Seventh Circuit’s Rejection of Insurers’ Monopolization Case is Not the Final Word on “Patent Thicket” Litigation
Posted 09/8/22
By Sarah Bayer
The theory that patent holders can be held liable under the antitrust laws for blocking competition with a thicket of patents may be down—but it is not out.
Although the “patent thicket” theory was unsuccessful in Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, et al. v. AbbVie Inc., et al., this recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit hints at ways that theory could...
Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.
U.S. Justice Department in early stages of drafting possible antitrust suit against Apple -Politico. The U.S. Justice Department is in the early stages of drafting a potential antitrust complaint against Apple Inc, Politico reported on Friday, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. A...
The Danger of Waiting for a Finding of Anticompetitive Behaviour, Part 2: UK Court of Appeal Agrees Gemalto’s Claim Against the Smart Card Chips Cartel is Time Barred
Posted 08/25/22
By Richard Pike, Simon Yeung, Emelyne Peticca
The limitations period for cartel damages cases in the United Kingdom has not finished evolving, as evidenced by two recent significant decisions.
In the first noteworthy decision, on 10 June 2022, the UK Court of Appeal handed down its judgment dismissing the appeal brought by Gemalto Holding BV. We analysed the first instance decision in a prior blog...
The United Kingdom Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) has forcefully rejected two-sided market analysis in a well-reasoned judgment that provides a thorough and insightful discussion of how to define markets where there are multi-sided platforms.
Multi-sided platforms are a hot topic because payment businesses, search engines and social media all involve multi-sided platforms, and are all the subject...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has given a new lease on life to a vascular surgeon’s antitrust claims that Indiana University Health (“IU Health”) is using its market power in primary care services to stifle competition in the market for vascular surgery services.
Last month, the Seventh Circuit reversed the dismissal of the surgeon’s complaint in Vasquez v. Indiana University Health,...
Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.
Justice Dept. and Penguin Random House’s sparring over merger has begun. A federal judge began a trial that will decide whether Penguin Random House is allowed to buy Simon & Schuster, a case that could significantly affect the book publishing industry and that will test the Biden...
Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.
Lawsuit accuses Apple of antitrust violations over Apple Pay. Apple Inc was sued in a proposed class action by payment card issuers accusing the iPhone maker of abusing its market power in mobile devices to thwart competition for its Apple Pay mobile wallet. According to a complaint filed in San...
Anticompetitive Malice, Competitive Zeal, and the PlayStation Store
Posted 07/25/22
By David Golden
For antitrust practitioners, illegal unilateral refusals to deal are like four-leaf clovers: they exist but are rarely found. After all, Justice Scalia famously (or infamously, depending on your perspective) declared in Verizon Communications, Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko that refusals to deal lie “at or near the outer boundary of § 2 liability.”
It should come as no surprise then...
Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.
EU's Vestager: has 'killer' merger deals in sight, may use court-endorsed power. EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager on Friday said she has a few merger deals in sight where she may use powers endorsed this week by Europe's second-top court which allow her to scrutinise so-called 'killer'...
Facebook Asks Court to Open FTC’s Merger Review Blackbox
Posted 07/14/22
By David A. Scupp
Meta’s Facebook is seeking access to FTC documents that could be critical to Facebook’s defense of FTC’s antitrust suit claiming Facebook has illegally maintained its personal social networking monopoly.
Facebook hopes to mine internal FTC document for defenses based on the FTC’s allowance of Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp that the FTC now claims harmed...