On March 5, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a public workshop titled “Private Capital, Public Impact: An FTC Workshop on Private Equity in Health Care.” The event is part of the agency’s effort to publicize and...more
3/8/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Investment ,
Private Equity ,
Request For Information
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took the next step in its long-standing effort to encourage lower prices and increase competition in the pharmaceutical industry. As part of the Biden administration’s whole government...more
2/12/2024
/ Bayh-Dole Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Biosimilars ,
Competition ,
Drug Distribution ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food & Drug Regulations ,
Generic Drugs ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
March-in-Rights ,
NIST ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Regulatory Agenda
It was a busy week for the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) effort to investigate and police artificial intelligence (AI). In addition to its half-day AI Tech Summit, the commission authorized the issuance of “any and all”...more
2/2/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Collaboration ,
Competition ,
Discrimination ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Summits ,
Innovative Technology ,
Investment ,
Machine Learning ,
Regulatory Oversight
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The HSR Act requires all persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions, which meet or exceed...more
1/26/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Statutory Violations ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Venture Capital
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released a new Policy Statement addressing one of its long-standing concerns in the pharmaceutical industry: the improper listing of patents in the Orange Book. In an open meeting of the...more
10/6/2023
/ Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
FTC Act ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hatch-Waxman ,
Life Sciences ,
Orange Book ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Policy Statement ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Statutory Violations
In June of 2022, McDonald’s obtained a judgment on the pleadings, ending antitrust litigation challenging the legality of the no-hire restraints it previously included in its franchise agreements. More than a year later, the...more
10/4/2023
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Former Employee ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
McDonalds ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sherman Act ,
Statutory Violations
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has focused on the potential harm that loyalty discounts and bundled prices could cause to competitors and their access to customers. A vendor offers a bundled discount when it...more
On August 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied Winn-Dixie’s appeal for a new trial in its lawsuit against the Eastern Mushroom Marketing Cooperative (EMMC). The supermarket chain alleged that EMMC, its...more
Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, has been openly and repeatedly skeptical of merger remedies and settlements: “Merger remedies short of blocking a...more
With the end of summer and fall right around the corner, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division is gearing up for several crucial displays of its criminal enforcement priorities across multiple...more
9/13/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Government Investigations ,
Monopolization ,
Price-Fixing ,
Sherman Act ,
White Collar Crimes
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division announced that they will hold three workshops regarding their jointly issued Draft Merger Guidelines. The first virtual workshop will be...more
8/30/2023
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recent multipronged challenge to EQT Corporation’s acquisition from the Quantum Energy Partners private equity investment group “marks the FTC’s first case in 40 years that enforces...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly issued new draft Merger Guidelines on July 19. The draft Merger Guidelines were created with the goal "to better reflect how the agencies...more
8/4/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
NAICS ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently suffered another setback in its most recent effort to secure criminal convictions for labor-side violations of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. In perhaps the DOJ’s...more
On April 3, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division (DOJ) filed a complaint against and settlement with Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision), alleging the company violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act....more
4/10/2023
/ Activision ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Contract Drafting ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
eSports ,
Final Judgment ,
Salary Caps ,
Sherman Act ,
Tax Liability ,
Video Games ,
Wage Withholding
Senate Proposal Opens the Door for More State Antitrust Lawsuits -
On July 14, the U.S. Senate advanced legislation that puts all businesses at risk of defending antitrust lawsuits across different jurisdictions...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently suffered another setback in its most recent effort to secure criminal convictions for labor-side violations of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Having finally secured a...more
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act (the “State AG Venue Act”). This law puts all businesses at risk of defending antitrust lawsuits across different jurisdictions...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made another move to protect two of the Biden administration’s priority constituencies: small business and workers. This time, it targeted perceived unreasonable restraints in the franchise...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to pursue its campaign against noncompete clauses. On January 5, the FTC voted 3-1 to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking, which, if implemented, would bar employers from...more
As a sport, golf has rarely, if ever, been described as "cutting edge." But in the courtroom, golf may be at the forefront of the latest antitrust developments. In the coming months, the legal war unfolding in professional...more
On January 5, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-1 to publish its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, proposing a new rule that, if implemented, would bar employers from entering into noncompete agreements with their...more
The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently secured its first criminal conviction for a labor-side violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act after VDA OC LLC (VDA) entered a guilty plea....more
On Tuesday, December 6, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division, announced the unsealing of criminal charges against 12 individuals in the Southern District of Texas as part of an 11-year price fixing and...more
On November 10, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a “Policy Statement Regarding the Scope of Unfair Methods of Competition Under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act” (Policy Statement). The Policy Statement...more