The KFTC, in order to rectify the market order, imposed a cease and desist order, and further ordered Siemens to provide hospitals with access to the service software essential to the maintenance of CT and MR equipment within 24 hours at a minimum of administrative costs.
Siemens was also ordered to inform the hospitals that owned Siemens CT and MR equipment of the KFTC decision. The Korea Biomedical Review reported that Siemens, in disputing the KFTC claims, stated, “Siemens Healthcare Group implements the same paid maintenance software license policy globally and has not discriminated against small- to medium-sized maintenance companies In Korea.”
Ad Statistics
Times Displayed: 21862
Times Visited: 433 Stay up to date with the latest training to fix, troubleshoot, and maintain your critical care devices. GE HealthCare offers multiple training formats to empower teams and expand knowledge, saving you time and money
In Italy, Siemens, GE and Philips investigated by Competition Authority
In February, the Italian Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation pertaining to Siemens Healthcare Srl (“Siemens”), Philips S.p.A. (“Philips”) and GE Medical Systems Italia S.p.A. (“GE") and the market for maintenance services for diagnostic imaging. The ruling may be
viewed in Italian here.
The investigation was commenced when a third-party servicer that offers maintenance and support services for diagnostic imaging reported to the Competition Authority a series of actions of these manufacturers, alleged to be intended to restrict competition and exclude competitors. According to the Competition Authority written decision to open the investigation, the actions were alleged to intend to impede the assignment of maintenance services for high-tech devices to entities other than the manufacturer and in particular to the detriment of independent maintainers (for convenience, “third party servicers”).
In Ruling No. 27007, the Competition Authority advised further that the proceedings relate to the alleged anti-competitive actions put in place with the aim of impeding third party servicers from entering and remaining in the market for maintenance activities in Italy. The conduct was alleged to deny healthcare facilities in the Italian Health Service the “possibility of benefiting from making savings”. The Competition Authority opened an investigation in order to ascertain the existence of possible violations of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”). Article 102 provides in applicable part that “any abuse by one or more undertakings of a dominant position within the internal [EU] market or in a substantial part of it shall be prohibited as incompatible with the internal market, insofar as it may affect trade between Member States” of the European Union.
