KG LEGAL KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI has vast cross border
experience in litigation, antitrust and competition law
We have extensive experience in handling Clients’
matters in litigation in courts and before administrative authorities in
Poland, involving claims such as price fixing, monopolization, unfair
competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, wrongful trade practices, other
business torts.
In the field of competition law, the specialist team
of our law firm conducts analyses of activities planned by clients in terms of
compliance with the Act on Combating Unfair Competition, prepares risk
assessment, recommendations and reports.
We provide legal assistance and represent clients in
administrative proceedings before the President of the Polish Office for the
Protection of Competition and Consumers (Polish UOKiK) and the European
authorities. We have extensive litigation experience, and full right of
audience in all courts, including representation of clients before common
courts and the Polish Supreme Court.
We prepare notifications of the intention of
concentration and represent clients in concentration control proceedings.
We advise on possible cooperation with antitrust
authorities (leniency, voluntary submission to penalty).
We advise on abuse of dominant position and price
fixing cases.
In the case of allegations of abuse of a dominant
position, we represent clients in proceedings before the competent antitrust
authorities.
We prepare draft contracts, recommendations, evaluate
contracts concluded by customers and familiarize them with the principles that
should be applied in relations with competitors, suppliers, distributors and
customers.
Selected recent cases within litigation and antitrust
/ competition law handled by KG LEGAL KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI:
- Our law firm represented US
client in the commercialization of the product in the energy sector. We advised
the company on concluding an agreement with two companies in the energy
technology industry. Its purpose was to create a JV company. One of the
partners was a state-owned enterprise and the entire transaction was subject to
increased regulatory oversight. The industry to which the contract pertained,
as well as the international aspect of the contract, made the transaction
complex and required pre-regulatory investigation. Using our experience as well
as knowledge of regulations in the field of regulatory consultancy, commercial
and economic matters as well as anti-monopoly law, we were able to draft and
negotiate the execution of the contract. At a later stage, our law firm assisted
our client to commercialize its technology in the field of energy.
- Our law firm represented a
European corporate client in a case against a mobile operator. The case
concerned unfair practices applied by an operator. We argued that the key terms
in the operator contract were unfair. The contract included the conditions for
unilaterally changing its contracts. The condition of changing the supplier or
its products or changing the fees without prior notice also acted to the
disadvantage of the customer. It was also crucial to impose conditions for
immediate termination of the contract and suspension of services, while still
charging corporate client. The case ended in favor of our client, and the court
admitted in its judgment that the operator applied unfair practices.
- We are assisting Polish Client
with international shareholding structure in the proceedings before the
President of UOKiK in the case involving verification of services provided by
commercial networks to suppliers of agri-food products. The services
implemented by the Client raised concerns of the Polish authority in relation
with possible price fixing for services consisting in the transport of products
from central warehouses of the chain to individual stores. The Polish authority
verifies (the case is pending) whether there are applied unfair practices
within the central distribution system for goods in an integral part of the
business model of retail chains.
- We have been instructed by one
of the major US internet providers in the case of obtaining consent for
concentration. The client planned a joint venture. The party to the transaction
was the Polish company as a part of European media concern based in Luxembourg.
Therefore, there was required the consent of the Polish Office for the
Protection of Competition and Consumers, in accordance with the European
Commission for such a concentration, based on Regulation 139/2004 Control of
concentration between undertakings (the Merger Regulation).
- One of our client was addressed
by the Polish Office for the Protection of Competition and Consumers and the
Polish Financial Supervision Commission to explain its practices related to the
client’s method of collecting data about competitive entities on the market and
information about transaction in teleinformatic network through innovative web
scraping methods. The subject matter of our assistance was a verification of
the legality of the application of such a technology by the client from the perspective
of using dominant position on the market. Our law firm has also prepared the
response to the Polish UOKiK in this respect. The proceedings are pending.
