ALTI Amsterdam

[event] Bill Kovacic: Cautionary Tales about (Digital) Industrial Policy
2025-02-17 12:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Paris) | VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* Bill Kovacic is the Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy at the George Washington University where he directs the Competition Law Center. He is the former Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.
Format: Prof. Kovacic will give a 30-minute talk, which will be followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel.

[CANCELED] Nicolas Petit: The Deep Structures of Law and Tech
2025-02-21 12:00 - 13:00 | VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* Nicolas Petit is Professor of Competition Law and Head of the Department of Law of the European University Institute (EUI).
Format: Professor Petit will give a 30-minute talk, which will be followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel.
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[event] Pinar Akman: Antitrust Remedies for Big Tech
2025-03-28 12:00 - 13:00 | VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Speaker: Pinar Akman is a Professor of Law specializing in competition law at the School of Law, University of Leeds.
Format: Prof. Akman will give a 30-minute talk, which will be followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel.
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[event] Competition Law Doctoral Forum
2025-04-25 09:30 - 16:00
Organizers: Thibault Schrepel & Georgiana Mirza
Concept: We are delighted to announce the first edition of the “Competition Law Doctoral Forum.” The concept is simple yet ambitious: to establish an annual gathering of promising PhD candidates in the Netherlands focusing on (digital) competition law issues. Participants will have the opportunity to present their research, exchange ideas, and engage in meaningful discussions. For this first edition, we are pleased to announce that Martijn Snoep, President of the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), will join us.
When: 25 April 2025, from 09:30 to 16:00.
Where: At the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam campus (room will be disclosed to registered participants before the event)
Format: This conference uses the 3C Format to structure feedback for each presentation. Every talk will receive three types of comments: 1. Challenge (devil’s advocate); 2. Contribute (fresh perspective); 3. Commend (compliment). Why 3C? This method encourages well‐rounded discussion: identifying potential weaknesses, suggesting new angles, and recognizing strengths. It’s designed to keep the exchange both rigorous and supportive.
Program:
9:30 to 10:00 – Reception
10:00 to 10:10 – Opening remarks (Thibault Schrepel)
10:10 to 10:20 – Reflecting on 25 years of supervising PhDs (Arno Lodder)
10:20 to 11:00 – Keynote Martijn Snoep
11:00 to 12:30 – Session 1 – Competition in digital markets

David van Wamel (Leiden University): Commission’s power to impose interim measures in digital markets
Georgiana Mirza (VU Amsterdam): Digital ecosystems in competition law and market regulation
Max van Iersel (Tilburg University): EU merger policy’s impact on startup innovation ecosystems

12:30 to 14:00 – Lunch Break
14:00 to 15:00 – Session 2 – Overlapping regulatory regimes

Belle Beems (Radboud University Nijmegen): Intersection of competition law, DMA, GDPR, and institutional cooperation
Kena Zhang (Maastricht University): Antitrust in AI infrastructure (data & compute), comparing EU, US, China

15:00 to 16:00 – Session 3 – Looking ahead ((innovation, blockchain, sustainability)

Qihan Xu (Erasmus University Rotterdam): Blockchain‐based collusive agreements in China and sufficiency of legislation
Stephanie Penereiro (USP Law School / VU Amsterdam): Competition law and sustainability (origins, comparative overview, possible approaches)

16:00 to 16:10 – Closing Remarks (Georgiana Mirza & Thibault Schrepel)
16:10 to 18:00 – Cocktail reception

Registration to attend the event:
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[event] Godefroy de Boiscuillé: The EU Digital Single Market Paradox
2025-05-16 12:00 - 13:00 | VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Speaker: Godefroy de Boiscuillé is Maître de Conférences at Côte d’Azur University and Co-Director of the Chair Competition & Digital Economics at Panthéon-Assas University Paris II.
Description: The goal of creating a unified digital economy is being undermined by the steady rise in trade barriers, often framed under the innocuous term “ex ante regulation.” This presentation will focus on four key points: (1) In digital markets, the approach of negative integration—removing barriers to trade—is increasingly contradicted by new measures that have effects equivalent to quantitative restrictions. (2) The strategy of positive integration—establishing EU-wide norms and standards—is weakened by the proliferation of conflicting standards. (3) Exceptions to the free movement of goods are multiplying, justified by objectives that often conflict with other equally important goals. (4) While the Digital Single Market is based on the principles of the common market, it introduces a less liberal philosophy compared to the traditional internal market framework. Together, these dynamics reveal a paradox: the very goal of a unified digital market risks being undermined by the growing layers of regulation fragmenting the digital economy.
Format: Dr. de Boiscuillé will give a 30-minute talk, which will be followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel.

