Top Stories
A Comparison of 10 Key Issues in Civil Price-Fixing Cases Under the EU’s New Antitrust Damages Law and U.S. Antitrust Law
This article compares some of the key features of the new law with U.S. law in price-fixing cases. Read more >>
Opt-Out Antitrust Class Actions—A U.S. Perspective on the Consumer Rights Bill Pending in UK's Parliament
Will opt-out class actions proposed by the UK Parliament’s Consumer Rights Bill bring the dreaded U.S.-style litigation culture to the United Kingdom? My personal assessment—that of a seasoned American antitrust practitioner—is that it’s doubtful. (This article is adapted from a recent speech by Senior Counsel M. Laurence Popofsky.) Read more >>
Global Developments
Asia
Chinese Court Publishes Decisions Finding That InterDigital Violated AML Through Discriminatory Pricing, Sets FRAND Rate for Licensing InterDigital’s SEPs Under Chinese Standards
In April 2014, the Guangdong High Court of China published its October 2013 judgments in two Huawei Technologies v. InterDigital cases. Read more >>
MOFCOM Files Brief in U.S. Vitamin C Case Urging Application of Foreign Sovereign Compulsion Defense
On April 14, 2014, MOFCOM filed an amicus brief in In re Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation, No. 13-4791-cv (2d Cir.), arguing that the district court erred in refusing to apply the foreign sovereign compulsion defense to protect Chinese companies sued in the litigation. Read more >>
NDRC Fines Eyewear Makers for Resale Price Maintenance
On May 29, 2014, China’s NDRC announced that its investigation into the eyeglass industry found that some major manufacturers had restricted resale prices, and it therefore instructed local pricing departments in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong to impose total fines totaling more than RMB 19 million ($3 million) under the Anti-Monopoly Law. Read more >>
Europe
European Commission Issues Statement of Objections Against Marine Harvest for “Gun Jumping”
The EC has issued a Statement of Objections against Marine Harvest ASA for the early implementation of its acquisition of Morpol ASA. Read more >>
General Court Orders the Commission to Pay All Costs Following Delay in Responding to Request for Access to Documents
On May 6, 2014, the European Union’s General Court dismissed an appeal filed by Unión de Almacenistas de Hierros de España—a Spanish association of iron warehouses—against a decision of the European Commission to refuse access to documents exchanged with the Spanish competition authority, the Comisión Nacional de la Competencia, during an investigation, but required the Commission to pay all costs in the appeal because of the length of time the Commission took to issue its refusal. Read more >>
First Person Extradited From Europe to the United States for Criminal Antitrust Charges
On April 3, 2014, Romano Pisciotti was extradited to the United States to appear before a U.S. District Court in Florida. Read more >>
French Competition Authority Launches Market Test on Nespresso-Compatible Single-Serve Coffee Capsules
Following complaints by two single-serve coffee capsule makers, the French Competition Authority recently launched a market test relating to undertakings proposed by Nespresso with respect to single-serve coffee capsules. Read more >>
French Competition Authority Publishes Study on Its Leniency Program
The French Competition Authority is currently considering a further revision of the 2001 French leniency program, which has already been the subject of two procedural notices in 2006 and 2009. Read more >>
United States
2nd Circuit’s Decision in Lotes Clarifies FTAIA’s Effect on the Extraterritorial Reach of the Sherman Act, But Leaves Unresolved Status of Claims Based on Importation of Products Containing Price-Fixed Components
On June 4, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit issued an important decision regarding the limits that the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act, 15 U.S.C. § 6a, places on the extraterritorial application of the Sherman Act. Read more >>
7th Circuit Seeks Solicitor General’s Input on the Scope of the FTAIA
On March 27, 2014, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court decision that Motorola’s price-fixing claims based on purchases that its non-U.S. affiliates made from non-U.S. defendants were barred under the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvement Act. The 7th Circuit issued its decision based solely on the petition for review, and without full briefing on the merits or a hearing. Read more >>
DOJ and Bazaarvoice Settle Challenge to Bazaarvoice’s Acquisition of PowerReviews
On April 24, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice and Bazaarvoice submitted a Stipulation and Proposed Order with respect to a final judgment to resolve the DOJ’s challenge to Bazaarvoice’s acquisition of PowerReviews, its primary competitor in the market for Ratings and Reviews platforms. Read more >>
6th Circuit Agrees With FTC and Strikes Down Ohio Hospital Merger
On April 22, 2014, a three-judge panel for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ordered ProMedica Health System to unwind its merger with a local Ohio hospital, upholding a Federal Trade Commission order that the acquisition was anticompetitive. Read more >>
9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Antitrust Claims in MMS Case Against Wireless Carriers
On April 17, 2014, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of antitrust claims against various wireless carriers that had been brought by a purported class of commercial producers of multimedia content. Read more >>
District Court Dismisses Exclusive Dealing and Attempted Monopolization Claims Against SanDisk
On April 25, 2014, in PNY Technologies, Inc. v. SanDisk Corp., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed PNY’s exclusive dealing and attempted monopolization claims relating to flash memory drives. Read more >>
District Court Rules in American Needle Case Following SCOTUS Remand
On April 4, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois made three important rulings in American Needle, Inc. v. New Orleans Saints, et al. Read more >>
FTC Announces Revised Proposed Information Request for Study on Patent Assertion Entities
On May 19, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission published a second Federal Register notice with revised proposed information requests regarding its study concerning Patent Assertion Entities. Read more >>
DOJ and FTC to Hold Joint Workshop on Conditional Pricing Practices
On June 23, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission will hold a joint, one-day workshop in Washington, D.C., on competition issues related to conditional pricing practices. Read more >>
