Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Chairman Wheeler’s new set-top box proposal: from unmitigated disaster to plain old disaster
Imagine if you will… that a federal regulatory agency were to decide that the iPhone ecosystem was too constraining and too expensive; that consumers — who had otherwise voted for iPhones with their dollars — were being harmed by the fact that the platform was not “open” enough. Such an agency might resolve (on the ... Chairman Wheeler’s new set-top box proposal: from unmitigated disaster to plain old disaster
Justice Department Ignores the Benefits of Contracting Freedom in its Crabbed Reading of Music Distribution Decrees
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ignored sound law and economics principles in its August 4 decision announcing a new interpretation of seventy-five year-old music licensing consent decrees it had entered into separately with the two major American “performing rights organizations” (PROs) — the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers ... Justice Department Ignores the Benefits of Contracting Freedom in its Crabbed Reading of Music Distribution Decrees
The Latest Front in the Patent Wars: Attacking Innovation in Universities
It’s not quite so simple to spur innovation. Just ask the EU as it resorts to levying punitive retroactive taxes on productive American companies in order to ostensibly level the playing field (among other things) for struggling European startups. Thus it’s truly confusing when groups go on a wholesale offensive against patent rights — one ... The Latest Front in the Patent Wars: Attacking Innovation in Universities
Sixth Circuit’s Decision Rejecting FCC Preemption of State Restrictions on Municipal Broadband Ownership Strikes a Blow in Favor of the Rule of Law (But a Broader Problem Remains)
The American concept of “the rule of law” (see here) is embodied in the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and in the constitutional principles of separation of powers, an independent judiciary, a government under law, and equality of all before the law (see here). It holds that the executive ... Sixth Circuit’s Decision Rejecting FCC Preemption of State Restrictions on Municipal Broadband Ownership Strikes a Blow in Favor of the Rule of Law (But a Broader Problem Remains)
New Insights on Bargaining for Patented Technology Licenses Provide Additional Reasons to Question Anti-Patent Scenarios
Discussion In recent years, U.S. government policymakers have recounted various alleged market deficiencies associated with patent licensing practices, as part of a call for patent policy “reforms” – with the “reforms” likely to have the effect of weakening patent rights. In particular, antitrust enforcers have expressed concerns that: (1) the holder of a patent covering ... New Insights on Bargaining for Patented Technology Licenses Provide Additional Reasons to Question Anti-Patent Scenarios
No, The FCC Should Not Have the Power to Cancel Contracts
Copyright law, ever a sore point in some quarters, has found a new field of battle in the FCC’s recent set-top box proposal. At the request of members of Congress, the Copyright Office recently wrote a rather thorough letter outlining its view of the FCC’s proposal on rightsholders. In sum, the CR’s letter was an ... No, The FCC Should Not Have the Power to Cancel Contracts
Our amicus brief supporting en banc review of the court’s Open Internet Order decision
Last week the International Center for Law & Economics and I filed an amicus brief in the DC Circuit in support of en banc review of the court’s decision to uphold the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order. In our previous amicus brief before the panel that initially reviewed the OIO, we argued, among other things, that In order to justify ... Our amicus brief supporting en banc review of the court’s Open Internet Order decision
Global Antitrust Institute Propounds Recommendations for Reform of Japan’s Administrative Surcharge System
On August 6, the Global Antitrust Institute (the GAI, a division of the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University) submitted a filing (GAI filing or filing) in response to the Japan Fair Trade Commission’s (JFTC’s) consultation on reforms to the Japanese system of administrative surcharges assessed for competition law violations (see here for ... Global Antitrust Institute Propounds Recommendations for Reform of Japan’s Administrative Surcharge System
The Supreme Court Should Reassert the Importance of Procedural Gatekeeper Rules to Deter Antitrust Litigation Excesses
Background In addition to reforming substantive antitrust doctrine, the Supreme Court in recent decades succeeded in curbing the unwarranted costs of antitrust litigation by erecting new procedural barriers to highly questionable antitrust suits. It did this principally through three key “gatekeeper” decisions, Monsanto (1984), Matsushita (1986), and Twombly (2007). Prior to those holdings, bare allegations ... The Supreme Court Should Reassert the Importance of Procedural Gatekeeper Rules to Deter Antitrust Litigation Excesses
Two Helpful Developments Aimed at Curbing Anticompetitive Protectionist Occupational Licensing Restrictions – Harbingers of Reform?
Background Recently, an increasing amount of scholarship has focused on the excessive costs of occupational licensing, which too frequently serves merely as a protectionist state-created barrier to entry that arbitrarily prevents individuals (and, in particular, low-income individuals) from earning a living in their chosen field. A 2015 White House report explains that occupational licensing restrictions ... Two Helpful Developments Aimed at Curbing Anticompetitive Protectionist Occupational Licensing Restrictions – Harbingers of Reform?
Online Privacy Regulation: A Tale of Two U.S. Agencies (and Some Foreign Bureaucrats)
In recent years much ink has been spilled on the problem of online privacy breaches, involving the unauthorized use of personal information transmitted over the Internet. Internet privacy concerns are warranted. According to a 2016 National Telecommunications and Information Administration survey of Internet-using households, 19 percent of such households (representing nearly 19 million households) reported ... Online Privacy Regulation: A Tale of Two U.S. Agencies (and Some Foreign Bureaucrats)
Everything is amazing — and no one at the European Commission is happy
Since the European Commission (EC) announced its first inquiry into Google’s business practices in 2010, the company has been the subject of lengthy investigations by courts and competition agencies around the globe. Regulatory authorities in the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, and South Korea have all opened and rejected similar antitrust claims. ... Everything is amazing — and no one at the European Commission is happy
