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Abstract:
Antitrust Law can be described as the set of legal rules that regulate the current or potential power of the companies on a certain market, on behalf of public interest. In practice, the Antitrust Law prohibits the execution of restrictive competition practices, the acquisition of a dominant position in the market through the accomplishment of these practices and the abuse of the dominant position.

This document is an approach to the analysis of one of the fundamental premises of this discipline, which states that the markets in competition produce greater benefits to society than the markets with monopolistic structures. In this order, we will analyze the origins, evolution and purpose of the Antitrust Law, the practical difficulties that the competition authorities must face 'particularly the Latin American authorities', and also the criticisms that have been formulated against the laws that develop Antitrust. For this is purpose the following subjects are exposed: 1) Origins and evolution of the Antitrust Law in the United States of America, the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean. 2) Economic Aspects of the Antitrust Law 3) Competitive markets and monopolistic markets. 4) Criticisms to the Antitrust Law 5) The challenges for the Latin American competition authorities.

Antitrust Law, monopolies, imperfect markets, restrictive practices and mergers & acquisitions

Abstract:
Merger review is one of the most important aspects of Competition Law. This tool allows competition authorities (when the review is ex ante as in the Colombian case) to hinder the transactions that unduly restrict competition or authorize them under certain conditions - through merger remedies - which guarantees the preservation of free competition in the markets. The purpose of this document is to present the Colombian merger control regime, determine its nature, its structure, identify the different doctrinal positions adopted by the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce and its evolution in the last years.

competition law, mergers & acquisitions, merger review, merger remedies, horizontal mergers, vertical mergers, conglomerate mergers, Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, Colombia

Abstract:
The objective of this document is to assess two questions that have a positive and normative nature respectively: 1) What incentives does the legal and institutional framework of the European Community (EC) and the United States (federal level) provide to the different agents involved in antitrust proceedings in regards to the use of expert economic testimonies? 2) What legal and social norms could provide appropriate incentives to the different agents involved in antitrust proceedings in order to align the use of expert economic testimonies with antitrust enforcement goals?

To answer the first research question and prepare the settings for the answer of the second question, the nature of the economic expertise applied in antitrust proceedings, its inherent difficulties (section 2), and the legal and institutional framework applied to them (section 3) are presented in detail.

Secondly, a general exposition of the problems posed by asymmetric information in theory (section 4.1) and concerning the relation between the adjudicator and the economic expert (section 4.2) is made, in order lay the foundations to identify the different factors that determine the incentives of the various "actors" in the proceedings (section 4.3).

Finally, to answer the second research question, the regulatory and non-regulatory features of US and EC enforcement systems are analyzed to identify which factors mitigate the information asymmetry problems. The different alternatives are presented in three different categories, namely, "evidentiary rules", "procedural rules and institutional design" and "a market for experts and the academic community" (section 4.4).

The document contains six conclusions that may be summarized in the following statement: regarding expert economic testimonies, an antitrust enforcement system must aim at the minimization of its costs through the mitigation of the consequences of asymmetric information between the adjudicator and the expert. Therefore a cost-benefit analysis of the use of expert witnesses must take into account the incentives produced by the interaction among the different regulatory and non-regulatory features of the antitrust enforcement system.

antitrust, EC competition law, US federal antitrust law, expert economic testimonies, quantitative methods, antitrust enforcement system and asymmetric information.

Abstract:
The objective of the document, written in Spanish, is to present the current competition laws in Latin America and Caribbean. Recent reforms and bills that are discussed by several Congresses of the region are also referenced. The legal background of competition laws in Latin America and Caribbean is divided in three periods of time, taking into account their issuance and effective enforcement. Due to a detailed reference to the web pages of the competition authorities, this document constitutes a guide for a first hand approach to competition law in seventeen countries of Latin America and Caribbean; likewise, the references to the legislative's web pages permit the monitoring of the amendments or the new bills that are discussed in the each national congress.

Latin America and Caribbean, competition laws, unfair competition laws, competition authorities

Abstract:
The reputation of a firm in the market is identified by the customers through symbols that convey information about the quality of the products, such as trade names, trade marks and other trade symbols. Companies invest important resources to build a good reputation regarding its products and services; hence, the strength, significance and recognition of trade marks, trade names and corporate names are important assets for a firm in any market.

The objective of this document is to explain the protection of trade symbols in the Colombian legislation and case-law. The document focuses on the protection of trade names, corporate names and the names of commercial premises and the prohibition - by the Unfair Competition Law - of two specific unfair competition types: likelihood of confusion and profit from another's reputation.

trade symbols, trade names, corporate names, unfair competition law, intellectual property rights, likelihood of confusion, profit from another's reputation

Abstract:
Competition policies were established in Panama, for the first time, through the enactment of the Law 29 of 1996 that constitutes their general consumer protection and competition regime. After the enactment of the Law 29 there has been an important regulatory development and issuance of Guidelines that instruct the citizens regarding the compliance of the competition rules.

This document, written in Spanish, presents the structure of the competition regime in Panama and the content of the recent reforms, especially the Decree Law No. 9 of 2006, current since May 2 of 2006. Additionally, the features of the enforcement of the statutes are explained in the context of the performance of the antitrust authorities.

ley de defensa de la competencia, practicas monopolisticas absolutas y relativas, poder sustancial de mercado, concentraciones economicas, Panama

Abstract:
This amicus brief was submitted on behalf of the Centro de Estudios de Derecho de la Competencia (CEDEC) in support of the articles of the Colombian competition law that allow the termination of an investigation through the offering of compromises. The Colombian Constitutional Court will be considering the question whether article 4 (numeral 12) and article 52 of the Decree 2153 of 1992 are unconstitutional. The brief describes the termination of proceedings through the acceptance of compromises in several jurisdictions, distinguishes the institution from leniency programs and argues for its constitutionality in the light of the Colombian 1991 Constitution.

Colombian competition law, compromises, leniency program