ECO0395 - TRANSNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW

insegnamento

ID:

ECO0395

Durata (ore):

40

CFU:

SSD:

Diritto internazionale

Anno:

2026

Periodo di attività

Secondo Semestre (15/02/2027 - 28/05/2027)

Obiettivi Formativi

The course aims to provide students with a systematic understanding of the legal framework governing competition and business activities in transnational markets, with particular emphasis on European Union competition law and its interaction with digital markets, technological innovation and intellectual property rights.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
identify and describe the main principles, objectives and enforcement mechanisms of European Union competition law;
interpret and apply Articles 101 and 102 TFEU to agreements between undertakings and unilateral business conduct;
analyse and assess horizontal and vertical agreements in light of the relevant EU legislation, block exemption regulations and European Commission Guidelines;
identify and evaluate the main forms of abuse of dominant position, including those arising in digital and innovation-driven markets;
analyse concentrations under the EU merger control framework and assess the main competition concerns arising from horizontal and non-horizontal mergers, innovation-driven transactions, killer acquisitions and transactions in digital markets;
evaluate the impact of digitalisation, data and artificial intelligence on competition and interpret the interaction between EU competition law and the regulation of digital markets;
identify and analyse the main intellectual property rights relevant to technological innovation and evaluate their interaction with EU competition law;
apply EU competition rules to technology transfer agreements, patent pools, standardisation agreements and the licensing and enforcement of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs);
analyse and evaluate the legal issues arising from FRAND licensing and the relationship between intellectual property protection, competition and technological standardisation;
identify and assess the principal mechanisms for the resolution of cross-border patent disputes in Europe, with particular reference to the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC);
analyse and critically discuss European Commission decisions and Guidelines and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the fields covered by the course;
apply the legal principles and rules examined during the course to practical cases involving competition, innovation, intellectual property and transnational business activities.

Prerequisiti

None. Knowledge of some key concepts of European Union law is preferable.

Metodi didattici

Frontal lectures and presentations by students. The course will mix two main instruction methods, i.e., frontal lectures varied with students’ presentations by students. The presentations by students will be part of the final grade, so students will build up their final grades thanks to their active participation and engagement during the course.

Verifica Apprendimento

Assessment is based on a written examination designed to evaluate students' knowledge of the topics covered during the course, their ability to critically analyse European Union legislation and case law, and their capacity to apply the acquired knowledge to practical cases.
The examination may include open-ended questions, case analysis and/or multiple-choice questions.
For attending students, active participation in class discussions and, where applicable, individual or group presentations on case law, EU legal instruments or current legal issues related to the course may contribute to the final assessment.
Assessment will take into account the accuracy of the acquired knowledge, the ability to identify and analyse legal issues, the appropriate use of legal terminology, the quality of legal reasoning, and the student's critical understanding of European legislation and case law.

Contenuti

The course examines the legal framework governing competition and business activities in transnational markets, with particular emphasis on European Union law and the interaction between competition, technological innovation and intellectual property.
The first part of the course introduces the economic and legal foundations of EU competition law, examining the objectives and principles of competition policy, the enforcement framework of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, and the role of competition law in promoting market integration, consumer welfare and innovation. Particular attention is devoted to horizontal and vertical agreements, recent developments introduced by the 2023 Horizontal Guidelines and the 2022 Vertical Guidelines, sustainability agreements, labour-market restrictions, and the evolving approach to exclusionary abuses of dominance.
The second part focuses on merger control and competition in digital markets. It analyses the EU Merger Regulation, recent developments concerning innovation-driven mergers, killer acquisitions and digital markets, together with the growing interaction between competition law, digital platforms and artificial intelligence.
The final part examines the relationship between competition law, intellectual property and technological innovation. After introducing the main categories of intellectual property rights, the course analyses technology transfer agreements, patent pools, standardisation agreements, Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), FRAND licensing and the interaction between competition law and intellectual property rights. The course concludes with an examination of cross-border patent litigation in Europe, with particular reference to the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC).