Pauline Kuipers

Practice Areas

With over 20 years of experience, Pauline specialises in EU and Dutch competition law in regulated markets. Having started her career as an IP lawyer, she has particular expertise on the interface of competition and intellectual property law as well as in regulated sectors.

Her team in The Netherlands deals with cartel procedures, abuse of dominance matters, merger notifications to the Dutch competition authority and European Commission as well as coordination of multiple merger filings, private enforcement actions, competition regulation of network industries as well as the media sector and competition rules on undertakings granted special or exclusive rights by the state, including state aid.

Career

Since 2019 Pauline co-heads Bird & Bird's Global Competition & EU Law practice.

Pauline teaches competition law in the Professional Education for In-House Lawyers and publishes regularly on competition law topics. She is an editor of Tekst & Commentaar Mededingingsrecht. Pauline has served on the board of the Dutch Competition Law Association.

Professional Memberships

Dutch Competition Law Association, Dutch Association for Media and Communication Law and the Licensing Executives Society.

Publications

• Main Developments in Competition Law and Policy 2023 – The Netherlands (Kluwer Competition Law Blog, May 2024).

https://competitionlawblog.kluwercompetitionlaw.com/2024/05/22/main-developments-in-competition-law-and-policy-2023-the-netherlands/

• What to expect during dawn raids under the DMA, the DSA, and the draft AI Act (Kluwer Competition Law Blog, May 2024).

https://competitionlawblog.kluwercompetitionlaw.com/2024/05/10/what-to-expect-during-dawn-raids-under-the-dma-the-dsa-and-the-draft-ai-act/

• Artificial Intelligence: a new dimension for competition and supervision? (Mededingingsrecht in de Praktijk, April 2024 – in Dutch).

• The Thin Line between Resale Price Restraints and Resale Price Recommendations: The Samsung Ruling of the District Court of Rotterdam of 13 November 2023 (Kluwer Competition Law Blog, December 2023).

https://competitionlawblog.kluwercompetitionlaw.com/2023/12/04/the-thin-line-between-resale-price-restraints-and-resale-price-recommendations-the-samsung-ruling-of-the-district-court-of-rotterdam-of-13-november-2023/

• Dutch ACM Upholds its Penalty Order against Apple: Apple’s App Store Terms Are in Breach of Competition Law (Kluwer Competition Law Blog, November 2023).

https://competitionlawblog.kluwercompetitionlaw.com/2023/11/02/dutch-acm-upholds-its-penalty-order-against-apple-apples-app-store-terms-are-in-breach-of-competition-law/

• ACM merger decisions at the notification stage – short or shortage (M&M Redactioneel, May 2023 – in Dutch) – Pauline sits on the editorial board of this prestigious Dutch competition law journal Markt & Mededinging (M&M)

• Sustainability and Competition: From Hot Topic to Business As Usual? (Kluwer Competition Law Blog, October 2023).

https://competitionlawblog.kluwercompetitionlaw.com/2023/10/13/sustainability-and-competition-from-hot-topic-to-business-as-usual/

Languages Spoken

Dutch, English

Work Highlights

• Pauline regularly assists Odido (formerly T-Mobile NL) in competition law matters and has done so over the past 15 years.

• Advising and representing Mastercard in a high profile matter where the Dutch regulator ACM enforces the EU Interchange Fee Regulation by imposing fines on several market players. The case is now referred to the CJEU for preliminary questions by the Dutch supreme administrative court, the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (TIAT).

• Successful representation of Dutch postal operator PostNL in relation to regulatory decisions by the ACM, until final win in appeal proceedings before the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (TIAT).

Experience

"She is super responsive and pragmatic, with great commercial awareness." (Chambers Europe 2024)

”Pauline is known as one of the top lawyers in the Netherlands for competition, she has a lot of experience and knowledge.” (Chambers Europe 2023)

Education

Awards