This article discusses atypical acts of the European Union (EU) concerning intellectual property (IP) protection within the EU's internal legal order and its external relations. Internally, atypical acts are used in IP for flexible pre-and post-regulation purposes or for soft guidance and steering. Yet in IP and elsewhere, those flexibilities come at the cost of deficits in democratic legitimacy, legality, and legal certainty. Atypical acts are also common in the external trade relations of the EU. Like more formal conduct of trade relations by means of international agreements, they focus on the enforcement of IP rights. The less formal (and legal) character of these acts often allows them to be more policy-driven and so makes it easier to address key political concerns relevant for EU external trade relations in a more flexible and current manner. Some of these policies are subsequently turned into 'hard' lawfor example in the course of the negotiations over the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Based on the comparative analysis of the role of atypical acts in the EU's internal legislation for IP vis-à-vis their role in external action, this article explores possibilities of limiting the drawbacks while preserving the benefits of a use of atypical acts in external policies.

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Gun jumping is a term which describes the premature realization of a merger before obtaining a merger clearance from the relevant competition authorities. In the last years, the European Commission and national competition authorities have demonstrated an increased interest in investigating and punishing gun jumping cases. Recognizing this interest and the need for practical guidance, the article first gives an overview of gun-jumping evolution through case law. It then points to different merger filing thresholds in the region, and implications they could have for gun-jumping issues, to show that despite the commercial and historical common ground in the region, merger filing thresholds do differ significantly between the countries, in a way which requires a cautious and sometimes challenging structuring of M&A activities with regional reach. Based upon an overview of individual gunjumping cases in the region, but taking into account the EU precedents, the article provides recommendations how to avoid gun-jumping risks.

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