Welcoming and farewell of professors

On 1 October 2021, professors recently appointed to the University of Innsbruck were welcomed at the Faculty of Law. Among the newly appointed professors was Professor Augenhofer, who took over a chair at the Institute of Business and Tax Law on 1 January 2020. The Faculty of Law also bid farewell to those professors who have left the University of Innsbruck – among them Professor Eckert, who has followed a call to the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Professor Augenhofer appointed as
ELI Council Member

In elections held on 8 September 2021, Professor Augenhofer was appointed to the Council of the European Law Institute (ELI). For more information on the Council Elections, please click here.

Digital Conference "Drei-Länder-Treffen 2021"

On 17 and 18 June 2021 the conference “Drei-Länder-Treffen 2021” hosted by the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Recht und Informatik” (DGRI) took place online. Prof. Dr. Susanne Augenhofer, LL.M. (Yale) presented the Austrian implementation draft of the Sale of Goods Directive and the Digital Content Directive.
(@ Hans Strasser)

The complete report can be found here.

Evening Lecture „The Digital Markets Act
– a games changer?” (09.06.2021)

On Wednesday, 09 June 2021, the fourth Evening Lecture of the spring semester 2021 took place online. Giorgio Monti, Professor of Competition Law at Tilburg Law School and part-time professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute, gave his second lecture in this seminar series.
(© Johannes Giacomuzzi)

The complete report can be found here.

Guest Lecture by Prof. Susanne Augenhofer at the University of Tilburg 

On Wednesday, 12 May 2021, Prof. Dr. Augenhofer, LL.M. (Yale) held a guest lecture at the University of Tilburg. Within Professor Giorgio Monti’s competition law lecture, professor Augenhofer spoke about collective redress in consumer law, in particular the new Representative Actions Directive. In her presentation, she gave students an overview of the main enforcement mechanisms in consumer and competition law, as well as a comparative review of the main collective redress mechanisms. Professor Augenhofer especially pointed out how the various choices made by the legislator in the context of collective redress each have their pros and cons. Opt-in or opt-out mechanism, types of redress measures and funding were discussed in this context.

After her presentation Professor Augenhofer engaged in a lively Q&A with the students to answer unresolved questions and discuss the new Directives main features.

Evening Lecture “Essential Platforms” (19.05.2021)

On Wednesday, 19 May 2021, Dr. Nikolas Guggenberger, LL.M. (Stanford) from the Information Society Project at Yale Law School gave the third evening lecture of spring term 2021. The lecture was organized and moderated by Prof. Dr. Susanne Augenhofer, LL.M. (Yale).
(© Hans Strasser)

The complete report can be found here.

Guest Lecture by Prof. Susanne Augenhofer at the University of Tilburg 

On Wednesday, 12 May 2021, Prof. Dr. Augenhofer, LL.M. (Yale) held a guest lecture at the University of Tilburg. Within Professor Giorgio Monti’s competition law lecture, professor Augenhofer spoke about collective redress in consumer law, in particular the new Representative Actions Directive. In her presentation, she gave students an overview of the main enforcement mechanisms in consumer and competition law, as well as a comparative review of the main collective redress mechanisms. Professor Augenhofer especially pointed out how the various choices made by the legislator in the context of collective redress each have their pros and cons. Opt-in or opt-out mechanism, types of redress measures and funding were discussed in this context.

After her presentation Professor Augenhofer engaged in a lively Q&A with the students to answer unresolved questions and discuss the new Directives main features.

Digital Conference “Marktermöglichung durch Recht im Digitalen Zeitalter“

On Friday, 7 May 2021, the conference “Marktermöglichung durch Recht im Digitalen Zeitalter“ hosted by the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg took place online. Among the speakers was Prof. Dr. Susanne Augenhofer, LL.M. (Yale), who held a presentation on consumer law enforcement and algorithm control by the German Competition Authority. In her presentation Professor Augenhofer contributed to the ongoing discussion on expanding the Competition Authority’s competences with regards to consumer rights enforcement. According to Professor Augenhofer, the Authority should be designated to enforce consumer rights. Faster and more resource efficient enforcement, in-house expertise and experience with the sanction system of the German Competition Act are the main supporting factors.

Following the panel meeting, Professor Augenhofer engaged in a lively discussion with the audience.

More information about the conference can be found here.

Guest Lecture by Mag. Hannes Seidelberger

On Tuesday, 11 May 2021, Mag. Hannes Seidelberger gave a guest lecture as part of Prof. Dr. Susanne Augenhofer’s competition law course. Based on numerous cases from daily practice, Mag. Seidelberger presented the work of the Association against Unfair Competition (Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb). The exciting lecture was followed by a lively discussion.

Evening Lecture „Mergers and Merger Control in Digital Markets” (28.04.2021)

On Wednesday, 28 April 2021, Prof. Dr. Tomaso Duso from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) was welcomed virtually to Innsbruck for the second "Evening Lecture" of the Spring Term, hosted and moderated by Prof. Dr. Susanne Augenhofer, LL.M. (Yale). As a renowned researcher for, among other things, digitalization, competition policy and empirical industrial economics, he gave a lecture on mergers and merger control for big tech firms in digital markets.
(© Rebecca Küter)

The complete report can be found here.

Evening lecture “Controlling Power in the Digital Economy: The Role of Antitrust” (14.04.2021)

On Wednesday, 14 April 2021, the first evening lecture of the spring term 2021 took place virtually. The lecture was held by Prof. Eleanor Fox, the Walter J. Derenberg Professor of Trade and Regulation at New York University School of Law and was moderated by Prof. Dr. Susanne Augenhofer, LL.M. (Yale). Professor Fox discussed the role of antitrust law in regulating Big Tech companies. She started her presentation by introducing the audience to the status quo of antitrust law in the United States and in the EU, as well as current developments, also in China. She further explained how the “GAFA” (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon) use their economic power to stifle competition. After comparing the systems of either side of the ocean, she presented recent case law from both continents aimed at comparing the different approaches taken. Notable cases include, amongst others, the Google cases both in the EU and the U.S., the Facebook case in Germany and the Apple v. Epic case in the U.S. Her analysis led to the conclusion that the U.S. is lagging far behind the EU in terms of antitrust regulation and enforcement and that stricter regulation is needed. Prof. Fox concluded her presentation by inviting the audience to reflect on the global governance gap in antitrust regulation and possible remedies for taming Big Tech. Due to these firms having their statutory seat in the U.S., it is difficult for the EU to intervene effectively. With regard to possible remedies, she examined pros and cons of breakups and of behavioural regulation. The presentation was followed by a lively Q&A session, where Professor Fox engaged with questions from the audience – which included students, academics as well as practitioners – on these topics.

(© Johannes Giacomuzzi)

Prof. Dr. Susanne Augenhofer, LL.M. (Yale) is feeling very honored to be elected by the European Commission to the new Consumer Policy Advisory Group (CPAG) and to be able to contribute to the implementation of the New Consumer Agenda in the green and digital transition. More information can be found here.

The event series takes place in cooperation with the Austrian Hub of the European Law Institute (ELI).

General information on the seminar "Evening Lectures"

The conference „The Implementation of the Directive Concerning Contracts for the Sale of Goods and the Digital Content and Digital Services Directive” took place on 27 November 2020 under the direction of Professor Susanne Augenhofer and Professor Bernhard Koch.  At the same time, the conference served as a kick-off event for the relaunch of the Austrian Hub of the European Law Institute (ELI). The conference report can be found here.