Showing archive for: “Rule of Reason”
Section 5 of the FTC Act and monopolization cases: A brief primer
In the past two weeks, Members of Congress from both parties have penned scathing letters to the FTC warning of the consequences (both to consumers and the agency itself) if the Commission sues Google not under traditional antitrust law, but instead by alleging unfair competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The FTC is rumored to be ... Section 5 of the FTC Act and monopolization cases: A brief primer
Apple Responds to the DOJ e-Books Complaint
Apple has filed its response to the DOJ Complaint in the e-books case. Here is the first paragraph of the Answer: The Government’s Complaint against Apple is fundamentally flawed as a matter of fact and law. Apple has not “conspired” with anyone, was not aware of any alleged “conspiracy” by others, and never “fixed prices.” ... Apple Responds to the DOJ e-Books Complaint
The procompetitive story that could undermine the DOJ’s e-books antitrust case against Apple
Did Apple conspire with e-book publishers to raise e-book prices? That’s what DOJ argues in a lawsuit filed yesterday. But does that violate the antitrust laws? Not necessarily—and even if it does, perhaps it shouldn’t. Antitrust’s sole goal is maximizing consumer welfare. While that generally means antitrust regulators should focus on lower prices, the situation is more ... The procompetitive story that could undermine the DOJ’s e-books antitrust case against Apple
DOJ’s Latest on Apple Investigation
From the WSJ: Publishers argue that the agency model promotes competition by allowing more booksellers to thrive. They say Amazon had sold e-books below cost and that agency pricing saved book publishers from the fate suffered by record companies. But the Justice Department believes it has a strong case that Apple and the five publishers ... DOJ’s Latest on Apple Investigation
The Apple E-Book Kerfuffle Meets Alfred Marshall’s Principles of Economics
From a pure antitrust perspective, the real story behind the DOJ’s Apple e-book investigation is the Division’s deep commitment to the view that Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) clauses are anticompetitive (see also here), no doubt spurred on at least in part by Chief Economist Fiona Scott-Morton’s interesting work on the topic. Of course, there are other important ... The Apple E-Book Kerfuffle Meets Alfred Marshall’s Principles of Economics
AAI’s Antitrust Jury Instruction Project: A good idea in theory, but…
The American Antitrust Institute has announced plans to draft a comprehensive set of jury instructions for antitrust trials. According to AAI president Bert Foer: In Sherman Act Section 1 and Section 2 civil cases, judges tend to gravitate towards the ABA Model Instructions as the gold standard for impartial instructions. … The AAI believes the ABA model ... AAI’s Antitrust Jury Instruction Project: A good idea in theory, but…
Ninth Circuit Moves Tying Doctrine in the Right Direction. Will SCOTUS Follow?
The Ninth Circuit recently issued a decision that pushes the doctrine governing tying in the right direction. If appealed, the decision could provide the Roberts Court with an opportunity to do for tying what its Leegin decision did for resale price maintenance: reduce error costs by bringing an overly prohibitory liability rule in line with economic learning. First, some ... Ninth Circuit Moves Tying Doctrine in the Right Direction. Will SCOTUS Follow?
Sacrificing Consumer Welfare in the Search Bias Debate
Eric Clemons and Nehal Madhani have a posted a series of short blog posts on the Huffington Post focusing on Google, antitrust, and more specifically, vertical integration and search (Part I, Part II, and Part III). The articles contain much of the standard hand-wringing about vertical integration and its impact on consumer welfare. This is ... Sacrificing Consumer Welfare in the Search Bias Debate
The Antitrust (and Business) Risk of a Concerted Response to the U.S. News Rankings
I’ve been in a blue funk since last Tuesday, when my home institution, the University of Missouri Law School, fell into the third tier in the U.S. News & World Report annual ranking of law schools. Since the rankings began, Missouri has pretty consistently ranked in the 50s and 60s. Last year, we fell to ... The Antitrust (and Business) Risk of a Concerted Response to the U.S. News Rankings
Search Bias and Antitrust
There is an antitrust debate brewing concerning Google and “search bias,” a term used to describe search engine results that preference the content of the search provider. For example, Google might list Google Maps prominently if one searches “maps” or Microsoft’s Bing might prominently place Microsoft affiliated content or products. Apparently both antitrust investigations and ... Search Bias and Antitrust
March 15: Kick-Off for The Law School Hiring Cartel
If you’re currently a law professor and you’re thinking you might want to change schools (because, for example, your school continued its precipitous slide in the law school rankings . . . more about that later), you’d better hop on the phone. Today is your last day to snag a visiting offer from another law ... March 15: Kick-Off for The Law School Hiring Cartel
An update on the evolving e-book market: Kindle edition (pun intended)
[UPDATE: Josh links to a WSJ article telling us that EU antitrust enforcers raided several (unnamed) e-book publishers as part of an apparent antitrust investigation into the agency model and whether it is “improperly restrictive.” Whatever that means. Key grafs: At issue for antitrust regulators is whether agency models are improperly restrictive. Europe, in particular, ... An update on the evolving e-book market: Kindle edition (pun intended)
