After decades of dormancy, the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA), a Depression-era antitrust statute prohibiting price discrimination, has recently become the subject of renewed interest from both private plaintiffs and government...more
The Federal Trade Commission’s final rule broadly banning noncompete clauses between employers and workers, released on April 23, 2024, was published in the Federal Register on May 7, so the ban will take effect on September...more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in a 3-2 vote, issued a final rule that bans noncompete clauses between workers and employers as “unfair method[s] of competition” under Section 5 of the FTC Act, subject...more
4/25/2024
/ Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
On April 16, 2024, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina M. Khan announced that a special open commission meeting will be held virtually on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, where the FTC is...more
On January 25, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an inquiry scrutinizing the investments and partnerships of Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon relating to growing artificial intelligence startups Open AI and...more
This episode of our “Fierce Competition“ podcast looks at trends across the pond in class actions in the U.K. and focuses on the country’s new tribunal that was created specifically to hear class actions....more
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released the final 2023 Merger Guidelines (the Guidelines). While the final version of the Guidelines reflects...more
12/22/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Vertical Mergers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a draft of proposed new merger guidelines today, 18 months after FTC Chair Lina Khan and Assistant Attorney General...more
On January 5, 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking under the FTC Act with far-reaching implications for U.S. employers. If enacted and enforced, the proposed rule would prohibit...more
1/10/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rescission ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
US Regulators Pursue an Expansive View of Antitrust Laws -
For almost two years, industry participants have felt the effects of the Biden administration’s “big is bad” approach to antitrust — not only in technology sectors,...more
12/19/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Buyers ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Domestic Dealmaking ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Remedies ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
The pandemic’s impact may be subsiding, but businesses are encountering new challenges across the globe, including the potential for an economic retrenchment, rising interest rates, shifting regulatory and litigation...more
12/14/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Division ,
Banking Sector ,
Big Tech ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Convertible Notes ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forum Selection ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Lenders ,
Mergers ,
Money Laundering ,
Partnerships ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Repurchases ,
Russia ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Taxation ,
Technology ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
In October, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced its first criminal attempted monopolization charges in more than 40 years. In the case, U.S. v. Zito, Nathan Nephi Zito, the owner of a Montana paving...more
12/1/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Monopolization ,
Section 2 ,
Sherman Act
Key Points - U.S. antitrust regulators at the DOJ and FTC embarked on a joint review of merger enforcement by soliciting public input on modernizing federal merger guidelines. While public comments ran the gamut from...more
7/13/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
On June 28, 2021, Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Facebook’s motions to dismiss two parallel antitrust complaints filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a group...more
7/12/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Instagram ,
Laches ,
Monopolization ,
Sherman Act ,
Social Media ,
The Clayton Act ,
WhatsApp
On August 11, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decisively reversed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC or Commission) controversial district court win challenging Qualcomm’s licensing practices. In...more
8/18/2020
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Cell Phones ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
FTC Act ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Lack of Evidence ,
Monopolization ,
OEM ,
Patent Royalties ,
Qualcomm ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Sherman Act ,
Standard Essential Patents
On May 13, 2019, in a 5-4 decision in Apple Inc. v. Pepper, the U.S. Supreme Court held that consumers of iPhone apps are direct purchasers of Apple and therefore have standing to sue the company for alleged monopolization of...more
5/15/2019
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Apple Inc v Pepper ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Direct Purchasers ,
Dismissals ,
Internet Retailers ,
iPhone ,
Mobile Apps ,
Monopolization ,
Private Right of Action ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it will hold a series of public hearings examining whether changes in the economy, evolving business practices, new technologies or international developments might...more
11/26/2018
/ Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Event Tickets ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GAO ,
Internet Retailers ,
Public Comment ,
Public Hearing ,
Sports ,
Ticket Pricing
On October 26, 2018, Justice Gerald W. Connolly of the New York Supreme Court for Albany County ruled in White v. Cuomo (Index No. 5861-16) that New York’s 2016 authorization of fantasy sports violated the state constitution....more
In recent weeks, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has continued to expand his efforts to eradicate the use of no-poach agreements by employers. The targets of his investigation are companies that have included...more
10/18/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Former Employee ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
No-Poaching ,
Sherman Act ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Labor Laws
Last week, in In re: Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a decision holding that purchasers of processed egg products have standing to seek damages from egg...more
2/9/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Antitrust Conspiracies ,
Appeals ,
Apportionment ,
Damages ,
Price-Fixing ,
Reversal ,
Sherman Act ,
Standing ,
Summary Judgment ,
Supply Contracts
On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the Agencies) issued revised Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property...more
1/20/2017
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comity ,
Competition Authorities ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTAIA ,
International Harmonization ,
IP License ,
New Guidance