THE LITIGATOR - Review of Competition Law - April 2007 Contributors: Michael Osborne , Jennifer Cantwell, Kyle Peterson , Sonny Ingram, Michael Binetti, and Adam Wygodny TOP STORIES Appeal court revises test for abuse of dominant position In identifying anti-competitive acts, one must ask whether the conduct had an intended predatory, exclusionary or disciplinary effect on a competitor, not on competition, the Federal Court of Appeal held in overturning the Tribunal’s 2005 finding that Canada Pipe’s rebate program was not anti-competitive.... [more] Full article

The open source movement has led to the development of many useful applications, including the popular browser Firefox and the operating system Linux. But is it against the law to give software away for free? In a recent case, a US court said that open source software does not violate US antitrust laws. [more] Full article

Governments must refund money they collect through unconstitutional taxes, and cannot rely on the so-called ""passing-on"" defence to avoid repayment, the Supreme Court ruled in January 2007.The court's rejection of the passing-on defence may have major implications in private litigation, particularly competition (antitrust) cases. [more] Full article

Canada's telecommunications industry is about to experience a massive shift from intrusive sectoral regulation to open markets. The Competition Bureau recently issued guidance on the application of the abuse of dominance provisions of the Competition Act to the telecommunications industry. Industry Minister Bernier has introduced legislation to provide for fines of up to $15 million against a telecommunications service provider found to have abused its dominant position. Mr. Bernier has also announced new rules that will accelerate deregulation of local telephone services. [more] Full article

Can consumers who obtain a defective product for free recover profits earned by the manufacturer, even though those consumers suffer no damages whatsoever? Most non-lawyers would likely say: no. However, the Ontario Divisional Court recently affirmed a decision certifying a class action against Johnson & Johnson that raises this question. [more] Full article