In an earlier blog post, we discussed Leegin and the controversial issue of resale-price maintenance agreements under the federal antitrust laws. I’ve alsowritten about these agreements here. As you might recall, in Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. (Kay’s Closet), the US Supreme Court reversed a nearly 100-year-old precedent and held that resale-price maintenance agreements are no […]
Sometimes parties will enter a contract whereby one agrees to buy (or supply) all of its needs (or product) to the other. For example, maybe a supplier and retailer agree that only the supplier’s product will be sold in the retailer’s stores? This usually isn’t free as the supplier will offer something—better services, better prices, […]
When a seller requires buyers to purchase a second product or service as a condition of obtaining a first product or service, it may run afoul of the federal antitrust laws. This is called a tying arrangement or tying agreement. Importantly, unlike other selling conditions like loyalty discounts, bundling, and exclusive dealing, for example, tying arrangements […]
I’ve often written about real estate on this blog. There are two reasons for this. The first and most important reason is because my wife and I invest in real estate and thus talk about real estate, so it is on my mind. In fact, I am currently scheduled to take the exam for my California real-estate license. Bona Law […]
When you are an antitrust lawyer, an exciting day each quarter is the arrival of a fresh issue of the Antitrust Law Journal. I’ve previewed these issues in the past, here and here. Once again, the Antitrust Law Journal has arrived and it looks like a great one. This issue includes an extensive symposium entitled “Robert Bork and Antitrust […]
Antitrust injury is one of the most commonly fought battles in antitrust litigation. It is also one of the least understood antitrust concepts. No matter what your antitrust theory, it is almost certain that you must satisfy antitrust-injury requirements to win your case. So you ought to have some idea of what it is. The […]
An article in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye: “FCC Questions AT&T Over Investment Pause: Company Freezes Plans to Build Ultrafast Internet Service.” The reason for the pause is the FCC’s flirtation with the idea of net neutrality. A government policy of net neutrality would require internet service providers—like broadband companies—to enable access to […]
The Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) has recently issued new “Guidelines on sanctions” aimed at increasing the deterrent effects of its sanctioning activity, also through greater transparency in the decisional process and the steps followed for the calculation of the sanction, facilitating at the same time a full and effective jurisdictional scrutiny. It is necessary to […]
The trade association necessitates a delicate balancing act between anticompetitive conduct condemned by the antitrust laws and pro-competitive information-sharing and best practices that ultimately help consumers. Trade associations should have antitrust policies and should consistently consult with an antitrust attorney. Antitrust law reserves its greatest scorn to the horizontal agreements—the deals between and among competitors. And […]
Whether you arrive at the “tying-arrangement” issue from the perspective of the person tying, the person buying the tied products, or the person competing with the person tying, you should know when the antitrust laws forbid the practice. Most vertical agreements—like loyalty discounts,bundling, exclusive dealing, etc.—require courts to delve into the pro-competitive and anti-competitive aspects of […]
International Referral, the world’s largest exclusive network of advisory firms is delighted to introduce Andrej Fatur of Law Firm Fatur Menard . Andrej has joined IR as our exclusive Competition Law Member in Slovenia. As an attorney Andrej has advised numerous leading domestic and foreign corporations on their complex competition law issues, especially on information and communication […]
On 31 March 2014 a new regulation of the Italian Communication Authority (“AGCOM”) on the protection of copyright on electronic communications networks will come into force. The new regulation will introduce a specific procedure for requesting the removal of copyright infringing contents on the Internet and on audiovisual media services. Approved on 13 December 2013 […]