It has been two years since President Biden signed a far-reaching, industry-spanning Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. The Executive Order outlined a “whole-of-government” approach to...more
9/1/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Vertical Mergers
On 26 August 2022 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continued its recent trend of expanding its ability to initiate new investigations, announcing that it approved omnibus resolutions that will allow the agency to...more
Transactions and other investments in the health care industry by private equity firms are a hot enforcement topic at both the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) recently concluded a series of public virtual listening forums to hear testimony from individuals who have “experienced firsthand the effects of mergers and...more
Responding to a significant increase in recent merger and acquisition activity and concern about the effects of “merger driven consolidation across markets,” leadership at the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”...more
On 15 September 2021 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held its third open meeting under the leadership of Chair Lina Khan. As expected, the Commissioners voted along party lines to rescind the Vertical Merger Guidelines...more
On 9 July 2021 President Biden signed a far-reaching executive order intended to promote competition in the American economy. The order targets perceived corporate consolidation and anticompetitive activity in the labor,...more
On 22 December 2020, on a divided vote, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or the Commission) issued a Commentary on Vertical Merger Enforcement (FTC Commentary) to provide “greater transparency to the public regarding its...more
On Tuesday, November 3, 2020, Americans chose the presidency and the makeup of the United States Congress. With the U.S. election now decided, with the exception of the Georgia Senate races, we are delighted to share with you...more
12/29/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Foreign Investment ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Presidential Elections ,
Public Transportation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Tax Reform
An overhaul of tech antirust policy? Increased telecommunications regulations coupled with expanding telecoms infrastructure? Business as usual for Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFUIS) investigations?...more
On 11 August 2020, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”), in a unanimous opinion by Judge Callahan, reversed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC’s”) win in the district court...more
8/20/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Microchip Technology ,
OEM ,
Patents ,
Qualcomm ,
Sherman Act ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Suppliers ,
Wireless Technology
On 18 May 2020 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in an antitrust case challenging the association's policy of limiting the compensation paid to...more
On 24 March 2020 the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively the agencies) released a joint statement providing guidance to the...more
Dutch competition authority imposes fine on company for deleted chat messages during a dawn raid -
The Dutch competition authority (“ACM“) recently confirmed that the obligation to cooperate fully with an inspection/during...more
3/23/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
BSA/AML ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Monopolization ,
Threshold Requirements
On 11 March 2020 the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) held a workshop to discuss comments on the draft vertical merger guidelines (the guidelines) published by DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on 10 January 2020....more
On 11 February 2020 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it has issued Special Orders to five large technology firms requiring them to “provide information about prior acquisitions not reported to the antitrust...more
2/13/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Request For Information ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have extended the deadline for public comments on the draft vertical merger guidelines (the Guidelines), which were published jointly by the agencies on 10...more
2/5/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
On Friday, 10 January 2020 the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the agencies) announced the publication of draft vertical merger guidelines that describe how the agencies currently...more
1/14/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
On 12 December 2019, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced that it has entered into a proposed consent decree with the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) settling charges that...more
12/16/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Code of Conduct ,
Competition ,
Consent Decrees ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethical Standards ,
Ethics ,
Mobile Devices ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trade Associations
Read the latest news on antitrust, competition and economic regulation (ACER) in this Autumn's edition of our quarterly ACER newsletter.
Algorithms in the spotlight of antitrust authorities -
Joint study by the...more
12/10/2019
/ Algorithms ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Belgian Competition Authority ,
Belgium ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
EU ,
Germany ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Luxembourg ,
Merger Controls ,
Netherlands ,
Popular ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Statutory Violations
On 18 November 2019 the American Bar Association's Antitrust Law Section hosted its annual Antitrust Fall Forum. This year, the Fall Forum focused its discussions on a range of issues that could arise from the agencies'...more
12/3/2019
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Data ,
Consent Decrees ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act
In a decision following a 10-day bench trial, Judge Lucy H. Koh ruled on May 21, 2019 in favor of plaintiff U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) that defendant Qualcomm, Inc.’s (“Qualcomm’s”) licensing practices relating to...more
6/12/2019
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Cell Phones ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Exclusive Licenses ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
FTC Act ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internal Communications ,
IP License ,
Microchip Technology ,
Monopolization ,
Patent Royalties ,
Qualcomm ,
Sherman Act ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Telecommunications
On 26 February 2019 AT&T won its appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit when the district court's decision denying the government's attempt to block AT&T from acquiring Time Warner Inc. was...more
A resounding complaint from merging parties heard time and time again is the negative impact on operations resulting from protracted merger reviews that consume significant resources. The duration of the merger review process...more
Are some tech companies using their cache of big data to crush competition?
U.S. regulators don’t think so. At the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Technology Policy Institute Conference in August 2018, Deputy Assistant...more
9/27/2018
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Big Data ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Technology Sector