On June 28, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, overruling Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. In its 1984 Chevron decision, the Court held that...more
7/9/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Government Agencies ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Judicial Review ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 5 ,
Statutory Interpretation
In a decision with significant implications for private equity firms and minority investors, on May 13, 2024, the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) suit...more
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice has quietly made a change to its Leniency Policy and Procedures (the “Leniency Policy”) that could impact companies involved in transactions that discover potential...more
The healthcare industry remains a focal point of President Biden’s antitrust agenda. The president’s July 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy called on federal agencies to focus antitrust...more
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice jointly released their final Merger Guidelines. The Guidelines “identify the procedures and enforcement practices [the agencies] most often use...more
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice released a draft update of the Merger Guidelines. The draft Guidelines describe how the agencies “review...mergers and acquisitions to determine...more
7/21/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
As described in our Client Alert of July 6, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed on June 27, 2023, a massive overhaul of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) pre-merger notification...more
7/19/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Notice Requirements ,
NPRM ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Required Forms
For the first time in 45 years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed on June 27, 2023, a massive overhaul of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) pre-merger...more
On May 16, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in the Northern District of Illinois seeking to enjoin closing of Amgen Inc.’s proposed $28 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. This is the first time...more
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) recently withdrew three sets of policy statements regarding the US antitrust agencies’ enforcement approach to conduct in the healthcare industry. These policy statements...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently withdrew three sets of policy statements regarding the US antitrust agencies’ enforcement approach to conduct in the healthcare industry that may have broader...more
On October 31, 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) secured a criminal guilty plea from Nathan Zito, the president of a Montana paving and asphalt contractor, to attempted monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman...more
The last week has seen crucial developments at the European Commission (EC) and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the antitrust review of the $7.1 billion proposed acquisition by Illumina (the leading supplier of...more
9/12/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vertical Agreement ,
Vertical Mergers
Since March 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) has challenged three proposed acquisitions based on vertical competitive concerns. The parties in two of those transactions - Nvidia/Arm and Lockheed...more
In an August 3 blog post, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a change to the FTC’s merger review process with potentially far-reaching effects. Emphasizing the agency’s constrained capacity resulting from a “tidal...more
8/17/2021
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Warning Letters
On Thursday, July 1, the Federal Trade Commission held its first meeting under Chair Lina M. Khan and first open business meeting in over twenty years. The Commission considered four items during the nearly two hour long...more
7/13/2021
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Labeling ,
Made in the USA ,
Magnuson-Moss Act ,
Public Comment ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On April 22, 2021, the US Supreme Court ruled that Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to pursue certain injunctive relief in court, does not authorize the...more
Although much attention recently has been focused upon debates in Congress, potential legislative changes to U.S. antitrust law are not limited to proposals at the federal level. Many states are considering changes to their...more
On February 18, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court decision ordering a divestiture in a private merger challenge. Although the FTC and DOJ have successfully challenged a few closed transactions, the Jeld-Wen...more
Critics of modern antitrust enforcement have been building momentum towards antitrust reform over the last several years. In the first week of February 2021, several members of Congress signaled that bipartisan legislative...more
It has long been recognized that patent pools can create licensing efficiencies by establishing “onestop shops” for patents owned by multiple rights owners. There is also broad consensus that patentee collaboration in patent...more
1/26/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Big Data ,
Connected Cars ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet of Things ,
IP License ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patent Pools ,
Patents ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Universities
In recent years, both Republican and Democratic-led antitrust agencies have pursued aggressive merger enforcement programs, litigating many cases and settling many more. However, “populist” and other progressive critics have...more
For the last several years, debate over the proper role of antitrust has not been limited to academics, economists, lawyers, and judges, but routinely includes politicians, journalists, and increasingly the general public....more
The first half of 2020 was a busy time for antitrust in the United States. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) implemented expedited procedures for reviewing collaborations during the...more
8/27/2020
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Technology Sector ,
Vertical Mergers
Businesses around the world are actively working to address the global COVID-19 pandemic, including through novel types of collaborations. In the United States, federal and state agencies, including the Department of Justice...more