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[conference] Law & Technology & Economics of AI
2025-05-22 08:00 - 2025-05-23 17:00 | Hong Kong
Law & Technology & Economics of AI
Dates: May 22 – 23, 2025 (Thursday – Friday)
Time: 9:30am – 5:30pm
Organiers: Adrian Kuenzler, Thibault Schrepel, Volker Stocker
Venue: Academic Conference Room, 11/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, The University of Hong Kong
The conference seeks to provide a multidisciplinary forum to explore challenges regarding AI regulation, and to shed new light on meaningful regulatory design. It will bring together top scholars from law, economics, and computer science to present their work and engage in discussions across disciplinary boundaries.
Register here: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_regform.aspx?guest=Y&UEID=100103
***
22 MAY 2025 (DAY 1)
Welcome by the Organizers (9:40 – 10am)
Adrian Kuenzler, Thibault Schrepel, Volker Stocker
Panel 1: AI and Competition (10 – 11:30am)
Chair & Moderator: Thibault Schrepel (VU Amsterdam)
Presenters:
• Julian Nowag (The University of Hong Kong)
Algorithmic Predation and Exclusion
• Nuno Cunha Rodrigues (Universidade de Lisboa/Portuguese Competition Authority)
Crafting the Regulatory Ecosystem for AI: Competition 2.0
• Antonio Capobianco (OECD Competition Division)
Competition in the Provision of Cloud Computing Services
• Elettra Bietti (Northeastern University)
Keynote Speech (11:45am – 12:45pm)
Christopher Yoo (Imasogie Professor in Law and Technology; Professor of Communication; Professor of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School)
Panel 2: AI Act and Copyright (2:00 – 3:30 pm)
Chair & Moderator: Volker Stocker (Weizenbaum Institute)
Presenters:
• Daniel Schnurr (University of Regensburg)
Implementing the European AI Act: Balancing Horizontal Consistency with Sector-Specific Requirements
• Sandra Marco Colino (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Copyrighting AI’s Artistic Streak: The China-US Divide
• Zachary Cooper (VU Amsterdam)
Limits to Copyright’s Power Over the Next-Generation of Generative AI Media
Panel 3: AI Economics and Regulation (4:00 – 5:30pm)
Chair & Moderator: Adrian Kuenzler (The University of Hong Kong)
Presenters:
• Jason Potts (RMIT University)
Governing Hyperobjects – New Economics of AI Regulation
• William Lehr & Volker Stocker (MIT & Weizenbaum Institute)
Agentic AI – Friend and Foe
• Alba Ribera Martínez (Universidad Villanueva) – ONLINE
Generative AI Training Data and the Challenge of Lawful Scale
***
23 MAY 2025 (DAY 2)
Keynote Speech (9:30 – 10:30am)
Sandra Matz (Columbia Business School) – ONLINE
Panel 4: Data and AI (10:30am – 12:00 noon)
Chair & Moderator: Thibault Schrepel (VU Amsterdam)
Presenters:
• Ginger Zhe Jin (University of Maryland)
Artificial Intelligence and Data Policies
• Kyohei Yamamoto (Japan Fair Trade Commission)
AI, Competition and Data Regulation in Japan
• Robert Mahari (MIT Media Lab) – ONLINE
Panel 5: Governing AI (1:15 – 2:45pm)
Chair & Moderator: Volker Stocker (Weizenbaum Institute)
Presenters:
• Michal Shur-Ofry (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
AI Governance as Regulation of Collective Memory
Paul Ohm (Georgetown University Law Center)
Focusing on Fine-Tuning: Understanding the Four Pathways for Shaping Generative AI
• Harry Surden (University of Colorado Law School)
The Limits of Prediction in Technology Policy: Why AI Regulation Must Embrace Uncertainty
Panel 6: Jurisdictional Challenges and AI Policies (3:15 – 4:45pm)
Chair & Moderator: Adrian Kuenzler (The University of Hong Kong)
Presenters:
• Florence G’sell (Scienes Po/Stanford University)
The EU’s Model of Comprehensive Technology Regulation
• Yo Sop Choi (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Seoul)
The New AI Regulation in Korea
• Yasunori Tabei (Japan Fair Trade Commission)
Japanese AI Regulation
• Catalina Goanta (Utrecht University) – ONLINE
Closing Remarks by the Organizers (4:45 – 5pm)
This event is free of charge.

