Diederik Schrijvershof and Paul Breithaupt advise a construction company on a cooperation with several competitors. Through the cooperation, the construction companies involved intend to combine their knowledge and expertise, as a result of which certain construction processes can be handled more efficiently and effectively. Maverick Advocaten provided the company with advice on the compatibility of the intended cooperation with the cartel prohibition.
Competitors have various legitimate reasons to cooperate (e.g. joint research or the development of new products). A cooperation between competitors is permissible under competition law if the cooperating companies can (continue to) determine their market behaviour independently of each other. If, as a result of a cooperation, companies no longer behave independently of each other (e.g. by coordinating their market behaviour), they may infringe the cartel prohibition laid down in Article 6 Dutch Competition Act and Article 101 TFEU.
For more information on the cartel prohibition, click here. For information on a dawn raid by the ACM or the European Commission, see www.invalacm.nl and this video briefing.
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