Top Story

A Modern Look at the Nine ‘No-Nos’ of Patent Licensing Under U.S. Antitrust Law: The First Four ‘No-Nos’
In the 1970s, Bruce Wilson, a former deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, developed a well-known list of nine patent licensing “no-nos.”  In this article, and in a follow-up article that will be published in the next edition of this newsletter, we will consider the nine “no-nos” from the perspective of U.S. antitrust law in 2013. Read more >>

Global Developments

United States

Supreme Court Grants Cert. in Watson Reverse Payment Settlement Case
The high court is poised to resolve the circuit split on the treatment of reverse payment settlements to resolve Hatch-Waxman Act patent litigation. Read more >>

7th Circuit Rejects Application of Per Se Rule to Unusual Output Agreement
The court held that a somewhat unusual output agreement is not subject to the per se rule against price-fixing or output-reduction agreements. Read more >>

3rd Circuit: Foreign Drug Maker Lacks Antitrust Standing to Challenge Actions Allegedly Taken Against Its U.S. Distributor
The court held that a French pharmaceutical manufacturer lacked antitrust standing to challenge allegedly anticompetitive actions taken against its U.S. distributor. Read more >>

FTC/DOJ/USPTO Take Action on Standards-Essential Patents
All three agencies recently took action with respect to SEPs. Here are the details. Read more >>

FTC/DOJ Hold Workshop on 'Patent Assertion Entities,' Request Comments by March 10, 2013
The workshop was designed to examine the economic and legal implications of PAE activity, as distinct from prototypical ‘non-practicing entity’ activity. Read more >>

Europe

Commission Fines Telefónica and Portugal Telecom €79 Million for Market-Sharing
The EC fined the telecoms for agreeing not to compete with one another in the Iberian market. Read more >>

Companies’ Data-Gathering Could Raise Competition Concerns, Says Almunia
A speech by EU Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia emphasized the EC's growing interest in data protection and privacy. Read more >>

European Commission Issues Record Fine
The EC issued the largest-ever antitrust fine against companies involved in the cathode ray tube cartels. Read more >>

CJEU Dismisses AstraZeneca’s Abusive Patent-Misuse Appeal
The Court's decision upholds the EC's finding that AstraZeneca had abused its dominant position by preventing the marketing of certain generic pharmaceutical products. Read more >>

Asia

Indonesia Issues First Late-Notification Fine
Indonesia’s Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition fined a car dealer for notifying authorities of an acquisition after the required deadline. Read more >>

Korea’s Fair Trade Commission Fines Participants in School Books Cartel
The KFTC fined four school book publishers 900 million won ($830,427) for colluding to fix the price of text books in online bookstores. Read more >>

Japan’s Fair Trade Commission Fines Car Parts Companies for Price-Fixing
The JFTC fined four Japanese car parts companies, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Mitsuba Corp., T. Rad Co. and Calsonic Kansei Corp., a total of 4.3 billion yen ($47.7 million) for engaging in price fixing. Read more >>

China Clears Mobile Security JV with Behavioral Conditions
China’s Ministry of Commerce cleared a joint venture between ARM Holdings plc, and German and Dutch firms Giesecke & Devrient GmbH and Gemalto NV, with behavioral commitments. The conditions imposed are almost identical to those imposed by the EC. Read more >>

China Intends to Simplify Anti-Monopoly Review Procedures in 2013
Shang Ming, the director of the Anti-Monopoly Bureau at China’s Ministry of Commerce, announced that implementing new rules to speed up the merger review process will be a priority this year. Read more >>