Call For Papers
Competition Law, Regulation and the Media
XIXth CLaSF Workshop, London, Thursday 26 Jan 2012
City Law School, London
Call for Papers
The subject of the workshop will be the broad theme of competition law, regulation and the media.
The media and communications industries comprise a significant and dynamic component of the wider economy in the UK and Europe. On account of the innovative technologies, shifting business models, changing industry structures, state interests, and politico-cultural impact of outputs that characterise the sector, media markets provide a crucible in which many of the most challenging issues facing competition policy today can be observed. In few industry sectors has the emergence of competition law as a key tool in the regulation of markets become quite so visible. Many of the key decisions affecting future options for media firms are now determined through the application of competition powers: merger controls; antitrust prohibitions; market investigations, and state aid assessments.
The aims of this CLaSF workshop will be to review and assess the application of antitrust decision-making in the media context; to explore the specific economic characteristics of media markets and how well orthodox competition law analysis can embrace such factors, and to note the interplay – sometimes uncertain and/or problematic - of competition law with the wider regulatory framework applicable to the media sector. It will review what competition law brings to media regulation, and how analyses undertaken in respect of media markets can inform the development of competition policy more broadly.
Within the general theme of antitrust and the media, particular focuses for papers and discussion may range from the particular - consideration of one or more of recent controversies over specific cases or investigations, eg News Corporation / BSkyB or the Ofcom pay-tv investigation - to the general:
- the interplay between competition law and the wider forms and purposes of media regulation in the democratic state (design of media plurality controls; market investigation powers);
- state aid control, public value, and public service broadcasters;
- the limitations of traditional competition law analyses under the conditions of media markets;
- collective selling and exclusive licensing;
- regulation of media ownership;
- network neutrality, and problems arising from the interconnection of infrastructure (including software platform) and content markets more broadly;
- access to and pricing of essential inputs (premium content);
- incipient competition issues in social-networking markets;
- behaviour on ancillary markets (eg collusive behaviours of copyright licensing and collecting societies).
- the antitrust and regulatory issues surrounding online search and advertising
Papers are invited from scholars, regulators and practitioners on any of these issues or other topics which fall generally within the broad theme of ‘Competition Law, Regulation and the Media’
Any person interested in presenting a paper at the workshop is asked to contact the Vice-Chair of CLaSF, Professor Barry Rodger at barry.j.rodger@strath.ac.uk.
An abstract is required of approximately 500-1000 words, to be submitted by no later than Monday 17th October, 2011, and decisions on successful submissions will be taken by Monday 24th October, 2011.
Submission of presentation/draft paper is also required a week prior to the workshop.
Papers presented at the workshop can be submitted to the Competition Law Review editorial board with a view to being published in the Review. Note that the Review is a fully refereed scholarly law journal: Submission does not guarantee publication.
Up To Five £5000 CLaSF Research Fellowships
The CLaSF Management Board may be able to offer up to 5 Fellowships of up to £5,000 each, including travel and accommodation to attend the workshop. The Fellowships are open to:
- Those holding a University teaching post in any University within or outwith the European Union who wish to buy out some of their teaching to give them time to research and write a paper for the Workshop, and
- Postgraduate Students in any University within or outwith the European Union who wish to provide a paper for the Workshop.
Deadlines
Applicants have until Monday 17th October 2011 to make an application. All applications should provide an abstract of no more than 1,000 words, together with address and electronic mail details.
Applications should be submitted to Professor Barry Rodger at barry.j.rodger@strath.ac.uk.
Decisions on the Fellowships will be made by the Management Board by Monday 24th October 2011, at which stage all applicants will be informed of the success or otherwise of their application. Those holding University teaching posts will be required to provide a letter from their institution, together with their application, giving details of the teaching time to bought out and its cost. The institution will then be paid that amount, up to £4500, upon receipt of an undertaking to the Management Board that the applicant will write a paper, circa 6-10k, attend and present the paper at the workshop and submit a finalised version timeously for publication only in the Competition Law Review, subject to the review process. Similarly, postgraduate students will be required to provide a an undertaking that the applicant will write a paper, circa 6-10k, attend and present the paper at the workshop and submit a finalised version timeously for publication only in the Competition Law Review, subject to the review process.. An interim payment of half the scholarship may be paid to postgraduate students on receipt of the undertaking, and the remainder paid on receipt of a finalised submission for the Competition Law Review.
