Showing results for: “price gouging”
Zeke Emanuel on the ACA’s Adverse Selection Problem and Solutions to It
Ezekiel Emanuel, Rahm’s brother and former health care adviser to President Obama, acknowledges in today’s Wall Street Journal that adverse selection may prove to be a “bump in the road” in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But never you mind. He’s got solutions. And, as usual, they all come down to messaging. Emanuel describes ... Zeke Emanuel on the ACA’s Adverse Selection Problem and Solutions to It
Some Thoughts on the Spring Meeting: Bummed About RPM, Happy About the FTC’s Future
I’ve spent the last few days in DC at the ABA Antitrust Section’s Spring Meeting. The Spring Meeting is the extravaganza of the year for antitrust lawyers, bringing together leading antitrust practitioners, enforcers, and academics for in-depth discussions about developments in the law. It’s really a terrific event. I was honored this year to have ... Some Thoughts on the Spring Meeting: Bummed About RPM, Happy About the FTC’s Future
How Copyright Drives Innovation in Scholarly Publishing
[Cross posted at the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property blog.] Today’s public policy debates frame copyright policy solely in terms of a “trade off” between the benefits of incentivizing new works and the social deadweight losses imposed by the access restrictions imposed by these (temporary) “monopolies.” I recently posted to SSRN a new ... How Copyright Drives Innovation in Scholarly Publishing
The Law & Economics of Interchange Fees Symposium
For the uninitiated, the interchange fee is the fee charged (usually) by the credit card issuing bank (the cardholder’s bank) to the credit card acquiring bank (the merchant’s bank) to settle a credit card transaction between the cardholder and the merchant. Interchange fees, as well as various rules set by credit card networks governing credit ... The Law & Economics of Interchange Fees Symposium
Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Partial De Facto Exclusive Dealing Claims Have Got to Go!
Today, a group of eighteen scholars, of which I am one, filed an amicus brief encouraging the Supreme Court to review a Court of Appeals decision involving loyalty rebates. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently upheld an antitrust judgment based on a defendant’s loyalty rebates even though the rebates resulted in above-cost prices for the defendant’s products ... Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Partial De Facto Exclusive Dealing Claims Have Got to Go!
Forbes commentary on Susan Crawford’s “broadband monopoly” thesis
Over at Forbes Berin Szoka and I have a lengthy piece discussing “10 Reasons To Be More Optimistic About Broadband Than Susan Crawford Is.” Crawford has become the unofficial spokesman for a budding campaign to reshape broadband. She sees cable companies monopolizing broadband, charging too much, withholding content and keeping speeds low, all in order to ... Forbes commentary on Susan Crawford’s “broadband monopoly” thesis
Criticizing the FTC’s Proposed Order in the Google Patent Antitrust Case
I filed comments today on the FTC’s proposed Settlement Order in the Google standards-essential patents (SEPs) antitrust case. The Order imposes limits on the allowable process for enforcing FRAND licensing of SEPs, an area of great complexity and vigorous debate among industry, patent experts and global standards bodies. The most notable aspect of the order ... Criticizing the FTC’s Proposed Order in the Google Patent Antitrust Case
Regulation Magazine Cover Article: “How the Supreme Court Doomed the ACA to Failure”
My recent essay, How the Supreme Court Doomed the ACA to Failure, is the cover article of the current issue of Regulation Magazine. I’ve been over the essay’s basic points several times (e.g., here, here, and here), so I won’t belabor them now. My basic assertions are: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions mandating both “guaranteed issue” (insurers must sell to everyone) and ... Regulation Magazine Cover Article: “How the Supreme Court Doomed the ACA to Failure”
The price of closing the Google search antitrust case: questionable precedent on patents
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday closed its investigation of Google’s search business (see my comment here) without taking action. The FTC did, however, enter into a settlement with Google over the licensing of Motorola Mobility’s standards-essential patents (SEPs). The FTC intends that agreement to impose some limits on an area of great complexity and vigorous ... The price of closing the Google search antitrust case: questionable precedent on patents
Meese on Bork (and the AALS)
William & Mary’s Alan Meese has posted a terrific tribute to Robert Bork, who passed away this week. Most of the major obituaries, Alan observes, have largely ignored the key role Bork played in rationalizing antitrust, a body of law that veered sharply off course in the middle of the last century. Indeed, Bork began his 1978 ... Meese on Bork (and the AALS)
Tears for Tiers: Wyden’s “Data Cap” Restrictions Would Hurt, not Help, Internet Users
As Democrats insist that income taxes on the 1% must go up in the name of fairness, one Democratic Senator wants to make sure that the 1% of heaviest Internet users pay the same price as the rest of us. It’s ironic how confused social justice gets when the Internet’s involved. Senator Ron Wyden is ... Tears for Tiers: Wyden’s “Data Cap” Restrictions Would Hurt, not Help, Internet Users
Section 5 of the FTC Act and monopolization cases: A brief primer
In the past two weeks, Members of Congress from both parties have penned scathing letters to the FTC warning of the consequences (both to consumers and the agency itself) if the Commission sues Google not under traditional antitrust law, but instead by alleging unfair competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The FTC is rumored to be ... Section 5 of the FTC Act and monopolization cases: A brief primer
