SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Helena Selander, Pontus Scherp and Fredrik Norburg, Norburg & Scherp
Norburg & Scherp Birger Jarlsgatan 15
SE-111 45 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 8 420 035 00
Email: info@norburgscherp.se Web: www.norburgscherp.se
1. Introduction 1.1 Current Framework for Private Antitrust Litigation The Swedish framework for private antitrust damages actions is primarily governed by the Swedish Compe - tition Damages Act (the “Competition Damages Act”), which entered into force on 27 December 2016 and implements Directive 2014/104/EU (the “Competition Damages Directive”). The right to seek compensation for harm resulting from competition law infringements pre-dates the cur - rent legislation, as such damages claims have been available under Swedish law since 1993. Case law under the Competition Damages Act has so far been limited. A significant development came on 1 July 2026, when the Patent and Market Court deliv - ered its judgment in PriceRunner v Google . The court ordered Google to pay approximately USD2 billion in damages and interest for harm suffered by PriceRun - ner as a result of Google’s abuse of its dominant posi - tion. The case was based on the European Commis - sion’s 2017 Google Shopping decision. The Court also found that Google’s abusive conduct had continued beyond the period established by the Commission. The damages awarded are the largest to date in a Swedish competition case. The judgment has been appealed and is therefore not final. There is also a limited body of case law pre-dating the Competition Damages Act. In 2011, Euroclear was ordered to pay damages for abuse of a domi - nant position despite there being no prior infringement
decision by the Swedish Competition Authority (Svea Court of Appeal, Case No T 10012-08). In other earlier cases, damages claims have been dismissed where the claimant failed to establish either the underlying competition law infringement or the requisite causal link between the infringement and the alleged loss. 1.2 Recent Developments A significant development in Swedish private antitrust litigation occurred on 1 July 2026, when the Patent and Market Court delivered its judgment in the pro - ceedings between PriceRunner and Google. The case followed the European Commission’s 2017 Google Shopping decision, in which Google was found to have abused its dominant position by favouring its own comparison shopping service in its general search results to the detriment of competing services. The Patent and Market Court ordered Google to pay PriceRunner approximately USD2 billion in damages and interest. This represents the largest damages award to date in a Swedish competition law case. The court also concluded that Google’s abusive con - duct had continued beyond the period covered by the Commission’s infringement decision. 2. Private Antitrust Claims: Basis and Procedure 2.1 Statutory Basis The principal statutory basis for private antitrust dam - ages claims in Sweden is the Competition Damages Act, which entered into force on 27 December 2016 and implements the Competition Damages Directive.
171 A NTITRUST LI T IGATI O N 2026
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