A US trade judge has rejected Barnes & Noble’s claim that Microsoft is using its patents to distort competition in a dispute related to the use of Google's Android.

Salans has appointed Marat Mouradov as head of competition in the firm’s Moscow practice.

Health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has asked a federal court in Detroit to dismiss a competitor’s antitrust lawsuit against it, claiming that it is unjustified and potential damages would be “unsustainable”.

Italy’s Antitrust Authority has fined Estra Reti Gas and its parent company Estra about €270,000 for abusing their dominant position in the market for gas distribution.

The European Commission today announced it has opened an investigation of Samsung Electronics, over concerns the mobile company has distorted competition and abused its dominance by breaking patent licensing commitments.

Two automotive parts manufacturers have agreed to pay a total of US$548 million in fines and four executives will serve prison terms in what has become the largest antitrust investigation, in both scope and economic impact, in US history.

Bonn’s district court has denied Pfleiderer access to key leniency documents from a cartel investigation by Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (FCO), reigniting the debate over whether victims of cartels should be entitled to access confidential information to strengthen their case.

Italian insurance company Unipol’s €1.1 billion proposed acquisition of its rival Fondiaria-SAI risks stirring Italy’s Antitrust Authority’s concerns that the merger would create a dominant position, lawyers say.

Multiven has filed an abuse of dominance claim against its competitor Cisco Systems with Switzerland’s Competition Commission.

Mining companies Petmin and Thaba Chueu have announced they will appeal against South Africa’s Competition Commission’s decision to block Thaba’s purchase of a silica mine owned by Petmin.

The European Commission has restricted its antitrust investigation of airlines alliance SkyTeam to Air France-KLM, Alitalia and Delta.

The US Federal Trade Commission has sued to block Omnicare’s hostile bid for its rival PharMerica, saying a merger of the country’s two largest long-term care pharmacies had the potential to harm competition.

Shearman & Sterling has promoted James Webber to counsel at the firm’s London competition practice.

Lawyers for two rival powder paint companies have won the right to transfer the US Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit attempting to block their merger out of federal court in Washington, DC.