Antitrust Insights and Analysis

Geographic Market Definition Trips Up FTC As Federal Court Rejects Challenge To Advocate-NorthShore Hospital Merger

By James J. Kovacs The loss of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) in a hospital merger case in the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois last week highlights just how tricky defining a proper geographic market can be for antitrust enforcers these days. Following a six day hearing, Judge Jorge Alonso denied a request by the FTC and the State of Illinois in FTC v. Advocate Health Care to...

Third Circuit Shows No Love For Lovenox® Bundling Theory

By Ankur Kapoor Citing the well-known maxim that the antitrust laws are concerned with “the protection of competition, not competitors,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Wednesday affirmed summary judgment for Defendant Sanofi Aventis on Plaintiff Eisai, Inc.’s claim that Sanofi foreclosed competition in the market for anticoagulant drugs administered in hospitals. Eisai alleged that...

EU Commission Hits Google With Abuse Of Dominance Charges Over Android

A View from Constantine Cannon’s London Office By Richard Pike and Yulia Tosheva Just as expected, following a one-year investigation and a number of information requests, the European Commission formally announced today that it is accusing Google’s parent company, Alphabet, of abusing its dominant position in relation to the Android mobile operating system. Google is already facing antitrust charges...

UK Payment Systems Regulator Issues “Final Guidance” Heralding Major Changes In Operation Of Payment Systems

A View from Constantine Cannon’s London Office By Yulia Tosheva and Irene Fraile The UK Payment Systems Regulator (“PSR”) has published a final guidance on its approach to monitoring compliance with the EU Interchange Fee Regulation (“IFR”), which is changing the way payment systems operate in Europe. The PSR, which was launched in April 2015, is an independent economic regulator that oversees...

Competitors Engaged In Cooperative Processes Find They Face Competing Approaches By Southern District Of New York Judges Weighing Antitrust Liability

By Robert M. Cross The scope of antitrust liability for competitors engaged in cooperative processes—such as setting benchmark interest rates—became murkier this week with a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York holding that manipulation of such a cooperative process could give rise to a viable price-fixing claim. On Monday, Judge Jesse M. Furman held in Alaska Electrical...

European Union Begins Looking at Comprehensive Regulation of Virtual Currencies

A View from Constantine Cannon’s London Office By Yulia Tosheva, Richard Pike and James Ashe-Taylor The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (“ECON”) took a tentative first step toward the regulation of virtual currencies regulation of virtual currencies last week with the issuance of a draft report on virtual currencies. The regulation of virtual currencies is already...

EU Telegraphs It Is Probing Whether Western Union Colluded To Drive Rivals Out Of Money-Transfer Market

A View from Constantine Cannon’s London Office By Richard Pike and Yulia Tosheva The European Commission has reportedly launched a preliminary antitrust investigation into possible collusion by Western Union in the money remittance market. According to sources, the European Commission is investigating whether exclusivity contracts signed between money-transfer provider Western Union and retail outlets...

Google Wins Court Battle Against StreetMap In The UK

A View from Constantine Cannon’s London Office By Yulia Tosheva and Richard Pike Google won a big victory Friday in the High Court of England and Wales, which ruled that Google did not abuse its dominant position to the detriment of the now-defunct UK online mapping provider, Streetmap.

The Court’s ruling against Streetmap’s claim for damages from Google for abuse of a dominant position (or...

UK Antitrust Watchdog Slaps $65 Million Fine On Pharma Companies In UK’s First Pay-For-Delay Case

A View from Constantine Cannon’s London Office By Irene Fraile and Richard Pike On 12 February 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”), UK’s competition regulator, fined a number of pharma companies for anti-competitive conduct and agreements in relation to the supply of paroxetine (an anti-depressant drug). The anti-competitive conduct dates back to 2001, when pharmaceutical producers...

Driverless Cars Will Have To Navigate Antitrust Curves

By Daniel Vitelli As noted by Boies Schiller partner Scott Gant in his recent Forbes article, not only is the much-anticipated arrival of driverless cars on the roads raising thorny questions regarding their safety, efficiency and ethical use, but antitrust issues are hitching a ride as well. While suppliers and consumers work together to navigate the technological and social roadblocks, potential antitrust...