Showing archive for: “FTC”
Research Bleg: Competition Settlements With Conditions (Arguably) Contrary to Consumer Welfare
Judge Ginsburg and I are working on a project for an upcoming festschrift in honor of Bill Kovacic. The project involves the role of settlements in the pursuit of the goals of antitrust. In particular, we are looking for examples of antitrust settlements between competition agencies and private parties — in the U.S. or internationally ... Research Bleg: Competition Settlements With Conditions (Arguably) Contrary to Consumer Welfare
Some Much-Needed Antitrust Skepticism on Senate Letter Urging FTC Google Investigation
Back in September, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee held a hearing on “The Power of Google: Serving Consumers or Threatening Competition?” Given the harsh questioning from the Subcommittee’s Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Ranking Member Mike Lee (R-UT), no one should have been surprised by the letter they sent yesterday to the Federal Trade ... Some Much-Needed Antitrust Skepticism on Senate Letter Urging FTC Google Investigation
Never Mistake Activity for Achievement, Antitrust Edition
FTC Chairman Leibowitz recently gave a speech in which he took on a number of issues, but one in particular caught my eye. In a portion of the speech describing how antitrust has updated its procedures in order to become more efficient and avoid the problem of having decade-long cases focused upon technologies that are ... Never Mistake Activity for Achievement, Antitrust Edition
In re Pool Corporation: Yet Another Peculiar and Peverse Section 5 Consent from the FTC
TOTM readers know that I’ve long been skeptical of claims that expansive use of Section 5 of the FTC Act will prove productive for consumers. I’ve been critical of recent applications of Section 5 such as Intel and N-Data. Now comes yet another FTC consent decree in PoolCorp. I’m still skeptical. Indeed, PoolCorp appears to ... In re Pool Corporation: Yet Another Peculiar and Peverse Section 5 Consent from the FTC
My New Empirical Study on Defining and Measuring Search Bias
Tomorrow is the deadline for Eric Schmidt to send his replies to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s follow up questions from his appearance at a hearing on Google antitrust issues last month. At the hearing, not surprisingly, search neutrality was a hot topic, with representatives from the likes of Yelp and Nextag, as well as Expedia’s ... My New Empirical Study on Defining and Measuring Search Bias
Google, Vertical Integration, and Beer
First, Google had the audacity to include a map in search queries suggesting a user wanted a map. Consumers liked it. Then came video. Then, they came for the beer: Google’s first attempt at brewing has resulted in a beer that taps ingredients from all across the globe. They teamed up with Delaware craft brewery ... Google, Vertical Integration, and Beer
72% of Antitrust Lawyers Not Impressed By Case Against Google
It is not exactly the application of the consumer welfare standard, nor a scientific survey, but nonetheless an interesting poll at the American Bar Association Antitrust & Intellectual Property Conference before and after presentations from lawyers representing each side. The results? While this is an admittedly small sample size and may not be representative of ... 72% of Antitrust Lawyers Not Impressed By Case Against Google
ACS Blog Debate on Google: Putting Consumer Welfare First in Antitrust Analysis of Google
[I am participating in an online “debate” at the American Constitution Society with Professor Ben Edelman. The debate consists of an opening statement and concluding responses to be posted later in the week. Professor Edelman’s opening statement is here. I am cross-posting my opening statement here at TOTM. This is my closing statement] Professor Edelman’s ... ACS Blog Debate on Google: Putting Consumer Welfare First in Antitrust Analysis of Google
ACS Blog Debate on Google: Retrograde Antitrust Analysis is No Fit for Google
I am participating in an online “debate” at the American Constitution Society with Professor Ben Edelman. The debate consists of an opening statement and concluding responses to be posted later in the week. Professor Edelman’s opening statement is here. I am cross-posting my opening statement here at TOTM, and will cross-post my closing statement later ... ACS Blog Debate on Google: Retrograde Antitrust Analysis is No Fit for Google
Epstein, Kieff & Spulber Eviscerate the FTC’s Proposal on Regulating SSOs
In a thorough and convincing paper, “The FTC’s Proposal for Regulating IP through SSOs Would Replace Private Coordination with Government Hold-Up,” Richard Epstein, Scott Kieff and Dan Spulber assess and then decimate the FTC’s proposal on patent notice and remedies, “The Evolving IP Marketplace: Aligning Patent Notice and Remedies with Competition.” Note Epstein, Kieff and ... Epstein, Kieff & Spulber Eviscerate the FTC’s Proposal on Regulating SSOs
Eighth Circuit Affirms District Court Against FTC in Lundbeck
Here’s the decision; here is my prior post concerning the district court decision. I suspect the FTC was fairly confident it would succeed in persuading the panel to reverse. The appeal turns on whether the district court was clearly erroneous in ruling that the FTC had failed to properly define a relevant market, and in ... Eighth Circuit Affirms District Court Against FTC in Lundbeck
Cooper and Kovacic on Behavioral Economics and Regulatory Agencies
There is an embarrassing blind spot in the behavioral law and economics literature with respect to implementation of policy whether via legislation or administrative agency. James Cooper and William Kovacic — both currently at the Federal Trade Commission as Attorney Advisor Commissioner, respectively — aim to fill this gap with a recent working paper entitled ... Cooper and Kovacic on Behavioral Economics and Regulatory Agencies
