The Archives

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

Showing results for:  “sirius xm merger”

Behavioral Merger Remedies and the Hippocratic Principle

Last Thursday, the FTC settled a challenge to a company’s acquisitions of two key rivals. The two acquisitions, each of which failed to meet the threshold for required reporting under Hart Scott Rodino, occurred in 2005 and 2008. Because the acquired companies have been fully integrated into the acquirer and all distinct operations have been ... Behavioral Merger Remedies and the Hippocratic Principle

Commissioner Wright lays down the gauntlet on Section 5

As Thom noted (here and here), Josh’s speech at the ABA Spring Meeting was fantastic.  In laying out his agenda at the FTC, Josh highlighted two areas on which he intends to focus: Section 5 and public restraints on trade.  These are important, even essential, areas, and Josh’s leadership here will be most welcome. I’m ... Commissioner Wright lays down the gauntlet on Section 5

Symposium

Innovation for the 21st Century Symposium

The topic of TOTM’s first blog symposium is Michael Carrier’s forthcoming book: Innovation for the 21st Century: Harnessing the Power of Intellectual Property and Antitrust Law (from Oxford University Press). Here is a description of the book’s contents from Professor Carrier: Innovation for the 21st Century offers ten proposals, from pharmaceuticals to peer-to-peer software, that will help ... Innovation for the 21st Century Symposium

Symposium

Merger Guidelines Symposium

For our friends in the agencies, we hope this symposium gives you some food for thought and a sense of where an informed subset of the antitrust community see issues meriting attention.  It is interesting to note (we received all of the submissions before any were posted) the extent to which so many of these ... Merger Guidelines Symposium

Forbes commentary on Susan Crawford’s “broadband monopoly” thesis

Over at Forbes Berin Szoka and I have a lengthy piece discussing “10 Reasons To Be More Optimistic About Broadband Than Susan Crawford Is.” Crawford has become the unofficial spokesman for a budding campaign to reshape broadband. She sees cable companies monopolizing broadband, charging too much, withholding content and keeping speeds low, all in order to ... Forbes commentary on Susan Crawford’s “broadband monopoly” thesis

Josh Wright begins making his mark at the FTC by pushing cost-benefit analysis

Although it probably flew under almost everyone’s radar, last week Josh issued his first Concurring Statement as an FTC Commissioner.  The statement came in response to a seemingly arcane Notice of Proposed Rulemaking relating to Hart-Scott-Rodino Premerger Notification Rules: The proposed rules also establish a procedure for the automatic withdrawal of an HSR filing when ... Josh Wright begins making his mark at the FTC by pushing cost-benefit analysis

Ending Transaction ‘Mission Creep’ at the FCC

by Larry Downes and Geoffrey A. Manne Now that the election is over, the Federal Communications Commission is returning to the important but painfully slow business of updating its spectrum management policies for the 21st century. That includes a process the agency started in September to formalize its dangerously unstructured role in reviewing mergers and ... Ending Transaction ‘Mission Creep’ at the FCC

Section 5 of the FTC Act and monopolization cases: A brief primer

In the past two weeks, Members of Congress from both parties have penned scathing letters to the FTC warning of the consequences (both to consumers and the agency itself) if the Commission sues Google not under traditional antitrust law, but instead by alleging unfair competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The FTC is rumored to be ... Section 5 of the FTC Act and monopolization cases: A brief primer

The FCC faces a fork in the road: Pretend scarcity doesn’t exist or actually help reduce it

At today’s Open Commission Meeting, the FCC is set to consider two apparently forthcoming Notices of Proposed Rulemaking that will shape the mobile broadband sector for years to come.  It’s not hyperbole to say that the FCC’s approach to the two issues at hand — the design of spectrum auctions and the definition of the FCC’s ... The FCC faces a fork in the road: Pretend scarcity doesn’t exist or actually help reduce it

Let The Music Play: Critics Of Universal-EMI Merger Are Singing Off-Key

There are a lot of inaccurate claims – and bad economics – swirling around the Universal Music Group (UMG)/EMI merger, currently under review by the US Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission (and approved by regulators in several other jurisdictions including, most recently, Australia). Regulators and industry watchers should be skeptical of analyses that ... Let The Music Play: Critics Of Universal-EMI Merger Are Singing Off-Key

Real lawyers read the footnotes, but cite them only when relevant: A response to Harold Feld on the FCC SpectrumCo Order

“Real lawyers read the footnotes!”—thus did Harold Feld chastise Geoff and Berin in a recent blog post about our CNET piece on the Verizon/SpectrumCo transaction. We argued, as did Commissioner Pai in his concurrence, that the FCC provided no legal basis for its claims of authority to review the Commercial Agreements that accompanied Verizon’s purchase ... Real lawyers read the footnotes, but cite them only when relevant: A response to Harold Feld on the FCC SpectrumCo Order

Diveley on Phoebe Putney and Clarifying State Action Doctrine

My former student and recent George Mason Law graduate (and co-author, here) Angela Diveley has posted Clarifying State Action Immunity Under the Antitrust Laws: FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc.  It is a look at the state action doctrine and the Supreme Court’s next chance to grapple with it in Phoebe Putney.  here is ... Diveley on Phoebe Putney and Clarifying State Action Doctrine