Showing archive for: “Innovation & Entrepreneurship”
Conglomerate effects and the incentive to deal reasonably with other providers of complementary products
Modern agriculture companies like Monsanto, DuPont, and Syngenta, develop cutting-edge seeds containing genetic traits that make them resistant to insecticides and herbicides. They also develop crop protection chemicals to use throughout the life of the crop to further safeguard from pests, weeds and grasses, and disease. No single company has a monopoly on all the ... Conglomerate effects and the incentive to deal reasonably with other providers of complementary products
Significant Impediment To Industry Innovation: A novel theory of harm in EU merger policy?
In Brussels, the talk of the town is that the European Commission (“Commission”) is casting a new eye on the old antitrust conjecture that prophesizes a negative relationship between industry concentration and innovation. This issue arises in the context of the review of several mega-mergers in the pharmaceutical and AgTech (i.e., seed genomics, biochemicals, “precision ... Significant Impediment To Industry Innovation: A novel theory of harm in EU merger policy?
Unleashing Prosperity through Smarter Financial Regulation
On February 28, the Heritage Foundation issued a volume of essays by leading scholars on the law and economics of financial services regulatory reform entitled Prosperity Unleashed: Smarter Financial Regulation. This Report, which is well worth a read (in particular, by incoming Trump Administration officials and Members of Congress), is available online. The Report’s 23 ... Unleashing Prosperity through Smarter Financial Regulation
The American Antitrust Institute Fruitlessly Searches for the Key to American Competitive Conditions under the Antitrust Lamppost
On September 28, the American Antitrust Institute released a report (“AAI Report”) on the state of U.S. antitrust policy, provocatively entitled “A National Competition Policy: Unpacking the Problem of Declining Competition and Setting Priorities for Moving Forward.” Although the AAI Report contains some valuable suggestions, in important ways it reminds one of the drunkard who ... The American Antitrust Institute Fruitlessly Searches for the Key to American Competitive Conditions under the Antitrust Lamppost
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
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
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
Pushing Ad Networks Out of Business: Yershov v. Gannett and the War Against Online Platforms
The lifecycle of a law is a curious one; born to fanfare, a great solution to a great problem, but ultimately doomed to age badly as lawyers seek to shoehorn wholly inappropriate technologies and circumstances into its ambit. The latest chapter in the book of badly aging laws comes to us courtesy of yet another ... Pushing Ad Networks Out of Business: Yershov v. Gannett and the War Against Online Platforms
Acknowledging the Limitations of the FTC’s “PAE” Study
[Below is an excellent essay by Devlin Hartline that was first posted at the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property blog last week, and I’m sharing it here.] ACKNOWLEDGING THE LIMITATIONS OF THE FTC’S “PAE” STUDY By Devlin Hartline The FTC’s long-awaited case study of patent assertion entities (PAEs) is expected to be released this spring. ... Acknowledging the Limitations of the FTC’s “PAE” Study
Time to Confront Bias Against Patent Owners in Patent “Reform” Legislation like the VENUE Act
Last March, I published an op ed in the the Washington Times on the proposed VENUE Act, a recently introduced bill taken wholesale from a portion of HR 9 (the tendentiously titled “Innovation Act”). HR 9 has rightly stalled given its widespread and radical changes to the patent system that weaken and dilute all property rights ... Time to Confront Bias Against Patent Owners in Patent “Reform” Legislation like the VENUE Act
George Mason University School of Law to be Renamed “Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University”
I am sharing the press release below: George Mason University receives $30 million in gifts, renames School of Law after Justice Antonin Scalia Largest combined gift in university’s history will support new scholarship programs Arlington, VA— George Mason University today announces pledges totaling $30 million to the George Mason University Foundation to support the School ... George Mason University School of Law to be Renamed “Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University”
Penalizing Innovation: The FAA’s Regulation of Drones
As the late Nobel Laureate James Buchanan and other economists have long pointed out, even in the case of market failure, regulation is only potentially justified if economic welfare under regulation is likely to be higher than under an unregulated market – not an easy test to meet, in light of rampant government failure. Nevertheless, ... Penalizing Innovation: The FAA’s Regulation of Drones