For inquiries, please contact Ms. Grace Chan at mcgrace@hku.hk / 3917 4727.

[event] Herbert Hovenkamp: Tech Monopolies
2025-06-03 12:00 - 13:00 | VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Organizer: Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (ALTI).
Speaker: Herbert Hovenkamp is the James G. Dinan University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and the Wharton School. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2008 won the Justice Department’s John Sherman Award for his lifetime contributions to antitrust law. In 2012 he served on the ABA’s Committee to advise the President-elect on antitrust matters. His principal writing includes The Opening of American Law: Neoclassical Legal Thought, 1870-1970 (Oxford, 2015); Antitrust Law (formerly with Phillip E. Areeda and Donald F. Turner) (22 vols., Aspen 2008-2021); Principle of Antitrust (West 2d ed. 2021); Creation Without Restraint: Promoting Liberty and Rivalry in Innovation (Oxford, 2012, with Bohannan); The Making of Competition Policy (Oxford, 2012, with Crane); The Antitrust Enterprise: Principle and Execution (Harvard, 2006); Federal Antitrust Policy: The Law of Competition and Its Practice (West, 5th ed. 2015); IP and Antitrust (2 vols., Aspen, 2017, with Janis, Lemley, Leslie, and Carrier); and Enterprise and American Law, 1836-1937 (Harvard, 1991). He has also co-authored casebooks in antitrust, property law, and a free open source casebook on innovation and competition policy. He has consulted on numerous antitrust cases for various government entities and private plaintiffs. He has two sons.
Description: In an era defined by the dominance of tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, questions surrounding market power, consumer harm, and regulatory intervention are more urgent than ever. Join us for a timely and thought-provoking conversation with Herbert Hovenkamp, one of the world’s leading antitrust scholars, as he presents insights from his new book, Tech Monopoly. In this talk, Professor Hovenkamp will explore how antitrust law grapples with the complexities of digital markets, ranging from software and search engines to online retail and hardware. He will examine how features like two-sided markets, data aggregation, and platform effects challenge traditional competition analysis and enforcement. From foundational legal principles to pressing policy debates (such as whether Big Tech firms should be broken up and what remedies might actually benefit users) this event offers a clear and accessible entry point into one of today’s most contentious economic issues. Whether you are a legal scholar, economist, policymaker, a practitioner, or simply interested in the intersection of law and technology, this discussion will provide valuable tools for understanding and evaluating the current state of antitrust law in the digital age.
Format: Prof. Herbert Hovenkamp will give a 30-minute talk, followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel and a Q&A with the audience.

