On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 along party lines to ban all new noncompete agreements nationwide and render existing noncompete agreements binding most workers unenforceable. The Final Rule,...more
4/25/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair Competition
The American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s annual Spring Meeting concluded on April 12. The annual Spring Meeting featured updates from federal, state and international antitrust enforcers and extensive discussion...more
4/15/2024
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
FDIC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Settlement ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act
The American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s annual Spring Meeting is underway in Washington, DC. The annual Spring Meeting features updates from federal, state and international antitrust enforcers and extensive...more
4/12/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Buyers ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Proposed Rules ,
Remedies ,
Section 8
Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. (Google) moved to dismiss a third successive complaint that alleged it tied the sales of Maps, Routes and Places application programming interface (API) services to one another. A basic tying...more
2/29/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Application Programming Interface (APIs) ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Google Maps ,
Licensing Rules ,
Monopolization ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Service Agreements ,
Terms of Service
When it comes to antitrust criminal enforcement, 2023 will be remembered as the year when the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division redefined and tested the outer boundaries of its authority. This report looks...more
2/9/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investigations ,
National Security ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Technology Sector ,
Wage-Fixing
Recently, in a rarely considered question, the US District Court of Massachusetts held that the American Red Cross (ARC), a federally chartered corporation, is not subject to liability under the Sherman Antitrust Act (Sherman...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) are updating their standard preservation notices and instructions for responding to all manner of discovery (e.g., second requests, voluntary access...more
A three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned an executive’s bid-rigging antitrust conviction, holding that the district court erred in applying the per se standard to the executive’s...more
1/10/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Bid Rigging ,
Bids ,
Collaboration ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Competition ,
Convictions ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Per Se Rule ,
Price-Fixing ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act
Mergers and acquisitions will continue to face strong headwinds at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) under new proposed Merger Guidelines released on July 19, 2023.
The Proposed...more
7/25/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Supply Chain ,
Vertical Mergers
The American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section held its annual Spring Meeting in Washington, DC, on March 29–31, 2023. The Spring Meeting sessions featured updates from federal, state, and international antitrust...more
4/6/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
CFIUS ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
The American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section recently held its annual Spring Meeting in Washington, DC, featuring updates from federal, state, and international antitrust enforcers and in-depth commentary on leading...more
4/4/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Community to Purchase Act (COPA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Joe Biden ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Sherman Act ,
Spoliation
APRIL – JUNE 2022: KEY THEMES AND TAKEAWAYS -
UNITED STATES -
• An Overview of Agency Merger Challenges from January 2021 through June 2022 Parties continue to be cautious in litigating challenged transactions. Since...more
9/26/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Private Equity ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
UNIQUE GUN-JUMPING CASE SANCTIONED BY FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY -
A new European gun-jumping decision, following the European Court of Justice 2022 Marine Harvest judgment, sends a very strong message to companies that...more
9/21/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Advertising ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dot Com Disclosure Guide ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
French Competition Authority ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Marketing ,
Mergers ,
Price-Fixing
JANUARY – MARCH 2022: HIGHLIGHTS -
UNITED STATES -
• The US antitrust agencies continue with their aggressive merger enforcement posture. The agencies challenged four transactions this quarter, including multiple...more
5/6/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investigations ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Remedies ,
Mergers ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On April 7 and 8, 2022, the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section wrapped up its annual Spring Meeting. The event featured updates and remarks from several antitrust enforcers, including FTC Chair Lina Khan and US...more
4/12/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTCA Section 13(b) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements
This week, the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section kicked off its annual Spring Meeting in Washington, DC, which features updates from the antitrust enforcers and substantive discussions on today’s most pressing...more
4/8/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Cartels ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
The Clayton Act ,
Vertical Mergers ,
Wage-Fixing
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a district court order dismissing a trademark infringement case for lack of personal jurisdiction, finding that if challenged, personal jurisdiction cannot be assumed...more
On February 1, 2022, a federal jury found a former engineering firm executive guilty of conspiring to rig bids and defraud the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) of hundreds of public works contracts worth...more
OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2021:
HIGHLIGHTS UNITED STATES -
• Both antitrust agencies have now filled senior leadership positions, although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) awaits the appointment of a fifth commissioner....more
JULY – SEPTEMBER 2021: HIGHLIGHTS -
UNITED STATES -
• The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) challenge of American Airlines and JetBlue’s “Northeast Alliance” after the joint venture’s approval by the US Department of...more
10/29/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Joint Venture ,
Jurisdictional Thresholds ,
Mergers ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vertical Mergers
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict finding that a standard essential patent (SEP) owner did not breach its commitment to license its SEPs on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND)...more
APRIL – JUNE 2021: HIGHLIGHTS -
UNITED STATES -
- The premerger notification landscape continues to shift as filings reach another record high, and the US Congress contemplates increases to filing fees and New York...more
8/6/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Proposed Regulation ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On June 7, 2021, as part of the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) continuing commitment to prosecuting cases where the government is a victim, a government contractor pleaded guilty to one count of bid-rigging and one count of...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ordered the transfer of a case asserting standalone Walker Process antitrust claims involving an unenforceable patent to the regional circuit, in this case the US Court of...more
On June 7, 2021, as part of the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) continuing commitment to prosecuting cases where the government is a victim, a government contractor pleaded guilty to one count of bid-rigging and one count of...more