Here.
A few selected topics:
Taxi industry and disruptive innovation
P.30: "States and Territories should
remove regulations that restrict competition in the taxi industry, including from services that compete with taxis, except where it would not be in the public interest.
If restrictions on
numbers of taxi licences are to be retained, the number to be issued should be determined by independent regulators focused on the
interests of consumers."
P. 139: "Mobile technologies are emerging that compete with traditional taxi booking services and support the emergence of innovative passenger transport services. Any regulation of such services should be consumer-focused and
not inhibit innovation or protect existing business models."
IP and competition policy
P.31: "The Panel recommends that an
overarching review of intellectual property be undertaken by an independent body, such as the Productivity Commission. The review should
focus on competition policy issues in intellectual property arising from new developments in technology and markets.
The review should also assess the principles and processes followed by the Australian Government when establishing negotiating mandates to incorporate intellectual property provisions in international trade agreements.
Trade negotiations should be informed by an independent and transparent analysis of the
costs and benefits to Australia of any proposed IP provisions. Such an analysis should be undertaken and published
before negotiations are concluded."
{P. 80-87 are already on my students' mandatory reading list.}
RPM and Retail MFN
P. 46 f.: "The Panel considers that there is
not a sufficient case at this time for changing the prohibition of RPM from a per se prohibition to a competition based test. It would be appropriate, though, to allow business to seek exemption from the prohibition more easily. This could be achieved through allowing RPM to be assessed through the
notification process, which is quicker and less expensive for businesses than authorisation. This change would also have the advantage of allowing the ACCC to assess RPM trading strategies more frequently, and thereby provide better
evidence as to the competitive effects of RPM in Australia."
P. 234 f.: "Historically, RPM has been considered in the context of ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers. RPM is now emerging as an issue for new models of digital-based retailing. eBay states, based on annual surveys of its sellers, that around a
quarter of sellers are instructed by their suppliers to sell at recommended retail prices (...)
RPM in digital markets also recently received significant international legal
attention when Apple was found to have breached EU and US competition laws
by fixing the prices of e-books in collaboration with five publishers."
Big Data, Personal Data Protection and Competition Policy
P.129: "Markets work best when consumers are engaged, empowering them to
make informed decisions. There is capacity to enhance Australian
consumers’
access to data on their own usage of utility services in a
usable format to assist consumers to make better informed decisions.
e
-
books
in collaboration with fivepublishers."
.JPG)
Agreements between Amazon and publishers are starting rolling out, see here and here. It is not very hard to predict that these agreements will come to be scrutinized quite closely by competition authorities on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. While, it seems, conspiracy theories this time round could be safely ruled out, it would be high time to develop comprehensive assessment criteria with regard to vertical restraints triggered by, or in the context of, electronic platforms. 
IP and competition policy.png)