[event] Richard S. Markovits: The Impact of Mergers on R&D
2025-06-17 12:00 | VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Organizer: Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (ALTI).
Speaker: Richard Markovits is the John B. Connally Chair in Law at the University of Texas. He teaches and writes in the areas of antitrust, law and economics, constitutional law and jurisprudence. He is the author of articles in the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Stanford Law Review and elsewhere as well as the book Matters of Principle: Legitimate Legal Argument and Constitutional Interpretation (NYU, 1998), Truth or Economics: On the Definition, Prediction, and Relevance of Economic Efficiency (Yale, 2008), and Economics and the Interpretation and Application of U.S. and E.U. Antitrust Law (two vols.) (Springer, 2014). He came to Texas from Stanford Law School in 1976.
Description: This talk will examine how mergers and acquisitions affect R&D investment through two mechanisms: reducing price competition (which increases investment) and altering investment competition intensity (an overlooked factor in antitrust analysis). It will then challenge the assumption that more R&D will always be economically efficient, arguing that product R&D will tend to be over-incentivized while production-process R&D will be under-incentivized due to market imperfections. Prof. Markovits will further contend that current policies combining IP protections with immediate R&D expense deductions create uncertainty about optimal investment levels because we are not able to accurately measure how individual projects affect discovery probabilities or the true breadth of IP protection across different types of innovations.
Format: Prof. Richard S. Markovits will give a 30-minute talk, followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel and a Q&A with the audience.
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Inaugural Conference: Space Law & Sustainability Center (VU ALTI & ASI)
2025-06-20 10:00 - 17:00 | VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
VU Amsterdam has repeatedly been recognized as the most sustainable university in the Netherlands and, in 2023, made a groundbreaking decision to cut ties with fossil fuel companies that do not comply with the Paris Agreement. It is only natural for our university’s focus on sustainable development to extend beyond Earth’s boundaries.
The Space Law & Sustainability Center is founded by two existing VU institutes, Amsterdam Law & Technology Institute (ALTI) and Amsterdam Sustainability Institute (ASI), with the purpose of providing an interdepartmental platform for dialogue and multidisciplinary collaboration within the VU Amsterdam community, focusing on the expanding scope of human activities in outer space. The Center enhances cross-faculty collaboration by demonstrating how ‘space’ connects multiple expertise because it acts as an enabler for the fulfillment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Amsterdam Center for Space Law & Sustainability contributes to the activities of the UNSDSN Dutch chapter hosted at VU Amsterdam. Externally, the Center engages in valorization and impact activities within the Dutch ecosystem and at international level. It aims to collaborate with universities, research centers, the private sector, NGOs and public bodies.
Join us on 20 June 2025 in Amsterdam & online for the launch event!
This launch will be marked by an international conference aimed at defining “space sustainability” as a matter of international security. In the context of rapidly expanding space activities, urgent challenges have emerged—ranging from the accumulation of orbital debris and the militarization of space to the commercialization of space resources without adequate regulatory oversight. Alongside national and international experts, we will examine the provisions of the Pact of the Future, a landmark UN Resolution A/RES/79/1 adopted in September 2024, referring, among others, to the need for new frameworks concerning space debris, space traffic management, and space resources. The conference will also present a set of critical and innovative assessments concerning the adoption of artificial intelligence and quantum technologies in outer space as well as a series of multidisciplinary approaches to space sustainability.
Alongside national and international experts we will discuss the following topics:

EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES (LEGAL & TECHNICAL) ON SPACE SUSTAINABILITY & SECURITY
FUTURE FRAMEWORKS IN LINE WITH THE UNITED NATIONS PACT OF THE FUTURE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & QUANTUM TECH FOR SPACE SECURITY: LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO SPACE SUSTAINABILITY
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION FOR SUSTAINABLE & SECURE SPACE

Participation is free, but registration is required. Register here.

