Companies doing business in the metaverse and with Web3 applications need to ensure they comply with antitrust rules and regulations – particularly the EU Digital Markets Act and its national equivalents. These technologies pose significant antitrust risks around issues such as the exchange of competitively sensitive information and collusion between competitors.
We have a profound understanding of the myriad and complex issues – both legal and technical – that companies face when using these new technologies. Our advice helps our clients to navigate the challenges posed by ever-increasing regulation and the special treatment of digital platform markets under antitrust law, in particular with regard to the EU Digital Markets Act and section 19a GWB. We also advise our clients on operating and using metaverse and Web3 technologies, especially blockchains. Given the level of openness and transparency that is inherent to many of these solutions, a particular focus lies on exchanges of information and collusion between competitors. We also advise on potential restrictions of competition and abuse of market power in digital ecosystems, particularly market access and interoperability restrictions as well as tying and self-preferencing strategies. Our team expertly assesses market-relevant data and data clusters from an antitrust perspective and offers assistance on standardisation projects.
Drawing on our wealth of experience in notifying mergers and joint ventures to the European and German authorities and in coordinating complex international transactions, we also focus on Web3-specific issues such as blockchain mergers, splits of blockchains (for example, via hard and soft forks), and changes in control. Clients benefit from our expertise in assessing non-conventional competitive parameters such as network effects, data, and complementary products in digital ecosystems as well as innovation competition. In all of this, we pursue a holistic approach that takes into account regulatory, employment and data privacy law aspects. We also provide tailored compliance and compliance-by-design solutions to help clients minimise their antitrust risk.
