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CHAPTER II |
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ABUSE OF DOMINANT POSITION |
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Introduction |
| Enactments replaced. |
17. Sections 2 to 10 of the Competition Act 1980 (control of anti-competitive practices) shall cease to have effect.
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The prohibition |
| Abuse of dominant position. |
18. - (1) Subject to section 20, any conduct on the part of one or more undertakings which amounts to the abuse of a dominant position in a market is prohibited if it may affect trade within the United Kingdom.
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(2) Conduct may, in particular, constitute such an abuse if it consists in-
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(a) directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices or other unfair trading conditions; |
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(b) limiting production, markets or technical development to the prejudice of consumers; |
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(c) applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage; |
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(d) making the conclusion of contracts subject to acceptance by the other parties of supplementary obligations which, by their nature or according to commercial usage, have no connection with the subject of the contracts. |
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(3) In this section-
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"dominant position" means a dominant position within the United Kingdom; and |
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"the United Kingdom" means the United Kingdom or any part of it. |
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(4) The prohibition imposed by subsection (1) is referred to in this Act as "the Chapter II prohibition".
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| Abuse of dominant position by national newspaper. |
19. - (1) Any conduct on the part of one or more national newspaper undertakings which amounts to an abuse of a dominant position is prohibited if it may reduce the diversity of the national newspaper press in the United Kingdom by reducing, retarding, injuring or eliminating competition.
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(2) Conduct may, in particular, constitute such an abuse if it consists in-
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(a) any of the forms of conduct specified in section 18(2); |
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(b) other action which may reduce the diversity and independence of the national newspaper press; |
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(c) imposing selling prices below marginal cost of production on a persistent basis. |
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(3) In this section "dominant position" means holding a substantial degree of market power in the national newspaper market in the United Kingdom.
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(4) The prohibition imposed by subsection (1) is referred to in this Act as "the press diversity prohibition".
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Excluded cases |
| Excluded cases. |
20. - (1) The Chapter II prohibition does not apply in any of the cases in which it is excluded by or as a result of-
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(a) Schedule 1 (mergers and concentrations); or |
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(b) Schedule 3 (general exclusions). |
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(2) The Secretary of State may at any time by order amend Schedule 1, with respect to the Chapter II prohibition, by-
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(a) providing for one or more additional exclusions; or |
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(b) amending or removing any provision (whether or not it has been added by an order under this subsection). |
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(3) The Secretary of State may at any time by order amend paragraph 8 of Schedule 3 with respect to the Chapter II prohibition.
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(4) Schedule 3 also gives the Secretary of State power to provide that the Chapter II prohibition is not to apply in certain circumstances.
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