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… at Maastricht University Page 1 of 5 1. Competition law 1.1 Bundeskartellamt fines steel forging cartel The German Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office, FCO), has fined three steel forging companies and two senior staff members over €35 million for exchange of sensitive information. As the companies extensively co-operated during the FCO’s proceedings, the BKA entered a settlement agreement with the parties and significantly reduced the fines. The FCO’s investigation indicated that senior staff of the companies met regularly to exchange commercially sensitive information. The anti-competitive exchange of information, which took place between October 2002 and December 2016, was aimed at allowing the companies to increase the cost of their steel products without fearing an … European Patent Office (EPO) has published its amended Guidelines, that enter force on 1st March 2021. One notable change is the change of language to a more gender-neutral form. To add speed and efficiency, the updated Guidelines call for informal online discussions with the EPO examiners, should there be a subsequent need for amendment of an application’s description. Earlier, the examiners could propose such amendments only in writing. The Guidelines also seek to re-structure the framework …