Brussels, 19/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 18 February, the European Commission cleared the acquisition of I.R.I.S. of Belgium (a software developer) by Canon Inc. of Japan (electronic imaging) as meeting EU competition rules. The review of the transaction was referred to the Commission by several national competition authorities, and the Commission examined the competitive effects of the acquisition in the markets for different types of portable document scanners where both Canon and I.R.I.S. are active. Although the two companies are important players in some countries, the investigation concluded that the merged entity will continue to face significant competition both in the European Economic Area (EEA) and in individual member states. Competing office automation equipment manufacturers which licence capture software will continue to benefit from alternatives to the merged entity, and the transaction, notified on 14 January, will not affect the sales opportunities of competing software vendors. (FG/transl.fl)