Zoran Corp., a manufacturer of chip sets used to make Blue-ray DVD players, has filed a monopolization case against DTS, Inc., licensor of the technology used to encode audio on Blue-ray discs. Zoran argues that DTS is obligated by the Blue-ray standard setting agreement to license the technology and fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms. Zoran argues that DTS […]
Category Archives: US Federal Courts
IPhone Antitrust Litigation to Proceed
October 9, 2008 – 4:55 pm
Judge James Ware, U.S. Dictrict Court for the District of California, denied Apple and AT&T’s motions to dismiss a putative class action alleging that Apple violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by monopolizing the market for aftermarket iphone applications. The complaint alleges that Apple notified iphone users that downloading third-party applications would void the phone’s […]
Court Denies Lockheed Martin Motion to Dismiss
October 2, 2008 – 11:44 am
L-3 Communications, a refurbisher of propeller aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin, has alleged that the manufucturer has engaged in anticompetitive practices such as denying L-3 access to government owned tooling and suggesting to potential customers that dealing with L-3 would lead to legal problems. A Northern District of Texas court has denied Lockheed’s motion to […]
Judge Certifies Multi-District Classes in Cancer Drug Case
October 2, 2008 – 11:39 am
A District of Massachusetts judge has certified two multi-jurisdictional classes, one of third-party payors and another for consumers paying for physician administered drugs, alleging that AstraZeneca and Bristol-Meyers inflated wholesale drug prices. Judge Patti Saris rejected the defendants’ objection that the 39 differing state laws at issue would render class action treatment unmanageable.
Credit Card Merchant Case Against AmEx Separately Consolidated
September 25, 2008 – 11:56 am
Update: American Express has acknowledged that the Antitrust Division is investigating its ant-steering rules, which prohibit merchants from steering customers to other means of payment or charging more to use an AmEx card that is charged to use other cards. American Express was originally a defendant in the nationwide merchant class action challenging credit card merchant […]
Steel Producers Accused of Coordinating Production Cuts
September 18, 2008 – 11:23 am
Standard Iron Works has filed a complaint in the Northern District of Illinois alleging that major producers of raw steel coordinated an output reduction in 2005 in order to prop up prices during a period of low demand.
Cell Phone Companies Accused of Fixing the Price of Text Messaging
September 18, 2008 – 11:19 am
Putative class actions were recently filed in Illinois and Ohio federal courts alleging that the nation’s four leading cell phone companies, AT&T, SprintNextel, T-Mobile, and Verizon have agreed to fix the price of text messages. The suits followed on the heals of a letter from the chair of the Senate Sub-committee on Antitrust, Herb Kohl, […]
Physical Therapy Monopolization Case Survives Motion to Dismiss
September 11, 2008 – 3:23 pm
In National Athletic Trainers Association v. American Physical Therapy Association, a group of athletic trainers allege that the APTA has employed a number of anticompetitive practices to exclude athletic trainers from the market for manual therapy. The allegedly exclusionary practices include (1)disparaging athletic trainors by telling the publice and students studying to be physical therapists […]
Fantasy Football Provider Sues NFL Players’ Association
September 10, 2008 – 10:14 am
CBS Interactive, a provider of fantasy football games, has challenged in the District of Minnesota the NFL Players’ Associate demand for licensing fees for the right to use player statistics as part of its game. CBS Interative argues that the players demand constitutes an attempt to monopolize the fantasy football market. This case mirrors a […]
Paying Drug Company Not to Release Generic May Violate the Antitrust Laws
September 8, 2008 – 11:43 am
Update September 2009: The California State Courts have granted summary judgment in favor of Barr in a case brought under that state’s antitrust laws by indirect purchasers challenging the reverse payment settlement in conjunction with the drug Cipro. The state court cited the Federal Circuit’s opinion holding that reverse payment settlement’s ordinarily did not violate […]