In DSM Desotech Inc. v. 3D Systems Corp., Northern District of Illinois Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman dismissed allegations that 3D Systems Corp. tried to monopolize the market for 3D printing. Desotech, a resin manufacturer, sued its rival 3D Systems, accusing it of trying to squeeze smaller competitors out of the highly concentrated resin market by […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
Court Allows Defendants to Use Pass On Defense in LCD Price-Fixing MDL
February 24, 2013 – 4:42 pm
In In re: TFT-LCD Flat Panel Antitrust Litigation, Northern District of California Judge Susan Ilston, denied plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment, ruling that Florida law allows the defendants to use the “pass-on” defense, in a multidistrict litigation over price-fixing on liquid crystal display panels. The suit, which was brought in October 2010, against AU […]
Foreign Drug Maker Lacks Antitrust Standing If It Does Not Compete in the U.S.
February 23, 2013 – 5:51 pm
In Ethypharm SA France v. Abbott Laboratories, the Third Circuit held that because Ethypharm chose to license its anti-cholesterol drug Antara for U.S. distribution, rather than entering the US market itself, the plaintiff lacked standing to sue Abbott Laboratories for conspiring to keep Ethypharm’s drug off the market. Ethypharm alleged that Abbott agreed with Reliant […]
GSK Settles Generic Flonase Law Suits
February 23, 2013 – 5:49 pm
In IBEW-NECA Local 505 Health & Welfare Plan et al. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Anita B. Brody approved a settlement between GlaxoSmithKline PLK (GSK) and two groups of plaintiffs. The class action accused the defendant of restraining competition by preventing rivals from marketing generic versions of the allergy medication Flonase. […]
Chiropractic Organization May Not Negotiate Prices for Its Members
February 20, 2013 – 8:28 am
In U.S. v. Oklahoma State Chiropractic Independent Physicians Association, filed in the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Antitrust Division and the defendant association have entered a consent decree preventing an Oklahoma chiropractic association from negotiating joint contracts with insurers that the DOJ believes thwarted competition and drove up prices for consumers. The decree, which must […]
DOJ & USPTO Seek to Prevent Ban on Patented Products
February 12, 2013 – 5:24 pm
The Department of Justice and the Patent and Trademark Office are pressing the International Trade Commission (ITC) not to ban imports that use standard-essential patents (SEP) when the manufacturers that are willing to license the necessary patents are accused to infringing them. “[I]n some circumstances,” the agencies argued, “the remedy of an injunction or exclusion order may be […]
Denial of State Action Exemption is Not an Immediately Appealable Collateral Order
February 11, 2013 – 10:33 am
In Auraria Student Housing v. Campus Village Apartments LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a private party may not immediately appeal a district court’s denial of an argument that the state-action doctrine exempts the defendant’s conduct from antitrust scrutiny. Auraria Student Housing sued its competitor in the Denver housing […]
FTC & Google Enter Consent Decree on Patent Issues
February 11, 2013 – 10:32 am
The FTC has expressed concerns that Google’s Motorola Mobility subsidiary had violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by attempting to enjoin the users of patents that are essential to produce standardized technology. In the decree, Google agreed to license those patents on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms and refrain from seeking injunctive relief […]
FTC & Google Agree to Commitment Letter on Allegations that Google Used Its Search Engine Anticompetitively
February 8, 2013 – 9:20 am
The Federal Trade Commission resolved its long-running investigation of Google by entering a commitment letter with the internet search giant. At the behest of Google’s competitors, the FTC investigated whether the company unfairly promoted its own specialized search offerings over those of other companies. The Commission focused on whether Google had created universal results pages to replace […]
Court Rejects Double Recovery Claim In LCD Antitrust MDL
February 7, 2013 – 7:09 pm
In Rockwell Automation Inc v. AU Optronics Corporation et al., Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston rejected LG Display Co. Ltd.’s argument that Rockwell Automation Inc.’s state price-fixing claims would lead to duplicative recovery in the multidistrict litigation over liquid crystal display panels. LG brought counterclaims and affirmative defenses against Rockwell’s Wisconsin state law […]