Antitrust Today Blog

The FTC’s Victory in the Qualcomm Case Highlights the Big Competition-Policy Issue at the Center of the DOJ’s and FTC’s Tiny Spat

A San Francisco federal court ruled yesterday that Qualcomm’s decades-long “no license, no chips” business practices violated federal antitrust law. The case promises to be a watershed moment for what it means for tech companies to license standard-essential patents on a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (“FRAND”) basis. Judge Lucy Koh’s decision is also likely to be a watershed moment for what...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.

In setback for Apple, U.S. Supreme Court lets App Store antitrust suit proceed.  A divided U.S. Supreme Court last Monday gave the go-ahead to an antitrust lawsuit accusing Apple Inc. of forcing consumers to overpay for iPhone software applications, a decision that could lead to billions of dollars in...

Will Apple’s Crackdown On Third-Party Apps Continue With iOS 13?

Over the past year, Apple has removed or imposed restrictions on at least 11 of the 17 most downloaded screen-time and parental-control apps on the iOS App Store. Apple began its “crackdown” on this category of apps around the same time it released iOS 12, which introduced Apple’s own screen-time tracking tool, Screen Time. Next month, Apple will debut iOS 13. Bloomberg, CNET, and others have already provided...

Apple v. Pepper: Supreme Court Rejects Attempt to Block Consumer Claims Under Indirect-Purchaser Rule

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a much-anticipated decision in the Apple v. Pepper case, where iPhone owners are accusing Apple of monopolizing the retail market for iOS applications, or apps. The Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, holding that iPhone owners have standing to pursue a claim for damages against Apple under the federal antitrust laws. The decision has significant implications in terms of both...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following. FTC Leaves La. Appraisers Board Defense Intact For Now.  The Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board will be able to argue that it made a good faith attempt to comply with federal law when a Federal Trade Commission challenge to its fee-setting rules goes to trial before an administrative law judge in...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following. Facebook Faces a Big Penalty, but Regulators Are Split Over How Big.  Facebook’s announcement in late April that it had set aside $3 billion to $5 billion to settle claims that it mishandled users’ personal data suggested a strong consensus by federal regulators that the social media giant needed to...

Federal Court Extends Tunney Act Review to Embrace Mini-Trial on DOJ Settlement of CVS-Aetna Merger

In a rather extraordinary move, United States District Court Judge Richard J. Leon has ordered a mini-trial to determine whether the  U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) settlement green-lighting the merger of CVS Health and Aetna is in the public interest. To date, no federal court has ordered a Tunney Act hearing with testimony from various concerned non-parties.  While it remains to be seen whether the...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following. Apple Cracks Down on Apps That Fight iPhone Addiction.  They all tell a similar story: They ran apps that helped people limit the time they and their children spent on iPhones. Then Apple created its own screen-time tracker. And then Apple made staying in business very, very difficult. Over the past...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.. Apple and Qualcomm Settle All Disputes Worldwide.  For the past two years, Apple and Qualcomm have dueled on three continents over the division of billions of dollars of smartphone profits and even how much consumers pay for their phones. On Tuesday, just as a trial had begun in a federal courtroom in...

Plaintiffs Targeting Biologic-Biosimilars Settlements with Pay-for-Delay Antitrust Claims

Antitrust principles that can invalidate certain pay-for-delay settlements will be expanding into the new frontier of biologic and biosimilar drugs if plaintiffs in several new suits are successful. Recently-filed antitrust lawsuits against AbbVie, manufacturer of a leading biologic drug, Humira, and numerous biosimilar manufacturers are alleging that settlements between the AbbVie and various biosimilar...