The Archives

The collection of all scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more

Showing results for:  “RPM”

Some Preliminary Reactions to the Leegin Transcripts

Transcripts in Leegin are available here (HT: Antitrust Review where David Fischer points out some of the highlights of the oral argument).  I may add some additional thoughts later after I read the whole thing again, but for now here are some first impressions: Breyer and Souter both had some interest comments on what to ... Some Preliminary Reactions to the Leegin Transcripts

Cass on Leegin

Ronald Cass, dean emeritus of Boston University Law School, argues in today’s WSJ that the Supreme Court should overrule Dr. Miles: The decision was a mistake that has plagued antitrust law and American business ever since. Manufacturers have no interest in suppressing price competition to help increase profits for retailers. A manufacturer with a meaningful ... Cass on Leegin

Majoras Responds to Conyers Regarding Leegin

There’s just so much paper going back and forth on Leegin that it’s hard to keep up. In addition to various briefs and commentaries and Commissioner Harbour’s de facto brief (also discussed here), there has been some interesting correspondence between Rep. Conyers, Chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary, and Deborah Platt Majoras, Chair ... Majoras Responds to Conyers Regarding Leegin

A Response to Commissioner Harbour’s "Open Letter" on Leegin

Federal Trade Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour has sent the U.S. Supreme Court justices an “open letter” regarding the pending Leegin case. [HT: Danny Sokol.] Leegin, as regular TOTM readers know, will test the continued vitality of Dr. Miles, the 1911 decision making it per se illegal for manufacturers and retailers to agree on minimum retail ... A Response to Commissioner Harbour’s "Open Letter" on Leegin

Minimum RPM Can Prevent Dealer Free-Riding … And Can You Please Pass the Bread?

Thursday night I will be speaking at a dinner and discussion sponsored by the eSapience Center for Competition Policy (eCCP) on the pending Leegin decision and the application of per se rules to minimum RPM. Here is the eCCP announcement: Presentations will be made by Prof. Robert Pitofsky, and Prof. Joshua Wright. Prof. Pitofsky is ... Minimum RPM Can Prevent Dealer Free-Riding … And Can You Please Pass the Bread?

"There is Little Evidence that Economic Analysis of Law Has Changed [Antitrust] in Any Noticeable Way"

Huh? This statement appears in this article by Professor Anthony D’Amato (Northwestern) on the failure of interdisciplinary scholarship in the legal academy. HT: Brian Leiter. Quite frankly, I was very surprised to see a claim like this in a paper written after 1970 or so. Even in corners of the academy hostile to economic analysis, ... "There is Little Evidence that Economic Analysis of Law Has Changed [Antitrust] in Any Noticeable Way"

Bye Bye, Dr. Miles.

So it looks like Dr. Miles is going down. That’s a good thing. For non-antitrusters, Dr. Miles is a 1911 Supreme Court decision holding that “minimum vertical resale price maintenance” is per se illegal — that is, automatically illegal without inquiry into the practice’s actual effect on competition. Minimum vertical resale price maintenance (or “RPM”) ... Bye Bye, Dr. Miles.

Bundled Discounts, Exclusive Dealing, and Liability Rules: Thoughts on Crane and Lambert on Bundled Discounts

Dan Crane and Thom (who has promised more remarks!) have now both posted their prepared remarks for the Section 2 hearings panel on bundled discounts. Both call for bright-line, administrable liability rules for all forms of unilateral exclusionary conduct, and have important things to say about designing antitrust rules for bundled discounts. Both are worth ... Bundled Discounts, Exclusive Dealing, and Liability Rules: Thoughts on Crane and Lambert on Bundled Discounts

Are Dr. Miles' Days Numbered?

Maybe. WSJ Law Blog reports that SCOTUS may revisit the nearly century old precedent applying the per se rule to minimum resale price maintenance (RPM). Dr. Miles may well be the last vestige of antitrust before consumer welfare’s promotion as the guiding principle of the Sherman Act, which is to say, before economics had a ... Are Dr. Miles' Days Numbered?