Competition Law News
Adobe / Figma Merger Raises Antitrust Concerns
Would the deal usher in a new era of collaborative creativity or just a more powerful monopoly? Tech industry observers disagree on the potential impact…
Courts Reject Two DOJ Merger Challenges as Another is On Trial
A brief setback for Biden’s war on anticompetitive deals? The number of mergers globally in 2021, according to PwC, was the biggest on record with…
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FTC Chair Touts Vigorous Antitrust Enforcement Despite Anemic Funding
Trump appointees say things were better during his term. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan testified this week that despite being strapped for resources…
Google Alert: Antitrust Suits Coming Soon
Google awaits service in three countries over digital ad conduct. One of the first victims of the rapid tectonic shift in how the world consumes…
Amazon Abusing Dominance to Maintain Dominance, California AG Files Anticompetition Suit
Amazon dodges price competition with other e-commerce sites by forcing merchants into agreements that penalize them if their prices beat Amazon’s. That’s the crux of…
FTC Sues to Block Meta from Acquiring Leading VR Developer
FTC Accuses Meta of Trying to Further Dominate Virtual Reality Ecosystem via Acquisition. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit against Meta Platforms, Inc. (fka…
Google Must Defend Inform Advertising Antitrust Case After All
Eleventh Circuit disagrees that the complaint was an inadequate “shotgun pleading” against Google, YouTube and Alphabet. Handing Google LLC a reversal of fortune, the Eleventh…
Oracle Violating Numerous Privacy Laws, Class Action Says
Plaintiffs say Oracle collects and sells private data without citizens’ consent. A class action complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco claims Oracle…
Will Big Book Merger Go Through? It Will Soon Be Up to the Judge.
The fate of the $2.2 billion Penguin Random House (PRH) / Simon & Schuster (S&S) merger remains with U.S. District Judge Florence Pan who presided…
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Federal Court Approves $2.67B Settlement of Antitrust Suit Against Blue Cross
U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor of Alabama has approved the settlement of antitrust litigation brought against Blue Cross Blue Shield Association by large employers…
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Credit Card Issuers File Antitrust Suit Against Apple for Exclusionary Conduct in Mobile Tap-and-Pay Market
Apple Operating an Illegal Monopoloy in Tap-and-Pay Market, Suit Says The convenience of the tap-and-pay mobile wallet model is a feature consumers increasingly enjoy for…
Gig Drivers Say Uber and Lyft Duopoly is Violating California Antitrust Laws
Independent Uber and Lyft drivers filed a class action against the rideshare pioneers last month alleging they are violating California antitrust and consumer protection law.…
Dan Mogin, Travis Miller Talk Supply Chains on Emerging Litigation Podcast
Dan Mogin of MoginRubin LLP and Travis Miller, General Counsel at Assent Compliance Inc., appeared on the Emerging Litigation Podcast to discuss a range of…
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What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Antitrust?
Comedian John Oliver (no relation to MoginRubin antitrust attorney Jennifer Oliver, or so she claims) spent nearly a half hour of his show Last Week…
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Amazon Shareholder Files Biometric Privacy and Antitrust Suit
Amazon shareholder Francis Gimbel, Jr. has sued Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s Board of Directors, and other company leaders in federal court in Washington for allegedly storing…
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In the Wings? Increased Scrutiny on U.S. Investment in Chinese Technology and More Support for U.S. Manufacturing
On June 14, The Wall Street Journal first reported on a draft legislative measure that would require U.S. companies and investors to disclose and comply…
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NYT’s Lead Economics Writer: Biden Needs Pro-Antitrust Economics Judges
At the end of April 2022, announcing President Joseph Biden’s latest round of federal judicial nominations, the White House hailed the nominees not only as…
Broadcom Announces Acquisition of Cloud and Virtualization Company
Global semiconductor giant Broadcom Inc. intends to purchase VMware, Inc., a leading enterprise software company. The boards of both companies agreed to the terms, whereby…
EC Adopts Vertical Deal Guidelines for Supply Chains
The European Commission has adopted new Vertical Block Exemption Regulations (‘VBER’) accompanied by new Vertical Guidelines, which will allow, subject to conditions, agreements between companies…
App Developer’s Antitrust Case Against Apple Looking Durable
Court Says Licensing Agreement Does Not Bar App Maker Litigation A federal judge has rejected Apple Inc.’s interpretation of its app licensing agreement in the…
DOJ: Wage-Fixing Antitrust Civil Case Should Survive Acquittals in Criminal Case
A federal court jury in Denver returned not guilty verdicts in the government’s criminal case against DaVita Inc. and its former CEO, in which the…
Fight Over 2010 Live Nation / Ticketmaster Merger Not Over Yet
Company served with a new lawsuit amid fresh calls to unwind. When concert promoting giant Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., and ticketing giant Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc.,…
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In Price Restriction Litigation, Amazon Wins One, Loses One
Amazon.com Inc. started the month of March with two suits on opposite coasts challenging the rules it imposes on the platform’s merchants which prohibit them…
Florida Consumer Privacy Bills ‘Indefinitely Postponed’
Florida senators and representatives ended their 2022 legislative session on March 11 by withdrawing consideration of consumer data privacy legislation. Any discussion of stronger protections…
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Hearing No Further Objections from the FTC, Amazon Buys MGM
Recommitted to fighting anticompetitive consolidation, the government could still challenge the deal. The Federal Trade Commission’s silence last week on Amazon’s acquisition of MGM –…
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UK, EC Investigate Google / Facebook ‘Jedi Blue’ Agreement
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission have launched investigations into whether Alphabet/Google and Meta/Facebook illegally conspired to hold their dominant…
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House Judiciary Committee Says Amazon Obstructed and Lied to Congress, Seeks Investigation
The House Judiciary Committee has informed Attorney General Merrick Garland of “potentially criminal conduct” on the part of Amazon and its top executives. Detailed in…
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Will We See More Criminal Charges Against Monopolies?
