Showing archive for: “FTC”
Barnett v. Barnett on Antitrust
Tom Barnett (Covington & Burling) represents Expedia in, among other things, its efforts to persuade a US antitrust agency to bring a case against Google involving the alleged use of its search engine results to harm competition. In that role, in a recent piece in Bloomberg, Barnett wrote the following things: “The U.S. Justice Department ... Barnett v. Barnett on Antitrust
FTC Microeconomics Conference
The Fourth Annual FTC Microeconomics Conference is scheduled for November 3 and 4, 2011. Here is the call for papers: The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics will host a two day conference to bring together scholars working in areas related to the FTC’s antitrust, consumer protection and public policy missions. Those areas include industrial ... FTC Microeconomics Conference
Politics and Price Gouging
Commissioner Rosch gets off his second shot in against the Department of Justice in just a few weeks in the pages of the Wall Street Journal — this time in a letter to the editor: Obama’s Political ‘Price-Gouging’ If any doubts existed about whether the Justice Department is just “an arm of the administration,” they ... Politics and Price Gouging
Shocked: Gasoline Prices Vary Edition
From the Attorney General’s Memorandum to the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (HT: Michael Giberson, who is a must read on all issues oil and energy related: Based upon our work and research to date, it is evident that there are regional differences in gasoline prices, as well as differences in the statutory and other ... Shocked: Gasoline Prices Vary Edition
More on the Fighting Antitrust Agencies
One additional observation on the WSJ story Paul mentioned. Much has been written about the strained relationship between the FTC and DOJ in antitrust matters. There has, of course, never been a more descriptive and entertaining version of these tensions than the one offered by former Chairman and now Commissioner Kovacic who observed that the ... More on the Fighting Antitrust Agencies
Dissention in antitrust agencies
The Wall Street Journal reports major conflicts between the DOJ and the FTC over antitrust jurisdiction. There are only two of them, and they are not subject to rules against collusion and open agreements. Nonetheless, they can’t get along and they cannot decide on market division. Maybe they will take this as information about ... Dissention in antitrust agencies
DOJ clears Google-ITA
The press release is here. Notably, the settlement obligates Google to continue product development and to license ITA software on commercially-reasonable terms, seemingly for 5 years. Frankly, I can’t imagine Google wouldn’t have done this anyway, so the settlement is not likely much of a binding constraint. Also notable is what the settlement doesn’t seem to ... DOJ clears Google-ITA
Market Definition and the Merger Guidelines, Again
Do the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines require market definition? Will the agencies define markets in cases they bring? Are they required to do so by the Guidelines? By the Clayton Act? Here is Commissioner Rosch in the FTC Annual Report (p.18): “A significant development in 2010 was the issuance of updated Horizontal Merger Guidelines by ... Market Definition and the Merger Guidelines, Again
Is the FTC Moving to the National Gallery of Art, Part II
Congressman Mica’s mission to oust the Federal Trade Commission from its current digs continues. Mica is the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and has made the move top priority (Washington Post): “You won’t believe me, but this is my only priority as chairman,” he says — a fact that has the commissioners ... Is the FTC Moving to the National Gallery of Art, Part II
ABA Section of Antitrust Spring Meeting
The 59th Annual Section of Antitrust Spring Meeting is coming up March 30th to April 1. For those who have not yet had the opportunity to attend and will be in DC or can make it — its a great event and I highly recommend it. If you are a law student interested in attending ... ABA Section of Antitrust Spring Meeting
Gans on Apple and Antitrust
Joshua Gans has an interesting post examining potential antitrust issues involving Apple, an issue we’ve discussed here and here. Gans focuses in on the two most relevant issues: There are two aspects that might raise antitrust concern: (i) Apple’s exclusivity-like requirement that no external payment links be permitted in apps and (ii) Apple’s most-favored customer ... Gans on Apple and Antitrust
Apple, Antitrust, and the FTC
Antitrust investigators continue to see smoke rising around Apple and the App Store. From the WSJ: For starters, subscriptions must be sold through Apple’s App Store. For instance, a magazine that wants to publish its content on an iPad cannot include a link in an iPad app that would direct readers to buy subscriptions through ... Apple, Antitrust, and the FTC
