Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Recent competition law literature is rife with references to a new type of markets which would arguably require specifi c treatment under the EU competition rules.The labels used to describe these markets vary: high-technology industries, 1 dynamically competitive industries, 2 innovative industries, 3 the digital economy, 4 the innovation economy, 5 etc.One common feature of all of these expressions is that they seek to encompass the "new economy," 6 ie sectors as diverse as microprocessors, computer software, online distribution, the internet, etc.Maybe more importantly, another feature common to all of these notions is that, in those industries, technology plays a pivotal role in the competitive process.Hence, in the remainder of this paper, we refer to those markets as "technology-enabled markets".Against this background, we consider that it is not possible to answer the question whether established legal standards should be reconsidered in technology-enabled markets without fi rst understanding what those markets really are, what they comprise and what makes them special.The fi rst step in our assessment should therefore consist in trying to circumscribe as precisely as possible the notion of a technology-enabled market.In layman's terms, technology is defi ned as the use of science for industrial and commercial purposes.Because most markets in today's economy can be said to be technology-enabled, including ageing industries from the nineteenth 1 See J Temple Lang, "European Community Antitrust Law-Innovation Markets and High Technology Industries" (New York, Fordham Corporate Law Institute, 17 October 1996),
Source: European Competition Journal
Authors: Miguel Rato, Nicolas Petit
Institutions: University of Liège, European University Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1999284382