Antitrust Group

Despite Setbacks in Court, California’s Ban on Pharmaceutical Pay-For-Deals Could Still Recover

For two decades, antitrust enforcers have been fighting so-called “reverse-payment” or “pay-for-delay” agreements under which pharmaceutical patent-holders pay the allegedly infringing, lower-cost generic competition to stay off the market.  California has taken a unique legislative approach, passing Assembly Bill 824 (“AB 824”) to address skyrocketing prescription drug costs by subjecting pay-for-delay...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.   Microsoft faces EU antitrust complaint about its cloud computing business.  U.S. tech giant Microsoft is facing an antitrust complaint filed by three European rivals in the booming cloud computing business, one the plaintiffs said. The complaint, filed with the European Union's competition watchdog...

Antitrust, But Verify: Financial Considerations for the Private Antitrust Plaintiff

By Gary Reilly  

“I was never ruined but twice: once when I lost a lawsuit, and once when I won.”

—Voltaire

Litigation is a costly endeavor in terms of both time and money. An injured party must seriously consider many factors in deciding whether to bring a lawsuit. Can I prove injury? Can I prove liability? Does the law provide an adequate remedy? And if the answer to all of the above is yes, can I get...

Payments News Update – March 18, 2022

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: CFPB’s Chopra Blasts Potential Card Hikes Payments Dive – March 14, 2022 The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said fee hikes by the card companies would add "insult to injury" at a time of inflation. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra minced no words Friday in a rare TV appearance, offering a critical view of the state...

Antitrust Matters Episode 3: A Legacy of Antitrust, Part 2

Antitrust Matters provides engaging and timely conversations about competition policy in the digital age. Antitrust has always mattered to consumers and businesses, and to antitrust lawyers and economists, but today it also is in the political and public discourse more than ever. From the prices we pay for food, travel, financial services, payments to the way we interact daily using digital apps and platforms,...

Antitrust Enforcers Enter the Metaverse

By Grant Petrosyan As the metaverse explodes into public consciousness, antitrust enforcers are donning the necessary headsets. The metaverse is a 3D virtual world where people can engage in a wide range of activities remotely, including meeting and interacting with others, playing games, shopping, holding meetings and conferences, and numerous other social, educational, and professional activities. More and...

Antitrust Enforcement Needs an Upgrade to Combat Digital Tacit Collusion by Blockchain Smart Contracts

By Jeff Shinder and Kristian Soltes Antitrust enforcers need to upgrade their enforcement efforts to deal with the challenges of using a 19th Century statute to combat 21st Century digital tacit collusion. Although the Sherman Act was enacted in 1890, its general proscriptions against restraints of trade are expected to apply to all manner of anticompetitive conduct in our fast-moving digital economy. That puts...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.   Viatris Agrees to Settle EpiPen Antitrust Litigation for $264 Million.  Viatris, the drugmaker previously known as Mylan, announced that it had agreed to pay $264 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company was involved in an illegal scheme to monopolize the market for...

Antitrust Matters Episode 2: A Legacy of Antitrust, Part 1

Antitrust Matters provides engaging and timely conversations about competition policy in the digital age. Antitrust has always mattered to consumers and businesses, and to antitrust lawyers and economists, but today it also is in the political and public discourse more than ever. From the prices we pay for food, travel, financial services, payments to the way we interact daily using digital apps and platforms,...

Payments News Update – March 4, 2022

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Merchants Payments Coalition Launches Campaign to Fight Swipe-Fee Increase Slated for April ConvenienceStore News – March 2, 2022 The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) has unveiled an advertising campaign to educate Congress and other policymakers on increasing the swipe fees credit card networks and big banks charge merchants to process...