Showing archive for: “Innovation & Entrepreneurship”
Senator Warner’s retrogressive proposals could lead to arbitrary and capricious interventions that would harm entrepreneurs and consumers
Last week, I objected to Senator Warner relying on the flawed AOL/Time Warner merger conditions as a template for tech regulatory policy, but there is a much deeper problem contained in his proposals. Although he does not explicitly say “big is bad” when discussing competition issues, the thrust of much of what he recommends would ... Senator Warner’s retrogressive proposals could lead to arbitrary and capricious interventions that would harm entrepreneurs and consumers
AOL/Time Warner merger conditions are a template for disastrous tech policy
Senator Mark Warner has proposed 20 policy prescriptions for bringing “big tech” to heel. The proposals — which run the gamut from policing foreign advertising on social networks to regulating feared competitive harms — provide much interesting material for Congress to consider. On the positive side, Senator Warner introduces the idea that online platforms may ... AOL/Time Warner merger conditions are a template for disastrous tech policy
Weekend Reads
Innovation dies in darkness. Well, actually, it thrives in the light, according to this new research: We find that after a patent library opens, local patenting increases by 17% relative to control regions that have Federal Depository Libraries. … [T]]he library boost ceases to be present after the introduction of the Internet. We find that ... Weekend Reads
Google’s India case and a return to consumer-focused antitrust
What happened Today, following a six year investigation into Google’s business practices in India, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) issued its ruling. Two things, in particular, are remarkable about the decision. First, while the CCI’s staff recommended a finding of liability on a litany of claims (the exact number is difficult to infer from ... Google’s India case and a return to consumer-focused antitrust
The year ahead in drug pricing.
Last week, several major drug makers marked the new year by announcing annual increases on list prices. In addition to drug maker Allergan—which pledged last year to confine price increases below 10 percent and, true to its word, reported 2018 price increases of 9.5 percent—several other companies also stuck to single-digit increases. Although list or “sticker” ... The year ahead in drug pricing.
FCC-FTC Plans for Welfare-Enhancing Cooperation on Online Consumer Protection
As the Federal Communications (FCC) prepares to revoke its economically harmful “net neutrality” order and replace it with a free market-oriented “Restoring Internet Freedom Order,” the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commendably have announced a joint policy for cooperation on online consumer protection. According to a December 11 FTC press release: The Federal ... FCC-FTC Plans for Welfare-Enhancing Cooperation on Online Consumer Protection
Supreme Court Turns Again to Patent Cases, Against the Backdrop of a Decline in American Patent Protection that Threatens Future U.S. Innovation and International Competitiveness
On November 27, the U.S. Supreme Court will turn once again to patent law, hearing cases addressing the constitutionality of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) “inter partes” review (Oil States Energy v. Greene), and whether PTAB must issue a final written decision as to every claim challenged by the petitioner in an inter partes ... Supreme Court Turns Again to Patent Cases, Against the Backdrop of a Decline in American Patent Protection that Threatens Future U.S. Innovation and International Competitiveness
A Well-Reasoned Antitrust Division Boost for the Legitimate Exploitation of Patent Rights
On November 10, at the University of Southern California Law School, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Makan Delrahim delivered an extremely important policy address on the antitrust treatment of standard setting organizations (SSOs). Delrahim’s remarks outlined a dramatic shift in the Antitrust Division’s approach to controversies concerning the licensing of standard essential patents (SEPs, patents ... A Well-Reasoned Antitrust Division Boost for the Legitimate Exploitation of Patent Rights
Inter Partes Review Jeopardizes the Social Contract between Drug Makers and Patients
It’s been six weeks since drug maker Allergan announced that it had assigned to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe the patents on Restasis, an Allergan drug challenged both in IPR proceedings and in Hatch-Waxman proceedings in federal district court. The unorthodox agreement was intended to shield the patents from IPR proceedings (and thus restrict the ... Inter Partes Review Jeopardizes the Social Contract between Drug Makers and Patients
The antitrust laws are not some meta-legislation authorizing whatever regulation activists want: Labor market edition
In a recent post at the (appallingly misnamed) ProMarket blog (the blog of the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business — George Stigler is rolling in his grave…), Marshall Steinbaum keeps alive the hipster-antitrust assertion that lax antitrust enforcement — this time in the labor market — is to blame ... The antitrust laws are not some meta-legislation authorizing whatever regulation activists want: Labor market edition
How a Patent Office Agency Undermines Patent Rights and Cripples Innovation – and What Can Be Done About It
On August 14, the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project released a report detailing the harm imposed on innovation and property rights by the Patent Trial and Appeals Board, a Patent and Trademark Office patent review agency created by the infelicitously-named “America Invents Act” of 2011. As the report’s abstract explains: Patents are property rights secured ... How a Patent Office Agency Undermines Patent Rights and Cripples Innovation – and What Can Be Done About It
A Brief Assessment of the Procompetitive Effects of Organizational Restructuring in the Ag-Biotech Industry
Today the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) Antitrust and Consumer Protection Research Program released a new white paper by Geoffrey A. Manne and Allen Gibby entitled: “A Brief Assessment of the Procompetitive Effects of Organizational Restructuring in the Ag-Biotech Industry.” Over the past two decades, rapid technological innovation has transformed the industrial organization of ... A Brief Assessment of the Procompetitive Effects of Organizational Restructuring in the Ag-Biotech Industry
