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Showing results for:  “digital markets act”

The Supreme Court Misses the Mark in Murr v. Wisconsin – It’s High Time to Reconcile Regulatory and Physical Takings Law

Background: The Murr v. Wisconsin Case On June 23, in a 5-3 decision by Justice Anthony Kennedy (Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan joined; Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld  the Wisconsin State Court of Appeals’ ruling that two waterfront lots should be treated as ... The Supreme Court Misses the Mark in Murr v. Wisconsin – It’s High Time to Reconcile Regulatory and Physical Takings Law

The Demise of Lanham Act Trademark Disparagement Limitations Promotes Sound Free Market Economic Principles

Background On June 19, in Matal v. Tam, the U.S. Supreme Court (Justice Gorsuch did not participate in the case) affirmed the Federal Circuit’s ruling that the Lanham Act’s “disparagement clause” is unconstitutional under the First Amendment’s free speech clause.  The Patent and Trademark Office denied the Slants’ (an Asian rock group) federal trademark registration, ... The Demise of Lanham Act Trademark Disparagement Limitations Promotes Sound Free Market Economic Principles

A Comprehensive Overview (and Sound Analysis) of the Law and Economics of FRAND Litigation, Here and Abroad

Too much ink has been spilled in an attempt to gin up antitrust controversies regarding efforts by holders of “standard essential patents” (SEPs, patents covering technologies that are adopted as part of technical standards relied upon by manufacturers) to obtain reasonable returns to their property. Antitrust theories typically revolve around claims that SEP owners engage ... A Comprehensive Overview (and Sound Analysis) of the Law and Economics of FRAND Litigation, Here and Abroad

Voluntary pricing restraints in the drug industry

Today, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) enters the drug pricing debate with a hearing on “The Cost of Prescription Drugs: How the Drug Delivery System Affects What Patients Pay.”  By questioning the role of the drug delivery system in pricing, the hearing goes beyond the more narrow focus of recent hearings that ... Voluntary pricing restraints in the drug industry

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good on Copyright Office reform

R Street’s Sasha Moss recently posted a piece on TechDirt describing the alleged shortcomings of the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017 (RCSAA) — proposed legislative adjustments to the Copyright Office, recently passed in the House and introduced in the Senate last month (with identical language). Many of the article’s points are ... Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good on Copyright Office reform

The Present State and Future Prospects of the International Competition Network (ICN)

Introduction The International Competition Network (ICN), a “virtual” organization comprised of most of the world’s competition (antitrust) agencies and expert non-governmental advisors (NGAs), held its Sixteenth Annual Conference in Porto, Portugal from May 10-12. (I attended this Conference as an NGA.) Now that the ICN has turned “sweet sixteen,” a stocktaking is appropriate. The ICN ... The Present State and Future Prospects of the International Competition Network (ICN)

A Brief Assessment of the Procompetitive Effects of Organizational Restructuring in the Ag-Biotech Industry

Today the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) Antitrust and Consumer Protection Research Program released a new white paper by Geoffrey A. Manne and Allen Gibby entitled: “A Brief Assessment of the Procompetitive Effects of Organizational Restructuring in the Ag-Biotech Industry.” Over the past two decades, rapid technological innovation has transformed the industrial organization of ... A Brief Assessment of the Procompetitive Effects of Organizational Restructuring in the Ag-Biotech Industry

Global Antitrust Institute Points the Way Toward Sounder Japanese Antitrust Guidelines

The indefatigable (and highly talented) scriveners at the Scalia Law School’s Global Antitrust Institute (GAI) once again have offered a trenchant law and economics assessment that, if followed, would greatly improve a foreign jurisdiction’s competition law guidance. This latest assessment, which is compelling and highly persuasive, is embodied in a May 4 GAI Commentary on ... Global Antitrust Institute Points the Way Toward Sounder Japanese Antitrust Guidelines

Are rules incompatible with the web? Let’s hope not: A response to Tim Wu

According to Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing, Tim Wu has written an open letter to W3C Chairman Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, expressing concern about a proposal to include Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) as part of the W3C standards. W3C has a helpful description of EME: Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) is currently a draft specification… [for] an ... Are rules incompatible with the web? Let’s hope not: A response to Tim Wu

The European Approach to Standard Essential Patents (SEPs): A Sound Critique by Scalia Law’s Global Antitrust Institute (GAI)

The Scalia Law School’s Global Antitrust Institute (GAI) has once again penned a trenchant law and economics-based critique of a foreign jurisdiction’s competition policy pronouncement.  On April 28, the GAI posted a comment (GAI Comment) in response to a “Communication from the [European] Commission (EC) on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) for a European Digitalised Economy” ... The European Approach to Standard Essential Patents (SEPs): A Sound Critique by Scalia Law’s Global Antitrust Institute (GAI)

Tax Competition, the Burden of Excessive Taxation, and the European Union’s Apple “State Aids” Case

Government subsidies that selectively favor a particular firm or firms may substantially distort competition within an industry, thereby skewing trading terms, reducing efficiency, and harming consumer welfare.  To its credit, the European Union (EU) seeks to stamp out distortive state aid, as explained by the EU’s administrative and law enforcement arm, the European Commission (EC): ... Tax Competition, the Burden of Excessive Taxation, and the European Union’s Apple “State Aids” Case

New ICLE study finds the Durbin Amendment still harms poorer Americans and small businesses

Today, the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) released a study updating our 2014 analysis of the economic effects of the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act. The new paper, Unreasonable and Disproportionate: How the Durbin Amendment Harms Poorer Americans and Small Businesses, by ICLE scholars, Todd J. Zywicki, Geoffrey A. Manne, and Julian ... New ICLE study finds the Durbin Amendment still harms poorer Americans and small businesses