[event] Geoffrey A. Manne: DMA Goes Global
2025-10-10 12:00 - 13:00 | VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Organizer: Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (ALTI).
Speaker: Geoffrey A. Manne is the president and founder of the International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE), a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center based in Portland, Oregon. He is also a Visiting Professor at IE University in Madrid, and a distinguished fellow at Northwestern University’s Center on Law, Business, and Economics. Manne holds AB & JD degrees from the University of Chicago. He is an expert in the economic analysis of law, focusing particularly on antitrust, consumer protection, telecom, IP, and technology regulation. From 2003 to 2006 he was an assistant professor at Lewis & Clark Law School where he taught law & economics, international economic regulation, corporations, and other courses. In 2006 he decamped from Lewis & Clark to work in Microsoft’s legal department, heading up a program on law & economics academic engagement. He subsequently founded ICLE in 2009. Prior to teaching, Manne practiced antitrust law and appellate litigation at Latham & Watkins, clerked for Hon. Morris S. Arnold on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and worked as a research assistant for Judge Richard A. Posner. He was also once (very briefly) employed by the FTC. His writings and publications are available at SSRN and ICLE.
Description: This presentation will examine the rise of Digital Competition Regulations (DCRs) such as the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and their global counterparts. It will argue that DCRs will depart fundamentally from traditional competition law, prioritizing rent redistribution, the facilitation of rivals, and the deliberate weakening of successful platforms over consumer welfare or innovation. Drawing on cases like Apple’s DMA compliance and the Android Auto decision, the talk will highlight the conceptual ambiguities, innovation risks, and broader paradigm shift these regulations will represent for competition policy worldwide.
Format: Geoffrey A. Manne will give a 30-minute talk, followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel and a Q&A with the audience.
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[event] Frederic Jenny: Economics, Innovation and Industrial policy
2025-12-10 12:00 - 13:00 | VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Organizer: Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (ALTI).
Speaker: Frédéric Jenny holds a Ph.D in Economics from Harvard University (1975), a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Paris (1977) and an MBA degree from ESSEC Business School (1966). He is Emeritus Professor of Economics at ESSEC Business School in Paris and President of the International Committee of Concurrences Review. He is Chairman of the OECD Global Competition Forum, and former Co-Director of the European Center for Law and Economics of ESSEC. He was previously Non-Executive Director of the Office of Fair Trading in the United Kingdom (2007-2014), Judge on the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation, Economic Commercial and Financial Chamber) from 2004 to August 2012, Vice Chair of the French Competition Authority (1993-2004) and President of the WTO Working Group on Trade and Competition (1994-2003). He was visiting professor at Northwestern University Department of Economics in the United States (1978), Keio University Department of Economics in Japan (1984), University of Capetown Business School in South Africa (1991), Haifa University School of Law in Israel (2012). He was Visiting Professor at University College London Law School (2005-2010), Global Professor of Antitrust in the New York University School of Law’s Hauser Global Law School (2014, 2017 and 2022) and Senior Fellow in the Online Global Competition and Consumer Law Masters Program, University of Melbourne (Australia) (2016-2018)
Description: Industrial policy to promote growth through innovation has taken center stage in Europe’s economic policy. What do we know about the economics of innovation and the respective roles of competition and industrial policy in the promotion of innovation? Under which condition could these two policies be complementary?
Format: Frederic Jenny will give a 30-minute talk, followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel and a Q&A with the audience.
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[event] Competition Law Theses Awards
2025-12-10 13:00 | VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Co-organizer: Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (ALTI).
Description: The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is delighted to co-organize, together with ICLE, a special event dedicated to the Master Thesis Competition in Competition Law. This gathering will showcase the outstanding work of the winners and bring together distinguished members of the jury alongside leading academics in the field. It will be a unique opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research, exchange ideas, and celebrate the next generation of competition law scholars. We warmly invite all interested participants to join us on the VU campus for what promises to be an inspiring and thought-provoking afternoon.
Speakers:

Alison Jones (King’s College London)
Mariateresa Maggiolino (Bocconi University)
Francisco Marcos (IE Law School)
Frédéric Marty (Université Côte d’Azur)
Henri Piffaut (European Commission, DG COMP)
Thibault Schrepel (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
Anna Tzanaki (University of Leeds)

Program:
1:00 – 1:15 PM — Welcome & Opening Remarks
Dr. Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor of Law (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
1:15 – 2:00 PM — Award Ceremony
Presentation of the three competition law thesis awards:

Grand Prize – Best Thesis
Most Innovative Thesis
Best Law & Economics Analysis

Each awardee will present their research (10 minutes each).
2:00 – 2:30 PM — Coffee Break
2:30 – 4:00 PM — Perspectives on Competition Law Research
This session focuses on the current state of research in competition law, drawing on the speakers’ own experiences through a series of 10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Themes will include:

How researchers find their voice and build a distinctive research agenda in competition law
How to balance doctrinal, empirical, and theoretical approaches
The role of quantitative methods in modern competition research
Lessons from supervising master’s or PhD students
How practice and case law can inform theory
The papers that most shaped speakers’ understanding of competition law
What economics can (and cannot) contribute to the field
The importance of academic research for antitrust agencies
The most influential non-competition law works in our field
How mentorship shapes a research trajectory
The role of failure and resilience in academic careers
Why, and when, to publish interdisciplinary competition research

4:00 – 5:00 PM — Panel Discussion: The Future of Competition Law Scholarship
This session focuses on the future of competition law research. It will explore how technology and new institutions will shape the field in the years ahead. The panel will be boderated by Thibault Schrepel.
Themes will include:

Should competition law scholars learn to code?
The role of open data and transparency in tomorrow’s research
How GenAI may transform competition law scholarship
The evolution of academic publishing in the AI era
What role will academic research play in shaping the future of competition law?
The future of interdisciplinary collaboration between law, economics, and data science
The role of human judgment in an increasingly automated research environment
What skills and methods will define the next generation of competition law scholars

REGISTRATION OVER HERE
