Showing results for: “RPM”
Abuse of Plaintiff Win Rates as Evidence that Antitrust Law Is Too Lenient
I was recently reading Dean Chemerinsky (Irvine Law) on the Roberts Court at Age 3. One of Chemerinsky’s standard takes when he talks about the Roberts Court is that the Court’s pro-business stance is one of its defining characteristics. Readers of the blog will know that I’ve been critical of Chemerinsky for his superficial antitrust ... Abuse of Plaintiff Win Rates as Evidence that Antitrust Law Is Too Lenient
Baker on the Dueling Bush Administration Antitrust Agencies
Jonathan Baker (American) has a column at The New Republic focusing on a different aspect of the FTC vs. DOJ scuffles over antitrust policy. Baker claims that the DOJ is engaging in what he describes as “deregulatory radicalism that allows monopolies to spin out of control,” while he is largely supportive of FTC policies. Baker ... Baker on the Dueling Bush Administration Antitrust Agencies
Dr. Miles is Dead. Now What?
As regular readers of this blog will know, I was pretty stoked when the Supreme Court finally overruled its infamous Dr. Miles decision. The Leegin Court’s holding that minimum resale price maintenance (RPM) is not per se illegal constituted a major step toward an economically rational and theoretically coherent approach to vertical restraints. (And on ... Dr. Miles is Dead. Now What?
Life After Dr. Miles
An article in today’s WSJ, Price-Fixing Makes Comeback After Supreme Court Ruling, reports that minimum resale price maintenance (i.e., the setting of minimum retail prices by product manufacturers) is increasing in light of last summer’s Leegin decision. That’s great news for me, because I’ve spent most of the summer cranking out an article on how ... Life After Dr. Miles
What is the Worst Antitrust Decision That is Good Law?
There’s been a bit of discussion about the “most destructive” decision that is good law around the blogs, e.g. here and here, in response to John McCain’s criticism of Boumedine calling it “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.” The line of discussion led me to think about the titular question. ... What is the Worst Antitrust Decision That is Good Law?
Harvard v. Chicago on Vertical Restraints
In a new article in the June 2008 issue of Antitrust Source, Howard Marvel discusses what the rule of reason could and should look like in the Post-Leegin world as well as the different proposals to a rule of reason approach articulated by the states and the FTC in the recent Nine West consent order ... Harvard v. Chicago on Vertical Restraints
RPM and the NIE
I’ve just spent a couple of great days in spectacular Boulder, Colorado at a conference on the New Institutional Economics (NIE). (Not sure why the “the” is required, but it always seems to be used.) The conference, organized by Colorado Law’s Phil Weiser and hosted by the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, ... RPM and the NIE
FTC to Dr. Miles: "I Wish I Knew How to Quit You!"
In April 2000, the FTC issued a Complaint against women’s shoe distributor Nine West, claiming that Nine West had engaged in minimum resale price maintenance (RPM) (i.e., the setting of minimum prices that retailers could charge for its shoes). Apparently, Nine West was providing retailers with lists of “off limits” or “non-promote” shoes that weren’t ... FTC to Dr. Miles: "I Wish I Knew How to Quit You!"
Are the Roberts Court Antitrust Decisions Really Pro-Business?
I’m a bit late to the party on Jeffrey Rosen’s provocative article in the NY Times Magazine claiming that the Supreme Court is biased in favor of businesses. For readers not familiar with Rosen’s claim, the basic assertion is that: With their pro-business jurisprudence, the justices may be capturing an emerging spirit of agreement among ... Are the Roberts Court Antitrust Decisions Really Pro-Business?
Teaching RPM After Leegin
Back in the olden days (i.e., before this past summer), a manufacturer automatically violated the antitrust laws — no ifs, ands, or buts — if he agreed with a retailer that the latter would charge at least a minimum price for the manufacturer’s products. For reasons we elaborated ad nauseum (click and scroll down), that ... Teaching RPM After Leegin
Legally Mandated RPM in the German Book Market
A story in the New York Times explains that in Germany booksellers are legally prohibited from discounting books below the price set by the publisher. It’s not clear from the story, but it thus seems that Germany has a legally-mandated system of minimum resale price maintenance. Not surprisingly, this favors small bookstores. “In the United ... Legally Mandated RPM in the German Book Market
Franchising, Starbucks vs. Subway, and Promotional Services
Professor Bainbridge offers a correction to Keith’s Starbucks analysis by pointing out that Starbucks does not have franchisees. I don’t think the franchise/ franchisee distinction has much to do with Keith’s conclusion that whatever is going on is not an antitrust problem. But the Professor is on to a really cool question about franchising and ... Franchising, Starbucks vs. Subway, and Promotional Services
