Update March 2011: The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certiorari without explanation. Update: The Second Circuit has denied drug purchasers request for en banc review of the decision upholding a reverse payment settlement between a patented drug manufacturer and a generic drug manufacturer. The Second Circuit in Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litigation held that it was […]
Category Archives: Antitrust Division Action
Second Circuit Urges En Banc Review While Upholding Reverse Payment Drug Settlement
March 7, 2010 – 10:20 am
DOJ Permits Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger to Move Forward With Divestitures
February 26, 2010 – 12:19 pm
Update February 2010: The UK enforcement authorities have withdraw their prior approval and are reconsidering the merger. The Department of Justice agreed not to challenge the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger upon the condition that Ticketmaster would license ticketing software to AEG, enabling that company to offer a competitive ticketing alternative and provides the incentive for it […]
DOJ Settles West Virginia Newspaper Case
February 2, 2010 – 11:47 am
The Department of Justice recently agreed to settle a dispute with Charleston, WV newspaper companies to ensure the continued publication of independent competing papers as long as they are not financially failing.
FTC Announces a Drop in Hart-Scott-Rodino Thresholds
February 2, 2010 – 11:28 am
The dollar amounts used to determine whether a merger or acquisition is subject to the mandatory pre-merger notification requirements has been raised regularly since the law was first implemented in the 1970s. For the first time, the Federal Trade Commission recently announced that the thresholds will be reduced. The decision is based on the view that the […]
Second Circuit Addresses Twombly Standard in Reviving Digital Music Conspiracy Suit
February 2, 2010 – 11:15 am
The Second Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of a case alleging that major record companies had conspired to increase the price of digital music distributed on CDs and over the Internet. The trial court had found the allegations of conspiracy insufficient under the Twombly standard. The Second Circuit reversed, explaining that “[t]he present complain […]
Sixth Company Pleads Guilty For Conspiracy To Fix Liquid Crystal Display Panel Prices
December 14, 2009 – 12:13 pm
In U.S. v. Chi Mei Optoelectronics, Chi Mei Optoelectronics has pled guilty and agreed to pay $220 million in criminal fines for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices of liquid crystal display panels. The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Chi Mei and five other co-conspirators agreed during meetings, conversations and […]
IBM Under Investigation
October 15, 2009 – 1:11 pm
Various sources are reporting that the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, is investigating IBM with respect to potential anticompetitive activities in the mainframe computer hardware and software markets. The European Commission is said to be consulting with the Division, but has not opened its own investigation.
FTC/DOJ to Revise Merger Guidelines
October 6, 2009 – 1:20 pm
For the first time since 1992, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, and the Federal Trade Commission plan to revise the merger guidelines that explain the federal government’s enforcement policy with respect to mergers between horizontal competitors. Originally drafted in 1968, the guidelines underwent major revisions in the 1980s and again in the early […]
Coastal Shipping Cartel Civil Case Dismissed Without Prejudice
August 23, 2009 – 11:10 am
Update August 2009: Judge Thomas Zilly, Western District of Washington, dismissed a private civil action alleging a conspiracy to increase prices in Pacific shipping routes. The court held that the plaintiffs allegations of parallel price increases in a market with rising fuel costs and guilty pleas by executives relating to shipping in another geographic area […]
DOT Approves Continental Antitrust Immunity Over DOJ Objection
July 16, 2009 – 5:40 am
The Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, recommended against granting antitrust immunity to Continental Airline’s joining the Star ATI Alliance. It contended that Continental’s business arrangements with Star partners should be subject to antitrust scrutiny. Nevertheless, the Department of Transportation has exercised its authority to grant the immunity.