The European Court of Justice’s Generics (UK) judgment

This issue’s Contemporary Critique discusses the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Generics (UK) v Competition and Markets Authority. Anticipated as it was, the judgment is something of a milestone in EU antitrust. For one, it marked the first foray by the EU’s apex court into the legal minefield of reverse patent settlements that have, over the past decade, sparked considerable debate in academic and policy-making spheres alike. For another, Generics (UK) is a quite sweeping judgment, addressing head-on several foundational concepts of EU competition law. It therefore has ramifications for EU antitrust enforcement beyond the specific issue at the heart of the case.