ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN'> <html><head><title>537778-00016.htm</title> <meta name='vs_defaultClientScript' content='JavaScript'> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <meta name='vs_targetSchema' content='http://schemas.microsoft.com/intellisense/ie3-2nav3-0'> <meta name='Originator' content='CommentWorks'></head><body><Table> <tr><td><b>Comment Number: </b></td><td>537778-00016</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Received: </b></td><td>10/2/2008 6:15:34 PM</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Organization: </b></td><td>Competition Court of the Basque Country (Spain)</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Commenter: </b></td><td>Javier Berasategi</td></tr> <tr><td><b>State: </b></td><td>Outside the United States</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Agency: </b></td><td>Federal Trade Commission</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Rule: </b></td><td>Emerging Health Care Competition and Consumer Issues</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Attachments:</b></td><td><a href='537778-00016.pdf'>537778-00016.pdf</a>&nbsp<a href='http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html' target = _blank >Download Adobe Reader</a><br></td></tr></Table> <hr><P><b>Comments:</b></p>Dear Sirs, I would like to draw your attention to a ruling of the Competition Court of the Basque Country, the administrative authority competent to enforce Spanish competition laws in the Basque region. This ruling deals with the antitrust implications of a MFN clause imposed by a dental plan provider on dentists that agree to offer their services to the plan's beneficiaries. This ruling may be of interest to US antitrust enforcers/scholars in various respects: - It refers to studies of the national dental care markets of some EU countries and deals comprehensively with the Spanish dental care market. - It is possibly the first case in the EU in which a MFN clause is the object of an antitrust ruling. - It deals with the economic theories of price discrimination - It draws extensively on US antitrust theories and case law. I would be glad to answer any questions you may have on this ruling. Yours faithfully, Javier Berasategi Chairman Competition Court of the Basque Country jberasategi@tvdc.es T. + 34 945 01 90 00 M. +34 688670128 F. +34 945 01 89 65</body></html>