Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONFERENCES: International Distribution Institute to hold annual conference in June, (May 7, 2014)

The International Distribution Institute will hold its 2014 IDI Annual Conference on June 13-14 at the Circolo del Lettori in Turin, Italy, in coordination with its co-sponsor, Associazione Italiana Giuristi Di Impressa. The conference is addressed to attorneys and practitioners who are involved in negotiating, drafting, and managing of international distribution contracts.

The conference will commence on the morning of June 13 with a session titled “Setting up and managing a compliance program in antitrust and anti-corruption.” The session will deal with the objectives of a compliance program and the reasons why the issue is important, even for small companies, and thereafter examine the main aspects to be considered when building and managing such a program.

The morning will continue with two panels that will discuss the following two basic fields of risk within the creation and management of a distribution network:

• Antitrust: agreements with competitors, vertical agreements with distributors; and

• Corruption: contracts with agents and other intermediaries, illicit commissions.

The afternoon will proceed with a session titled “International arbitration and distribution: should IDI establish a panel of arbitrators specialized in international distribution?” The session will examine a number of arbitration rules providing cost-effective fast-track arbitration procedures and verify if these procedures may be used for small disputes. Thereafter, a panel will analyze and discuss with the participants a possible initiative of creating, with the IDI, a panel of arbitrators having specific experience in the field of international distribution, linked to an expedited procedure under the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration organized in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Geneva. Following these programs, a “Gala Dinner” will be held.

On June 14, the program will begin with concurrent workshops titled “Complying with the EU antitrust rules: to what extent are they really binding for SMEs?;” “Choice-of-law clauses in agency agreements after the UNAMAR case;” and “When does a purchaser/reseller become a distributor? Considerations after the Corman-Collins judgment of the European Court.” The day will conclude with a discussion and lunch.

Attendees may register by returning the completed registration form by mail to IDI Project Srl, Via Alfieri 19, 10121 Torino, Italy; by faxing the form to 39 011 574 11 41; or by emailing the form to editorial.board@idiproject.com. Payment by mail, fax, or email must be made by bank transfer. Registration can be made online at http://www.idiproject.com/conferences/registration, and payment can be made by credit card or bank transfer.

News: Conferences FranchisingDistribution