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Microsoft’s mobile innovation today undercuts arguments built on yesterday’s Microsoft antitrust case

Last year, Microsoft’s new CEO, Satya Nadella, seemed to break with the company’s longstanding “complain instead of compete” strategy to acknowledge that: We’re going to innovate with a challenger mindset…. We’re not coming at this as some incumbent. Among the first items on his agenda? Treating competing platforms like opportunities for innovation and expansion rather ... Microsoft’s mobile innovation today undercuts arguments built on yesterday’s Microsoft antitrust case

Efficiency, Competition, Capital Formation, Investor Protection, Apple Pie and Puppies

One of the things that I hope to spend more time doing now that I have returned to the blogosphere is open-source article writing.  By that I mean blogging about an article idea and updating it as I progress.  Some say it’s a bad plan…people might steal your ideas, or maybe you expose yourself to ... Efficiency, Competition, Capital Formation, Investor Protection, Apple Pie and Puppies

Occupational Licensing, Competition, and the Constitution: Prospects for Reform?

U.S. antitrust law focuses primarily on private anticompetitive restraints, leaving the most serious impediments to a vibrant competitive process – government-initiated restraints – relatively free to flourish.  Thus the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should be commended for its July 16 congressional testimony that spotlights a fast-growing and particularly pernicious species of (largely state) government restriction ... Occupational Licensing, Competition, and the Constitution: Prospects for Reform?

For Better Health Care Systems, States Should Take a Dose of Competition and Reject Antitrust Exemptions

Government impediments to the efficient provision of health care services in the United States are legion.  While much recent attention has focused on the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which by design reduces consumer choice and competition, harmful state law restrictions have long been spotlighted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and ... For Better Health Care Systems, States Should Take a Dose of Competition and Reject Antitrust Exemptions

Need for Chinese Antitrust Reform (and IP and Price-Related Concerns) Spotlighted at ABA Beijing Conference

The American Bar Association’s (ABA) “Antitrust in Asia:  China” Conference, held in Beijing May 21-23 (with Chinese Government and academic support), cast a spotlight on the growing economic importance of China’s six-year old Anti-Monopoly Law (AML).  The Conference brought together 250 antitrust practitioners and government officials to discuss AML enforcement policy.  These included the leaders ... Need for Chinese Antitrust Reform (and IP and Price-Related Concerns) Spotlighted at ABA Beijing Conference

That startup investors’ letter on net neutrality is a revealing look at what the debate is really about

Last week a group of startup investors wrote a letter to protest what they assume FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposed, revised Open Internet NPRM will say. Bear in mind that an NPRM is a proposal, not a final rule, and its issuance starts a public comment period. Bear in mind, as well, that the proposal ... That startup investors’ letter on net neutrality is a revealing look at what the debate is really about

McWane: Structure Isn’t Enough

A particularly unsettling aspect of the FTC’s case against McWane is the complaint counsel’s heavy (and seemingly exclusive) reliance on structural factors to prove its case. The FTC has little or no direct evidence of price communications and no econometric evidence suggesting collusion, and has instead spent a good deal of time trying to show ... McWane: Structure Isn’t Enough

Why the New Evidence on Minimum RPM Doesn’t Justify a Per Se or Quick Look Approach

Mike Sykuta and I recently co-authored a short article discussing the latest evidence on, and proper legal treatment of, minimum resale price maintenance (RPM). Following is a bit about the article (which is available here). Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s Leegin decision holding that minimum RPM must be evaluated under antitrust’s Rule of Reason, the ... Why the New Evidence on Minimum RPM Doesn’t Justify a Per Se or Quick Look Approach

Tim Wu on Section 5 Guidelines Would Make the FTC Stronger and Better

I personally believe that a policy statement on Section 5 would be a very good thing for the Federal Trade Commission, especially over the long run.  I think it would strengthen the agency, renew its distinct sense of purpose, and clarify the jobs of the attorneys who enforce the competition laws on a day-to-day basis. ... Tim Wu on Section 5 Guidelines Would Make the FTC Stronger and Better

The procompetitive story that could undermine the DOJ’s e-books antitrust case against Apple

Did Apple conspire with e-book publishers to raise e-book prices?  That’s what DOJ argues in a lawsuit filed yesterday. But does that violate the antitrust laws?  Not necessarily—and even if it does, perhaps it shouldn’t. Antitrust’s sole goal is maximizing consumer welfare.  While that generally means antitrust regulators should focus on lower prices, the situation is more ... The procompetitive story that could undermine the DOJ’s e-books antitrust case against Apple

Benjamin Barton on The Lawyer-Judge Bias

First, thanks to TOTM for organizing this symposium on a most timely and important topic.  As computers and technology have revolutionized every aspect of human endeavor it is a particularly critical time to ask ourselves why 21st century law schools closely resemble the law schools of the late-19th century and why in court litigation would ... Benjamin Barton on The Lawyer-Judge Bias

Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Supply Chain, Part Deux

But First, Money Makes the World Go ‘Round For all my carping about this or that program or enforcement matter, it seems to me a very good thing that Congress passed—and President Joe Biden signed into law—the spending package that will keep much of the federal government up and running for Fiscal Year 2024 (see ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Supply Chain, Part Deux