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Antitrust Today

Recorded Music Market Consolidation Comes Under Senate Scrutiny

Posted  05/21/12
The latest round of music industry consolidation is coming under antitrust scrutiny as the antitrust subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee prepares for a hearing examining Universal Music Group’s proposed acquisition of the recorded-music business of EMI Music Ltd. If the proposed $1.9 billion acquisition is approved, the number of major music labels will be half of what it was in the...

Kansas Supreme Court Beefs Up Antitrust Scrutiny Of Resale Price Maintenance

Posted  05/17/12
Resale price maintenance policies that pass muster under federal antitrust law may not survive state antitrust scrutiny in Kansas, according to that state’s highest court. The Kansas Supreme Court has overturned a lower court's decision granting defendant handbag and accessory maker Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. summary judgment in a state antitrust suit brought by a class of consumers challenging...

Cloned Horses Champing At The Bit For Their Day In Court

Posted  05/11/12
Cloned horses are going to get their day in court to show that they should be treated as the equals of horses with more traditional pedigrees. A member of the American Quarter Horse Association (“AQHA”) has filed a complaint, alleging that an AQHA rule prohibiting the registry of cloned horses and their offspring violates antitrust laws. The case is Abraham & Veneklasen Joint Venture, et al.  v. American...

SanDisk Streaks To Victory In Two Challenges To Its Flash-Memory Licensing Practices

Posted  05/7/12
A federal judge in the Northern District of California has dismissed an antitrust complaint against SanDisk Corporation, the dominant maker of computer flash memory. In the suit, PNY Technologies, Inc. v. SanDisk Corporation, downstream competitor PNY alleged that SanDisk violated Sections1 and 2 of the Sherman Act through licensing practices of its extensive patent portfolio. According to the complaint, SanDisk...

Class Certification Denied In Facebook Advertising Suit

Posted  05/1/12
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has denied a motion for class certification in a case challenging social networking giant Facebook’s online advertising practices. The case, In re Facebook, Inc. PPC Advertising Litigation, was filed in 2009 by advertisers on Facebook.  The plaintiffs, who paid Facebook on a “cost-per-click” basis, allege that they were billed for “invalid”...

Kolon Gets Tangled Up In Synthetic Fiber Case Against DuPont

Posted  04/24/12
A federal judge in Virginia has granted summary judgment to E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Co. on Kolon Industries’ antitrust claims against DuPont. This marks the second loss to Kolon in the complex legal battle of Kolon Industries v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The battle began when DuPont filed a suit against Kolon alleging that it stole highly...

Pacific Seafood Off The Hook In Fishermen Antitrust Litigation

Posted  04/19/12
Commercial fishing vessel owners and fishermen have settled a $520 million claim for damages against Pacific Seafood Group just two months after Judge Owen M. Panner of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted class certification in Whaley et al. v. Pacific Seafood Group et al. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants, Pacific Seafood Group and Ocean Gold Seafoods, Inc., fixed prices in buying fish,...

Indirect Purchasers’ Claims Undermined In Mineral Price-Fixing Litigation

Posted  04/17/12
Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has dismissed class action claims of price fixing brought by indirect purchasers against several magnesium oxide companies in the case of In re Magnesium Oxide Antitrust Litigation. The court also ruled, however, that the price fixing claims brought by the direct purchaser plaintiffs, Orangeburg Milling Company, Inc., Bar Ale,...

Second Circuit Authorizes Magazine Wholesaler To Rewrite Antitrust Claims

Posted  04/12/12
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has revived a magazine wholesaler’s claims of an antitrust conspiracy in the magazine industry and granted permission to that plaintiff to file an amended complaint in Anderson News, L.L.C. v. American Media, Inc. The Second Circuit reversed the decision of Judge Paul A. Crotty of the Southern District of New York that applied heightened pleading standards in...

French Competition Regulators Bring Pet Food Manufacturers To Heel

Posted  04/9/12
The Autorite de la Concurrence, the French competition authority, has slapped fines on three leading French pet food manufacturers that restricted competition in premium dry dog and cat food sold in specialty outlets such as pet shops and veterinary offices. The manufacturers are Nestle Purina Petcare France SAS, Royal Canin SAS (owned by Mars, Inc.), and Hill's Pet Nutrition (owned by Colgate Palmolive Co.). ...
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