Showing archive for: “Law & Economics”
Abuse of Dominance by Patentees: A Pro-Innovation Perspective
In my just-published article in The Antitrust Source, I argue that the law and economics literature on patents and error cost analysis demonstrate that the recent focus by U.S. (and foreign) antitrust enforcers on single-firm patent abuses is misplaced, and may reduce incentives to innovate. I recommend that antitrust enforcers focus instead on restrictions among ... Abuse of Dominance by Patentees: A Pro-Innovation Perspective
Joshua Wright, Martin Gaynor and Past FTC Officials to Speak at ICLE Event on Apple and Amazon Cases
The Federal Trade Commission’s recent enforcement actions against Amazon and Apple raise important questions about the FTC’s consumer protection practices, especially its use of economics. How does the Commission weigh the costs and benefits of its enforcement decisions? How does the agency employ economic analysis in digital consumer protection cases generally? Join the International Center ... Joshua Wright, Martin Gaynor and Past FTC Officials to Speak at ICLE Event on Apple and Amazon Cases
Occupational Licensing, Competition, and the Constitution: Prospects for Reform?
U.S. antitrust law focuses primarily on private anticompetitive restraints, leaving the most serious impediments to a vibrant competitive process – government-initiated restraints – relatively free to flourish. Thus the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should be commended for its July 16 congressional testimony that spotlights a fast-growing and particularly pernicious species of (largely state) government restriction ... Occupational Licensing, Competition, and the Constitution: Prospects for Reform?
Antitrust Law and Economics Scholars Urge Reversal in McWane
Last Monday, a group of nineteen scholars of antitrust law and economics, including yours truly, urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to reverse the Federal Trade Commission’s recent McWane ruling. McWane, the largest seller of domestically produced iron pipe fittings (DIPF), would sell its products only to distributors that “fully supported” ... Antitrust Law and Economics Scholars Urge Reversal in McWane
Antitrust Enforcers’ Stealth Undermining of Patent Rights – Shedding Light on a Recent and Troubling Phenomenon
In recent years, antitrust enforcers in Europe and the United States have made public pronouncements and pursued enforcement initiatives that undermine the ability of patentees to earn maximum profits through the unilateral exercise of rights within the scope of their patents, as discussed in separate recent articles by me and by Professor Nicolas Petit of ... Antitrust Enforcers’ Stealth Undermining of Patent Rights – Shedding Light on a Recent and Troubling Phenomenon
A Supreme Court ruling against Aereo won’t spell the end of cloud computing
Interested observers on all sides of the contentious debate over Aereo have focused a great deal on the implications for cloud computing if the Supreme Court rules against Aereo. The Court hears oral argument next week, and the cloud computing issue is sure to make an appearance. Several parties that filed amicus briefs in the ... A Supreme Court ruling against Aereo won’t spell the end of cloud computing
Commissioner Wright’s McWane Dissent Illuminates the Law and Economics of Exclusive Dealing
Commissioner Josh Wright’s dissenting statement in the Federal Trade Commission’s recent McWane proceeding is a must-read for anyone interested in the law and economics of exclusive dealing. Wright dissented from the Commission’s holding that McWane Inc.’s “full support” policy constituted unlawful monopolization of the market for domestic pipe fittings. Under the challenged policy, McWane, the ... Commissioner Wright’s McWane Dissent Illuminates the Law and Economics of Exclusive Dealing
“FTC: Technology & Reform” Agenda Available for 12/16 Event with Current/Former FTC Commissioners Wright, Muris & Kovacic
As it begins its hundredth year, the FTC is increasingly becoming the Federal Technology Commission. The agency’s role in regulating data security, privacy, the Internet of Things, high-tech antitrust and patents, among other things, has once again brought to the forefront the question of the agency’s discretion and the sources of the limits on its power.Please join us this Monday, December ... “FTC: Technology & Reform” Agenda Available for 12/16 Event with Current/Former FTC Commissioners Wright, Muris & Kovacic
On Debating Imaginary Felds
Harold Feld, in response to a recent Washington Post interview with AEI’s Jeff Eisenach about AEI’s new Center for Internet, Communications, and Technology Policy, accused “neo-conservative economists (or, as [Feld] might generalize, the ‘Right’)” of having “stopped listening to people who disagree with them. As a result, they keep saying the same thing over and over again.” (Full disclosure: ... On Debating Imaginary Felds
A guide to today’s net neutrality oral arguments
We’ll be delving into today’s oral arguments at our live-streamed TechFreedom/ICLE event at 12:30 EDT — and tweeting on the #NetNeutrality hashtag. But here are a few thoughts to help guide the frantic tea-leaf reading everyone will doubtless be engaged in after (and probably even during) the arguments: While most commentators have focused on ancillary ... A guide to today’s net neutrality oral arguments
Ronald Coase on regulation
As Gus said, there will be much more to say, and much more said by others, on Coase’s passing. For now, I offer this excerpt from a 1997 Reason interview he gave with Tom Hazlett: Hazlett: You said you’re not a libertarian. What do you consider your politics to be? Coase: I really don’t know. I don’t reject ... Ronald Coase on regulation
Welcome new TOTM bloggers Gus Hurwitz and Ben Sperry
We’re delighted to welcome two new bloggers to Truth on the Market: Gus Hurwitz and Ben Sperry. Gus is an assistant professor of law at the University of Nebraska. His work looks at the interface between law and technology and the role of regulation in high-tech industries. He has a particular expertise in telecommunications law and ... Welcome new TOTM bloggers Gus Hurwitz and Ben Sperry
