Showing archive for: “Rule of Reason”
Speaking of Resale Price Maintenance …
It looks like the FTC is interested in doing more than just investigating RPM (see Thom’s excellent post), as the agency just announced a series of public workshops on the question of how best to distinguish pro-competitive uses of RPM from those that raise competitive concerns. From the announcement: The FTC is requesting public comment ... Speaking of Resale Price Maintenance …
FTC’s Latest RPM Investigation: Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing?
Once again displaying its tenacious devotion to old Dr. Miles, the FTC is investigating whether makers of musical instruments and audio equipment have engaged in illegal resale price maintenance (RPM). Yesterday’s WSJ reported that the Commission has issued subpoenas to a number of prominent musical instrument manufacturers, including Fender, Yamaha, and Gibson, as well as ... FTC’s Latest RPM Investigation: Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing?
Reverse Payments Ripe for Cert?
The Federal Circuit came down on the side of rule of reason analysis, and no liability, in a reverse payment case in Cipro (HT: Antitrust Review and Patently-O): Since there was no basis for the district court to confidently predict that the Agreements at issue here would be found to be unlawful under a rule ... Reverse Payments Ripe for Cert?
Dr. Miles is Dead. Now What?
As regular readers of this blog will know, I was pretty stoked when the Supreme Court finally overruled its infamous Dr. Miles decision. The Leegin Court’s holding that minimum resale price maintenance (RPM) is not per se illegal constituted a major step toward an economically rational and theoretically coherent approach to vertical restraints. (And on ... Dr. Miles is Dead. Now What?
Teaching Antitrust
I’m two weeks into the semester here at UT, and the antitrust course. I’ve made a few changes to the course this year. Specifically, I’m using the new 2nd edition of the Gavil, Kovacic and Baker. So far so good on that front on adjusting to the new edition. Its an excellent textbook. In large ... Teaching Antitrust
Life After Dr. Miles
An article in today’s WSJ, Price-Fixing Makes Comeback After Supreme Court Ruling, reports that minimum resale price maintenance (i.e., the setting of minimum retail prices by product manufacturers) is increasing in light of last summer’s Leegin decision. That’s great news for me, because I’ve spent most of the summer cranking out an article on how ... Life After Dr. Miles
Harvard v. Chicago on Vertical Restraints
In a new article in the June 2008 issue of Antitrust Source, Howard Marvel discusses what the rule of reason could and should look like in the Post-Leegin world as well as the different proposals to a rule of reason approach articulated by the states and the FTC in the recent Nine West consent order ... Harvard v. Chicago on Vertical Restraints
FTC to Dr. Miles: "I Wish I Knew How to Quit You!"
In April 2000, the FTC issued a Complaint against women’s shoe distributor Nine West, claiming that Nine West had engaged in minimum resale price maintenance (RPM) (i.e., the setting of minimum prices that retailers could charge for its shoes). Apparently, Nine West was providing retailers with lists of “off limits” or “non-promote” shoes that weren’t ... FTC to Dr. Miles: "I Wish I Knew How to Quit You!"
Competition for the Field, Sirius/XM and Shelf Space
Geoff and Paul like the result in XM/ Sirius but are puzzled by the DOJ press release, in particular as it pertains to analyzing ex ante competition, or “competition for the field,” in the form of payments to automobile manufacturers to adopt their services. Geoff thinks the DOJ’s press release contains some funny language appearing ... Competition for the Field, Sirius/XM and Shelf Space
Antitrust & Private Equity
WSJ Deal Journal reports some important movement on the antitrust and private equity front. Specifically, Judge Richard Jones (W.D. Washington) granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss in Pennsylvania Avenue Funds v. Borey, dismissing the plaintiffs’ allegations that two private equity firms had violated the Sherman Act by bidding jointly on the target company (Watchguard Technologies) ... Antitrust & Private Equity
Teaching RPM After Leegin
Back in the olden days (i.e., before this past summer), a manufacturer automatically violated the antitrust laws — no ifs, ands, or buts — if he agreed with a retailer that the latter would charge at least a minimum price for the manufacturer’s products. For reasons we elaborated ad nauseum (click and scroll down), that ... Teaching RPM After Leegin
Supreme Court Denies Cert in Antitrust Case
The Supreme Court denied cert yesterday in Truck-Rail Handling Inc. v. Burlington Northern & Sante Fe Railway Co., U.S., No. 07-693 (HT: Danny Sokol), where the 9th Circuit had affirmed summary judgment for the railroad company on the grounds that the plaintiff had not adequately defined relevant product markets. BNSF leased its terminal facilities to ... Supreme Court Denies Cert in Antitrust Case
