Showing archive for: “Pharmaceutical Industry”
Mandated “fair use” language has no place in trade promotion authority
Earlier this week Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden and Representative Paul Ryan introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation, the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (otherwise known as Trade Promotion Authority or “fast track” negotiating authority). The bill would enable the Administration to negotiate free trade agreements subject to appropriate Congressional review. Nothing ... Mandated “fair use” language has no place in trade promotion authority
From the Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2014, on Crony Capitalism
My son Joe and I have an op-ed in today’s WSJ that should stir up some controversy. Opinion Wall Street Journal The Case for Crony Capitalism Many government regulations choke off entirely legal avenues of potential bank profits. By Paul H. Rubin And Joseph S. Rubin July 7, 2014 7:34 p.m. ET Economics has a ... From the Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2014, on Crony Capitalism
James Cooper on the Limits of Section 5’s Scope Beyond the Sherman Act
The FTC has long been on a quest to find the elusive species of conduct that Section 5 alone can tackle. A series of early Supreme Court cases interpreting the FTC Act – the most recent and widely cited of which is more than forty years old (FTC v. Sperry & Hutchinson Co., 405 U.S. ... James Cooper on the Limits of Section 5’s Scope Beyond the Sherman Act
How Many Patents Make a “Patent War”?
I have a guest blog posting up on Intellectual Ventures’ blog on why a patent war — or “patent thicket” in scholarly parlance — cannot be defined solely in terms of the number of patents involved in the legal and commercial conflict. Check it out at: http://www.intellectualventures.com/index.php/insights/archives/how-many-patents-make-a-patent-war As an aside, this issue is important because ... How Many Patents Make a “Patent War”?
Today’s Software Patents Look a Lot Like Early Pharma Patents
The recent New York Times article on the high-tech industry argues that software patents and the current “smart phone war” are a disaster for innovation, and it backs this with quotes and cites from a horde of academics and judges, like Judge Richard Posner, that software patents are causing “chaos.” Judge Posner in particular has ... Today’s Software Patents Look a Lot Like Early Pharma Patents
Taxing Regulatory Failure
Last month, the IRS and the US Treasury Department issued proposed rules to implement a new tax on health insurance providers and self-insured groups. The tax is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and will be used to help fund the new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), which will conduct research ... Taxing Regulatory Failure
A few tidbits about Herb Hovenkamp
Our friends at Chillin’ Competition have a short interview with Herb Hovenkamp up as part of their “Friday Slot” series. Here are a couple of tidbits to entice you to go read the whole thing: “Oscar” of the best antitrust law book? Non-antitrust book? Best Antitrust Book: Oliver E. Williamson, Markets and Hierarchies: Analysis and Antitrust Implications (1975). ... A few tidbits about Herb Hovenkamp
The Law and Economics of Any Willing Provider Laws
While I’m posting about health care regulation, I’d like to point TOTM readers to a short article with Jonathan Klick (University of Pennsylvania) summarizing the economics and empirical evidence surrounding “Any Willing Provider”(AWP) laws for the Washington Legal Foundation. We write: This analysis evaluates the antitrust law ramifications of proposals requiring pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) ... The Law and Economics of Any Willing Provider Laws
The Magical World of Mandates
It seems President Obama has discovered a magical cure for his contraception controversy: simply force insurance companies to provide free coverage for contraceptive services, but only for women who work for organizations that qualify for exemption from the original mandate that requires contraceptive coverage be part of any respectable (i.e., Obama-approved) health plan. Never mind ... The Magical World of Mandates
Efficiency, Competition, Capital Formation, Investor Protection, Apple Pie and Puppies
One of the things that I hope to spend more time doing now that I have returned to the blogosphere is open-source article writing. By that I mean blogging about an article idea and updating it as I progress. Some say it’s a bad plan…people might steal your ideas, or maybe you expose yourself to ... Efficiency, Competition, Capital Formation, Investor Protection, Apple Pie and Puppies
Banning Executives
From the WSJ: The Department of Health and Human Services this month notified Howard Solomon of Forest Laboratories Inc. that it intends to exclude him from doing business with the federal government. This, in turn, could prevent Forest from selling its drugs to Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration. If the government implements its ban, ... Banning Executives
The Supreme Court teaches a securities lesson
In Erica P. John Fund vs. Halliburton the Court held that the Fifth Circuit erred when it required loss causation for class certification. The Court taught the lower courts the distinction among various elements of securities cases. In order to get Basic’s presumption of reliance you have to prove, e.g., that the alleged misrepresentations were ... The Supreme Court teaches a securities lesson