Antitrust Today

Antitrust Matters Episode 8: Antitrust Matters in Electronic Payments

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,...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.   U.S. grocer Kroger carts away Albertsons for $25 billion but faces antitrust test.  Kroger Co snapped up Albertsons Cos Inc in a $25 billion deal on Friday, creating a U.S. grocery behemoth to better compete with leader Walmart Inc on prices while bracing for potential antitrust roadblocks. The mega...

The EU Has Today Published the Digital Markets Act – A New Rulebook for Leading Technology Companies That Will Affect Their Behaviour Worldwide

As with the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the European Union has assumed the role of the world’s digital regulator by enacting a Digital Markets Act (the “DMA”). The new legislation is targeted exclusively at a handful of the largest technology firms, and it will not just affect their operations in the EU. We set out below:

1. The issues that the DMA seeks to address
2. The worldwide...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following. U.S. House approves merger antitrust bill giving states more muscle.  The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would sharply raise fees for antitrust reviews of the biggest mergers and strengthen state attorneys general in antitrust fights. The bipartisan bill, which has yet to...

Seventh Circuit’s Rejection of Insurers’ Monopolization Case is Not the Final Word on “Patent Thicket” Litigation

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...

The Antitrust Week In Review

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

By Richard Pike, Simon Yeung, and 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...

UK Court Rejects Two-Sided Market Analysis for Multi-Sided Platforms

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...

It’s All About Access to Patients—Health Care Provider Antitrust Challenges Against Dominant Hospital Systems

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,...

The Antitrust Week In Review

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...