The Development: China's Supreme People's Court ("SPC") recently released a Judicial Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Dispute Cases Arising from Monopolistic Conduct...more
7/18/2024
/ Anti-Monopoly ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
China ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Judicial Interpretation ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Risk Assessment
Federal courts will no longer give controlling weight to agency interpretations of ambiguous laws....more
On May 17, 2024, Colorado enacted S.B. 24-205 (the "Act"), which imposes a duty of reasonable care on developers and deployers of high-risk artificial intelligence ("AI") systems to protect consumers from risks of algorithmic...more
This week, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 along party lines to finalize a rule that bans noncompete clauses in employment agreements as a per se illegal “unfair method of competition” (“UMC”) under Section 5...more
The Background: The Australian Federal Treasurer recently announced sweeping reforms to Australia's merger review regime. These reforms will overhaul the current merger review regime in Australia to introduce mandatory filing...more
The Situation: On January 29, 2024, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") requested comment on a proposed rule updating its bank merger rules and incorporating a policy statement (the "Proposal") on agency...more
2/15/2024
/ Bank Merger Act ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Reviews ,
OCC ,
Policy Statement ,
Proposed Rules
China doubled its merger notification thresholds effective on January 26, 2024.
China's State Council recently published new merger control notification thresholds doubling the previous China revenue thresholds in an...more
As expected, the final guidelines expand the types of transactions that may receive heightened scrutiny or result in a merger challenge....more
As public companies increasingly discuss their artificial intelligence ("AI") capabilities, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") reminds us that it is closely watching these claims....more
On October 30, 2023, President Biden signed a first-of-its-kind executive order entitled, "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence" ("AI")....more
11/1/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Machine Learning ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Security Standards
The United States Patent and Trademark Office, along with the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce, sought initial public comment last week on draft guidelines entitled "International Guiding Principles for Organizations...more
10/31/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Comment Period ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Cybersecurity ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
Technology ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
USPTO
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) recently introduced proposed revisions to the existing merger guidelines. The new draft guidelines, if enacted in a form similar...more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) have proposed to expand dramatically the scope and burden of preparing a merger filing in the United States. The proposed changes...more
7/26/2023
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
NPRM ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements
In Short -
The Situation: On July 10, 2023, the European Commission ("EC") adopted the Implementing Regulation ("IR") and the corresponding notification forms (Form FS-CO and Form FS-PP), which specify the information and...more
On June 7, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC" or "Commission") announced a request for public comments ("Request") regarding how it can enhance collaboration efforts with state attorneys general ("AGs") to more effectively...more
The UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") announced a review of competition and consumer protection considerations in the development and use of artificial intelligence ("AI") models....more
On March 23, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced that it would propose a "click to cancel" provision in its rules governing subscriptions and recurring memberships. According to the FTC, the proposed rule...more
In early January 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") proposed an unprecedented rule banning most employer/employee non-compete clauses. As detailed below, the rule is not likely to take effect for at least eight...more
1/13/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair Competition
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 increases Hart-Scott-Rodino Act filing fees for large transactions, decreases filing fees for small transactions, and requires changes to the HSR Form....more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released a new Policy Statement of its enforcement priorities for Section 5 of the FTC Act, which makes unlawful “unfair methods of competition.” Since the passage of the FTC Act in 1914,...more
A plea deal with a paving contractor follows the Department of Justice Antitrust Division's ("DOJ") threat to resurrect criminal enforcement of the Sherman Act § 2 prohibition on monopolization and attempted monopolization....more
The European Parliament ("EP") and Council formally adopted the Digital Markets Act ("DMA") in July 2022, imposing new behavioral obligations on large digital platforms qualifying as "gatekeepers." The final agreement...more
Overview of the FSR -
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU") prohibits any form of public financial support selectively granted to businesses that distorts competition, absent an exception. The EU's...more
7/13/2022
/ Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
Background -
Recent supply disruptions in the semiconductor industry have highlighted the dependence of many global economies, including the EU, on imported chips manufactured in Asia....more
3/8/2022
/ Business Disruption ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Domestic Industry Requirement ,
Economic Development ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Global Economy ,
Imports ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Innovative Technology ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Microchip Technology ,
Public Funds ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Supply Shortages
The EU General Court ("GC") annulled the European Commission's €1.06 billion antitrust fine imposed on Intel in 2009 for allegedly abusing its dominant position in x86 Central Processing Units ("CPUs") by offering loyalty...more
1/27/2022
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Intel ,
Technology Sector