration,
marketing and licensing agreements.
Representative clients/matters:
- Fujitsu – joint ventures on non-volatile memory, on cash dispensers and servers.
- Hitachi – acquisition of IBM’s hard disk drive business.
- Matsushita Electric – several EU and national antitrust investigations.
- Mercury – EU merger control review proceedings of HP’s acquisition of Mercury.
- Nikon – advice on IP Settlement Agreement.
- Panasonic Mobile Communications – ongoing Commission investigation of Qualcomm’s alleged abusive licensing practices in the mobile industry.
- TDK – sale of its recording media business (including branded tape, DVD, CD, and similar products) to Imation for $300 million
in Imation shares and cash. Filings were made in Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland and Greece.
- Thomson – EU merger control investigation of its acquisition of a stake in ContentGuard.
