LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Britain's competition

regulator has launched an investigation into Photoshop maker

Adobe to examine whether its early cancellation fees

were unfair and misleading, the watchdog said on Thursday.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will look at

whether customers are given "clear and timely information

upfront" about early cancellation fees, which are likely to

influence their decision to purchase the product, it said.

Adobe's products, such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Adobe

Premiere, are widely used by consumers to create and edit

content such as photographs and videos.

"From students to content creators, millions of people rely

on digital design tools - and they should feel confident that

businesses selling these services play by the rules," Emma

Cochrane, the CMA's Executive Director for Consumer Protection,

said in the statement.

The probe comes less than a week after Adobe reached a $150

million settlement to resolve a U.S. government lawsuit accusing

it of harming consumers by concealing hefty termination fees and

making it difficult to cancel subscriptions.

In its response to that order on Friday, Adobe said it has

in recent years streamlined its sign-up and cancellation

processes and made them more transparent.

The company did not immediately reply to a Reuters request

for comment on the British regulatory action.

At this stage, the British watchdog has reached no

conclusions about whether Adobe has broken the law, it noted in

its statement, adding that Adobe was the ninth business it was

investigating using its new direct consumer enforcement powers.

The powers allow the CMA to determine whether consumer law

has been breached - rather than going through the courts - and

take action where wrongdoing is found, including securing

consumer redress and imposing fines on companies where

appropriate.