A Re-evaluation of the Abuse of Excessive Pricing

Abstract

The rarely enforced abuse of excessive pricing under Article 102(a) TFEU is being re-evaluated by regulators in the EU and UK as a useful tool to deal with instances of excessive pricing in markets concerning pharmaceuticals and copyright collecting societies. Digital platforms, acting as gatekeepers, can also exploit intermediation power and impose excessive prices on ‘locked-in’ customers within narrow proprietary markets. Competition law principles, as opposed to sector-specific regulation, should determine general rules beyond the application to particular markets. This chapter argues that a review of the EU case law demonstrates that while liability has been imposed on the basis of the complex assessment of economic evidence, a clearer development of the legal rules and limiting principles needs to be established if the abuse is to be successfully enforced.

Keywords: Antitrust, Abuse of dominance, monopolization, excessive pricing, unfairness, aftermarkets

JEL Classification: K10, K21