Introduction A recent ruling condemning price discrimination for a popular eye drop brand is yet another reminder that companies cannot afford to ignore antitrust risk under the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA), a longstanding law...more
Anyone trying to score tickets to Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour is familiar with the political backlash following Ticketmaster’s inability to handle “unprecedented” demand for the concert series. The U.S. Department of Justice...more
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 to ban the use of nearly all noncompete agreements in America’s for-profit businesses (with only a few narrow exceptions). The party-line vote comes after...more
4/25/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
The staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Competition issued a statement on June 15, 2023, sternly criticizing the use of confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements that “impede” the FTC’s ability to conduct...more
7/11/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Interviews ,
NLRB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in two related cases, Axon Enterprise Inc. v. FTC (No. 21-86) and SEC v. Cochran (No. 21-1239), that federal district courts have jurisdiction to hear structural constitutional challenges to the...more
4/24/2023
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Antitrust compliance programs that are tailored to a company’s culture, line of business, and competitive conditions have long been worth their weight in gold. But as 2022 draws to a close, a looming economic slowdown and an...more
11/16/2022
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Collusion ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Price-Fixing ,
Settlement ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act ,
Wage-Fixing
Continuing its prolific run of indictments, guilty pleas, and convictions, on July 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF or Strike Force) secured a guilty plea from a Texas...more
7/26/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Convictions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraudulent Procurement ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Sherman Act ,
White Collar Crimes
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has held that an antitrust challenge to a “hiring restriction [that] prevented” plaintiff employees “from taking a better-paying position with a...more
7/6/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
No-Poaching
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 5-0 to issue a complaint and accept a proposed order for public comment regarding private equity fund JAB Consumer Partners SCA SICAR’s (JAB) $1.1 billion acquisition of SAGE...more
6/24/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Investigations ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (the Agencies) announced the withdrawal of a 2019...more
President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14036 on Promoting Competition in the American Economy on July 9, 2021. Touting the advantages of an “open and competitive economy,” the executive order highlights how competitive...more
3/31/2022
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Airlines ,
Antitrust Division ,
Automotive Industry ,
Aviation Industry ,
Buyers ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Farmers ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Joe Biden ,
Railways ,
Suppliers ,
USDA
COVID-19 is the biggest disruption to consumer retail spending patterns in recent history. Store closures and stay-at-home orders have accelerated the adoption of e-commerce, and U.S. consumers are expected to spend more than...more
7/10/2020
/ Advertising ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Contests & Promotions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Security ,
E-Commerce ,
Gift-Cards ,
Internet Retailers ,
Marketing ,
Product Labels ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers
When the DOJ is deciding whether to charge a company with a criminal antitrust violation, or agreeing to a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), the effectiveness of a company’s antitrust compliance program is only one...more
3/5/2020
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Code of Conduct ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Leniency Guidelines ,
Sandoz
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a new policy on July 11, 2019, designed to incentivize the development and implementation of corporate antitrust compliance programs.
In remarks made at the New York...more
Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week in its antitrust enforcement action against Qualcomm, and issued an injunction that, if...more
5/31/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
FTC Act ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Monopolization ,
Patent Royalties ,
Qualcomm ,
Semiconductors ,
Sherman Act ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Telecommunications
The American Bar Association’s 67th Antitrust Law spring meeting held earlier this month featured several sessions addressing the efforts of federal and state antitrust enforcement agencies, including a number of discussions...more
4/10/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Cartwright Act ,
Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Illinois Brick ,
Mergers ,
Ohio v American Express ,
Price-Fixing ,
Sherman Act ,
State Sovereignty ,
Vertical Mergers
In a 9-0 opinion delivered by Justice Ruth Ginsburg, the United States Supreme Court last week ruled that the federal courts are not “bound to accord conclusive effect” to a foreign government’s statement of its own law under...more
6/20/2018
/ Animal Science Products Inc v Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co Ltd ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Application of Foreign Laws ,
China ,
Comity ,
Exports ,
FRCP Rule 44.1 ,
Judicial Deference ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Question of Law ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Sherman Act
Earlier this month, the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) hosted its annual TRANSACT conference to connect and educate the various branches of the payments industry. Industry leaders spoke on technology, security,...more
5/31/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Citibank ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
CSBS ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Durbin Amendment Rules ,
Electronic Payment Transactions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
Home Depot ,
ISOs ,
Kroger ,
MasterCard ,
Merchants ,
Popular ,
RICO ,
Self-Regulatory Organizations ,
Visa Inc
The American Bar Association’s 65th Antitrust Law Spring Meeting held at the end of March included a number of sessions with representatives from federal and state antitrust enforcement agencies. In this first of a three-part...more
4/11/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Attorney General ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Merger Challenges ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
State and Local Government ,
The Clayton Act ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Attorney
In 1995, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the Agencies) published guidelines that delineated how and when the Agencies would evaluate intellectual property licensing...more
The Federal Trade Commission filed suit last week in federal court against Qualcomm, Inc., following its investigation launched in September 2014. The FTC alleges that the semiconductor manufacturer illegally maintained a...more
1/25/2017
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Apple ,
Cell Phones ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
FTC Act ,
Licensing Rights ,
Mobile Devices ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Qualcomm ,
Retail Market ,
Royalties ,
Section 5 ,
Smartphones ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
Unfair Competition ,
Wireless Devices ,
Wireless Technology
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take the helm of the executive branch of the federal government, many are asking how he will approach antitrust regulation. Conventional wisdom holds that Republicans are more...more
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission jointly issued their Antitrust Guidance for Human Resources Professionals on October 20, 2016. The guidance addresses the applicability of...more
10/28/2016
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Incentives ,
Job Applicants ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Restrictive Covenants
In a precedent-setting opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Aerotec International, Inc. v. Honeywell International, Inc., No. 14-15562, 2016 WL 4709868 (9th Cir. Sept. 9, 2016), affirmed the summary...more
9/27/2016
/ Aircraft ,
Aircraft Equipment ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Aviation Industry ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Honeywell International ,
Manufacturers ,
Price Discrimination ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Sherman Act
Patent settlement agreements were traditionally deemed outside the purview of antitrust scrutiny unless the patent holder’s conduct fell outside the legitimate scope of the patent’s exclusionary power. This all changed when...more
7/5/2016
/ Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) ,
AbbVie ,
Actavis Inc. ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
FTC v Actavis ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hatch-Waxman ,
Patents ,
Pay-For-Delay ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reverse Payment Settlement Agreements ,
SCOTUS ,
SmithKline Beecham ,
Warner Chilcott