Showing archive for: “Harm to Competition”
Appropriate Liability Rules for Tying and Bundled Discounting: A Response to Professor Elhauge
In recent years, antitrust scholars have largely agreed on a couple of propositions involving tying and bundled discounting. With respect to tying (selling one’s monopoly “tying” product only on the condition that buyers also purchase another “tied” product), scholars from both the Chicago and Harvard Schools of antitrust analysis have generally concluded that there should ... Appropriate Liability Rules for Tying and Bundled Discounting: A Response to Professor Elhauge
DOJ to Waxman: Violating Net Neutrality Isn’t Anticompetitive
Congressman Waxman shares that the news that the DOJ Antitrust Division told him that cable or phone companies violating net neutrality principles with exclusive or discriminatory deals are not violating the antitrust laws: Waxman said during a net neutrality hearing Wednesday that Justice officials informed his office that existing competition laws cannot be used to ... DOJ to Waxman: Violating Net Neutrality Isn’t Anticompetitive
The EU tightens the noose around Google
Here we go again. The European Commission is after Google more formally than a few months ago (but not yet having issued a Statement of Objections). For background on the single-firm antitrust issues surrounding Google I modestly recommend my paper with Josh, Google and the Limits of Antitrust: The Case Against the Antitrust Case Against ... The EU tightens the noose around Google
When Google’s Competitors Attack …
We’ve discussed the all too common tactic in antitrust of rival’s complaining to government agencies to get them to bring antitrust complaints. There is nothing particularly special about this tactic. As I’ve pointed out in the context of allegations by Microsoft and Microsoft-supported rivals of Google, conventional economic reasoning suggests that, without more, complaints from ... When Google’s Competitors Attack …
The Roberts Court and the Limits of Antitrust
I’ve just finished a draft of a paper for an upcoming conference on the Roberts Court’s business law decisions. Volokh blogger Jonathan Adler, who directs the Center for Business Law and Regulation at Case Western, is organizing the conference. The other presenters are Adam Pritchard from Michigan (covering the Court’s securities decisions), Brian Fitzpatrick from ... The Roberts Court and the Limits of Antitrust
State Antitrust Law in Action
A predatory pricing case in California under Section 17043 results in a $21 million fine awarded to one newspaper, the Bay Guardian, in a suit against a competitor, San Francisco Weekly (HT: Reason). The suit alleged that the SF Weekly was selling advertising below cost for the purpose of harming a competitor. A summary of ... State Antitrust Law in Action
Does the Supreme Court Deem Price Discrimination to be an “Anticompetitive” Effect of Tying?
One of my summer writing projects is a response to Einer Elhauge’s recent, highly acclaimed article, Tying, Bundled Discounts, and the Death of the Single Monopoly Profit Theory. In the article, which appeared in the December 2009 Harvard Law Review, Elhauge defends current tying doctrine, which declares tie-ins to be per se illegal when the ... Does the Supreme Court Deem Price Discrimination to be an “Anticompetitive” Effect of Tying?
USDA Pushes Regulatory Elimination of Consumer Harm Requirement
Danny Sokol points to the Obama administration’s most recent effort to “reinvigorate” competition policy: some new proposed rules adding new sections to the existing regulations under the Packers & Stockyards Act. Emerging from the joint DOJ/ USDA agriculture workshops (see comments from Manne & Wright here; TOTM archives on agricultural antitrust here), the USDA must ... USDA Pushes Regulatory Elimination of Consumer Harm Requirement
The Proposed Merger Guidelines: How Much of a Shift?
The proposed Horizontal Merger Guidelines (HMGs) have been treated by some as a major shift in enforcement approach away from a tight structure that begins with market definition to a more flexible and open-ended competitive effects approach. Some of the specific concerns that have been raised are that the proposed HMGs dramatically change enforcement policy ... The Proposed Merger Guidelines: How Much of a Shift?
Assessing the claims that the Google-AdMob merger will "leverage Google's dominance" and also kill kittens
News items continue to pile up suggesting that the FTC is likely to challenge Google’s acquisition of mobile application and website advertising provider, AdMob. See this recent article from the Wall Street Journal. News reports today contain this quote from an anonymous source: “The staff (at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission) believes there is a ... Assessing the claims that the Google-AdMob merger will "leverage Google's dominance" and also kill kittens
An Interesting Patent Holdup Decision out of the Central District of CA: Vizio v. Funai
Readers may recall we highlighted the Vizio v. Funai complaint about a year ago, in large part because it involved antitrust and standard setting issues. The case involves allegations that Funai breached a FRAND commitment, and thus, is an important decision in the debate over the appropriate scope of Section 2 in cases involving alleged ... An Interesting Patent Holdup Decision out of the Central District of CA: Vizio v. Funai
Varney Gets It Right on RPM
Tomorrow I will be presenting my paper, A Decision-Theoretic Rule of Reason for Minimum Resale Price Maintenance, at the Next Generation of Antitrust Scholarship Conference at NYU Law School. (Kudos to Danny Sokol for co-organizing what promises to be a terrific event!) My paper criticizes four proposed approaches to evaluating RPM post-Leegin, and it sets ... Varney Gets It Right on RPM
