The Archives

Everything written by John M. Yun on law, economics, and more

Assessing the Government’s Monopolization Case Against Visa

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has initiated an antitrust monopolization case against Visa for various practices related to its debit-card services. The complaint centers on two primary theories of harm. The first is that Visa offers volume discounts in a manner that locks in merchant banks (or “acquirers”) into Visa’s debit-card network, which deprives rival ... Assessing the Government’s Monopolization Case Against Visa

The Silly Season in Antitrust: The Hermès Case

For six generations, Hermès has epitomized French luxury, making and selling its iconic scarves, belts, jewelry, and, of course, handbags. Some Hermès products, including its Birkin and Kelly bags, are so exclusive that they can’t be bought off the shelf. Customers first have to establish a relationship with the house to purchase these specialty bags. ... The Silly Season in Antitrust: The Hermès Case

Wright, Ginsburg, Lipsky and Yun: Connecting Vertical Merger Guidelines to Sound Economics

After much anticipation, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission released a draft of the Vertical Merger Guidelines (VMGs) on January 10, 2020. The Global Antitrust Institute (GAI) will be submitting formal comments to the agencies regarding the VMGs and this post summarizes our main points. The Draft VMGs supersede the ... Wright, Ginsburg, Lipsky and Yun: Connecting Vertical Merger Guidelines to Sound Economics