Showing results for: “e-books”
Are the antitrust laws any defense to the real dangers of mega-mergers and big technology power aggregation?
One year ago, Amazon acquired Whole Foods in a $13.7 billion deal. At the time, David Balto, a disciple of current antitrust orthodoxy, wrote: Those who are saying the Amazon-Whole Foods merger is a competition problem are leading us into the jungle without a compass and no clear objective. Antitrust law should stick to protecting consumers and ... Are the antitrust laws any defense to the real dangers of mega-mergers and big technology power aggregation?
Correcting the Federalist Society Review’s Mischaracterization of How to Regulate
Ours is not an age of nuance. It’s an age of tribalism, of teams—“Yer either fer us or agin’ us!” Perhaps I should have been less surprised, then, when I read the unfavorable review of my book How to Regulate in, of all places, the Federalist Society Review. I had expected some positive feedback from ... Correcting the Federalist Society Review’s Mischaracterization of How to Regulate
Canadian Site Blocking Proposal Is a Good Experiment in Controlling Piracy
In an ideal world, it would not be necessary to block websites in order to combat piracy. But we do not live in an ideal world. We live in a world in which enormous amounts of content—from books and software to movies and music—is being distributed illegally. As a result, content creators and owners are ... Canadian Site Blocking Proposal Is a Good Experiment in Controlling Piracy
Amazon and the Unwisdom of the Populist Crowd
There are some who view a host of claimed negative social ills allegedly related to the large size of firms like Amazon as an occasion to call for the company’s break up. And, unfortunately, these critics find an unlikely ally in President Trump, whose tweet storms claim that tech platforms are too big and extract unfair rents ... Amazon and the Unwisdom of the Populist Crowd
Tim Muris on Fred McChesney
Timothy Muris is a George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law at the Scalia Law School at George Mason University and Senior Counsel at Sidley Austin LLP. From 2000-2004 he was Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. I knew Fred for over 40 years, and came to have a deep love and affection for his ... Tim Muris on Fred McChesney
Developing an Economically Efficient American Trade Policy to Deal with Distortionary Government Subsidies: Brexit and Beyond
U.S. international trade law has various statutory mechanisms to deal with unfair competition. Regrettably, American trade law (and, for that matter, the trade laws of other nations) has a history of being deployed in a mercantilist fashion to further the interests of American producer interests, rather than consumer interests and aggregate economic welfare. That need ... Developing an Economically Efficient American Trade Policy to Deal with Distortionary Government Subsidies: Brexit and Beyond
Kolasky (2) on the Apple e-books case: Coordination, even horizontal coordination, isn’t per se illegal
Jon Jacobson in his initial posting claims that it would be “hard to find an easier case” than Apple e-Books, and David Balto and Chris Sagers seem to agree. I suppose that would be true if, as Richard Epstein claims, “the general view is that horizontal arrangements are per se unlawful.” That, however, is not ... Kolasky (2) on the Apple e-books case: Coordination, even horizontal coordination, isn’t per se illegal
Reed on the Apple e-books case: “We can remember it for you wholesale” – why the model matters in Apple e-books
In Philip K. Dick’s famous short story that inspired the Total Recall movies, a company called REKAL could implant “extra-factual memories” into the minds of anyone. That technology may be fictional, but the Apple eBooks case suggests that the ability to insert extra-factual memories into the courts already exists. The Department of Justice, the Second ... Reed on the Apple e-books case: “We can remember it for you wholesale” – why the model matters in Apple e-books
Hazlett on the Apple e-books case: The Apple case is a throwback to Dr. Miles, and that’s not a good thing
The Apple e-books case is throwback to Dr. Miles, the 1911 Supreme Court decision that managed to misinterpret the economics of competition and so thwart productive activity for over a century. The active debate here at TOTM reveals why. The District Court and Second Circuit have employed a per se rule to find that the ... Hazlett on the Apple e-books case: The Apple case is a throwback to Dr. Miles, and that’s not a good thing
Sagers on the Apple e-books case: Why does everybody hate competition so much?
United States v. Apple has fascinated me continually ever since the instantly-sensational complaint was made public, more than three years ago. Just one small, recent manifestation of the larger theme that makes it so interesting is the improbable range of folks who apparently consider certiorari rather likely—not least some commenters here, and even SCOTUSblog, which ... Sagers on the Apple e-books case: Why does everybody hate competition so much?
Balto on the Apple e-books case: Skip the (Apple) appetizer and get to the (McWane) main course
The “magic” of Washington can only go so far. Whether it is political consultants trying to create controversy where there is basic consensus, such as in parts of the political campaign, or the earnest effort to create a controversy over the Apple decision, there may be lots of words exchanged and animated discussion by political ... Balto on the Apple e-books case: Skip the (Apple) appetizer and get to the (McWane) main course
Hylton on the Apple e-books case: The central importance of the Court’s under-appreciated Business Electronics case
For a few months I have thought that the Apple eBooks case would find an easy fit within the Supreme Court’s antitrust decisions. The case that seems closest to me is Business Electronics v. Sharp Electronics, an unfortunately under-appreciated piece of antitrust precedent. One sign of its under-appreciation is its absence in some recent editions ... Hylton on the Apple e-books case: The central importance of the Court’s under-appreciated Business Electronics case
