Judgment of the General Court of 12 December 2018 — Unichem Laboratories v Commission

(Case T-705/14) ¹

(Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Market for perindopril, a medicinal product intended for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, in its originator and generic versions — Decision finding an infringement of Article 101 TFEU — Patent dispute settlement agreement — Commission’s territorial jurisdiction — Imputation of the unlawful conduct — Administrative procedure — Legal professional privilege protecting communications between lawyers and their clients — Potential competition — Restriction of competition by object — Objective necessity of the restriction — Balance between competition law and patent law — Conditions for exemption under Article 101(3) TFEU — Fines)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: Unichem Laboratories Ltd (Mumbai, India) (represented by S. Mobley, K. Shaw, K. Cousins, M. Healy, H. Sheraton, and E. Batchelor, Solicitors)

Defendant: European Commission (represented initially by F. Castilla Contreras, T. Vecchi and B. Mongin, and subsequently by F. Castilla Contreras, B. Mongin and C. Vollrath, acting as Agents, and by S. Kingston, Barrister-at-law)

Re:

Application under Article 263 TFEU for annulment of Commission Decision C(2014) 4955 final of 9 July 2014 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 and Article 102 TFEU [Case AT.39612 — Perindopril (Servier)] in so far as it concerns the applicant and, in the alternative, for annulment or reduction of the fine imposed on the applicant by that decision.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Dismisses the action;

Orders Unichem Laboratories Ltd to pay the costs.

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¹     OJ C 448, 15.12.2014.