THE ITALIAN WAY TO ANTITRUST JUDICIAL REVIEW: A FEW ODDITIES OF THE PFIZER CASE

Abstract

The note deals with the Pfizer case, where the pharmaceutical company was condemned for an abuse of dominant position relating to otherwise lawful patent practices which, in the Authority's representation, had delayed without merit entry by generic producers. The note takes this opportunity to comment on the system of judicial review of the Italian Competition Authority's antitrust decisions, comparing it with the equivalent system at the EU level. The note also reviews more in-depth the judgment with reference to both those areas where the Court decided to take a specific position and in those where it omitted doing so.