On 9 July 2021 President Biden signed a far-reaching executive order intended to promote competition in the American economy. The order targets perceived corporate consolidation and anticompetitive activity in the labor,...more
On 22 December 2020, on a divided vote, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or the Commission) issued a Commentary on Vertical Merger Enforcement (FTC Commentary) to provide “greater transparency to the public regarding its...more
On 11 August 2020, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”), in a unanimous opinion by Judge Callahan, reversed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC’s”) win in the district court...more
8/20/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Microchip Technology ,
OEM ,
Patents ,
Qualcomm ,
Sherman Act ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Suppliers ,
Wireless Technology
On 24 March 2020 the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively the agencies) released a joint statement providing guidance to the...more
Dutch competition authority imposes fine on company for deleted chat messages during a dawn raid -
The Dutch competition authority (“ACM“) recently confirmed that the obligation to cooperate fully with an inspection/during...more
3/23/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
BSA/AML ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Monopolization ,
Threshold Requirements
On 11 February 2020 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it has issued Special Orders to five large technology firms requiring them to “provide information about prior acquisitions not reported to the antitrust...more
2/13/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Request For Information ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have extended the deadline for public comments on the draft vertical merger guidelines (the Guidelines), which were published jointly by the agencies on 10...more
2/5/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
On Friday, 10 January 2020 the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the agencies) announced the publication of draft vertical merger guidelines that describe how the agencies currently...more
1/14/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
On 18 November 2019 the American Bar Association's Antitrust Law Section hosted its annual Antitrust Fall Forum. This year, the Fall Forum focused its discussions on a range of issues that could arise from the agencies'...more
12/3/2019
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Data ,
Consent Decrees ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act
In a decision following a 10-day bench trial, Judge Lucy H. Koh ruled on May 21, 2019 in favor of plaintiff U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) that defendant Qualcomm, Inc.’s (“Qualcomm’s”) licensing practices relating to...more
6/12/2019
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Cell Phones ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Exclusive Licenses ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
FTC Act ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internal Communications ,
IP License ,
Microchip Technology ,
Monopolization ,
Patent Royalties ,
Qualcomm ,
Sherman Act ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Telecommunications
Representatives from antitrust enforcement agencies around the world converged in Washington, D.C. last week to attend the American Bar Association's 67th Spring Meeting of the Section of Antitrust Law.
...more
A resounding complaint from merging parties heard time and time again is the negative impact on operations resulting from protracted merger reviews that consume significant resources. The duration of the merger review process...more
Are some tech companies using their cache of big data to crush competition?
U.S. regulators don’t think so. At the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Technology Policy Institute Conference in August 2018, Deputy Assistant...more
9/27/2018
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Big Data ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Technology Sector
Amid the ongoing discussion surrounding “net neutrality,” the FTC’s role in overseeing broadband Internet access service (BIAS) has received increasing scrutiny following the recent passage of the FCC’s Restoring Internet...more
7/2/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Broadband ,
Enforcement Authority ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Net Neutrality ,
Open Internet Rules ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements
AI technologies present a variety of commercial opportunities and the potential to change our daily lives. At the same time, there are many legal, policy, commercial and strategic challenges that need to be considered across...more
5/18/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
Broadband ,
Cloud Computing ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Mergers ,
Net Neutrality ,
Privacy Concerns
On 27 February 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously in an en banc decision that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may bring enforcement actions against AT&T and other telecommunications...more
3/6/2018
/ AT&T ,
Broadband ,
Common Carriers ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Telecommunications ,
Wireless Industry
Read the latest news on antitrust, competition and economic regulation (ACER) in this summer's edition of our quarterly ACER newsletter.
...more
6/13/2017
/ Anti-Steering Rules ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Competition Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Platform Liability ,
Disgorgement ,
Excessive Pricing ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Instagram ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Trump Administration
With the departure of now former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez earlier this month, among the most discussed vacancies in the new administration these days is the post of her permanent replacement....more
FTC takes another look at merger remedies -
On 3 February 2017, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released its Merger Remedies Study, which analyzed the success of merger remedies imposed by the FTC from 2006 to...more
2/23/2017
/ Africa ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Best Practices ,
Cartels ,
China ,
COMESA ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Extradition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Hong Kong ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Hungary ,
INTERPOL ,
Merger Controls ,
Mexico ,
MOFCOM ,
NRDC ,
PEMEX ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Railways ,
Red Notices ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Remedies ,
Resale Pricing ,
Retail Market ,
Settlement ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration ,
UK
On 3 February 2017, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its Merger Remedies Study, which analyzed the success of merger remedies imposed by the FTC from 2006 to 2012. Nearly two decades after it issued a similar...more
2/15/2017
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Best Practices ,
Business Assets ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Divestiture ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Remedies ,
Supply Agreements ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
Transition Team ,
Vetting