DOJ Official’s Remarks Seen as ‘Signal’ Government Will Use Criminal Charges to Fight Illegal Monopolies Remarks made by the DOJ’s Richard Powers at a March…
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Amazon-MGM: Deal Approved in Europe, Now It’s Up to the FTC
Finding “no competition concerns,” antitrust regulators at the European Commission yesterday (March 15) approved Amazon’s $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM and its collection of some…
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DOJ Sues to Block UnitedHealth / Change Healthcare Deal
Data continues to play key role in fight against anticompetitive mergers. Citing its potential to abuse the health insurance claims data it would amass, and…
Employees May Seek Damages for Violations of the Illinois BIPA
The Illinois Supreme Court held earlier this month (Feb. 3) in McDonald v. Symphony Bronzeville Park (2022 IL 126511) that the exclusivity provisions of the state’s…
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FTC, Rhode Island AG Move to Block New England Healthcare Merger
The Federal Trade Commission and the Rhode Island Attorney General are using both administrative measures and litigation to stop the proposed merger of Lifespan Corp.…
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Google’s YouTube Draws Antitrust Fines in Russia
You know things are bad when the Russian government says you’re abusing your power, acting surreptitiously, and restricting adjacent markets. But that’s the message Moscow…
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Cellular Store Charges T-Mobile With Unfair Business Practices Following Merger with Sprint
A cellular franchise owner has sued T-Mobile in U.S. District Court in Connecticut for “fraudulent, predatory, and anti-competitive conduct.” Saying it was one of the…
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Nvidia and SoftBank’s Arm Call Off Vertical Merger
Facing challenges from antitrust enforcers on three continents, U.S. microchip giant Nvidia Corp. has called off its acquisition of British computer processing designer Arm Ltd.,…
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FTC Sues to Torpedo Lockheed’s $4.4 Billion Aerojet Acquisition
Marking the first time in decades that it has sued to block a defense industry merger, the Federal Trade Commission on Jan. 25, 2022 filed…
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Elite University Cartel Conspired to Limit Financial Aid, Students Charge in Class Action
“Privileging the wealthy and disadvantaging the financially needy are ‘inextricably linked.’” Student recipients of need-based financial aid brought a class action against 16 elite…
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Customers File Antitrust Class Action Against LinkedIn
Plaintiffs Also Allege LinkedIn Colludes with Facebook Plaintiffs from Georgia, Texas, and Arizona have filed suit against LinkedIn, accusing the company of actions that breach…
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Aerospace Execs Indicted for Conspiracy to Limit Worker Pay and Job Prospects
A federal grand jury in Connecticut returned an indictment last month charging a former manager of leading aerospace engineering company Pratt & Whitney, Inc., and…
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Online Ad Platform Pays $2M to Settle FTC Children’s Privacy Lawsuit
California-based online advertising platform OpenX Technologies, Inc. will pay $2 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it collected personal information from children under…
EC Fines Banks Over Currency Trading Cartel
The European Commission has fined UBS, Barclays, RBS, HSBC and Credit Suisse €344 million ($390 million) for participating in a Foreign Exchange spot-trading cartel. UBS,…
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Amazon Misleading Consumers About Sponsored Products, Labor Group Says
Group tells FTC Amazon is abusing consumer trust. “Amazon doesn’t distinguish well enough between paid ads and organic search results, something that could trick consumers”…
Democrats Seek Investigation of $43M Discovery, WarnerMedia Merger
Thirty-three U.S. representatives and senators, all Democrats, have asked the Department of Justice to investigate the proposed merger of two media giants, Discovery Inc. and…
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FTC Opposes $40B Chip Deal
The FTC has sued to block California-based chip supplier Nvidia Corp.’s $40 billion acquisition of chip design provider Arm Ltd., which is based in the…
Facing FTC Probe, Outdoor Equipment Companies Cancel Merger
The FTC says that the mere threat of an investigation has caused two merging parties to think again. Two popular outdoors equipment retailers — Great…
DOJ Sues to Block Sugar Deal
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice says United States Sugar Corp.’s proposed purchase of Imperial Sugar Company harm competition for refined sugar across…
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Employees’ Biometric Privacy Claims Blocked by Collective Bargaining Agreement
The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has held that Section 301 of the Labor Management and Relations Act (LMRA) preempted a cause of action under the Illinois Biometric…
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Illinois Appeals Court Says Biometric Privacy Law Has Two Statutes of Limitations
It was enacted without a statute of limitations for bringing claims, but now the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) has two. An Illinois Court…
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House Judiciary Committee Asks: Did Bezos Mislead Us?
Congress has its hands full with witnesses these days. This week, in the case of Big Tech, congressmen have circled back to testimony given by…
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Data Security Rules Tightening for Consumer Genetic Testing Companies
Gov. Signs S.B. 41, the Genetic Information Privacy Act California genetic testing companies collecting biometric, genetic, health, or medical information directly from consumers must soon…
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FTC Withdraws Vertical Merger Guidelines as “Unsupported by Law and Reality”
The Federal Trade Commission has withdrawn its 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines and accompanying commentary to “prevent industry and judicial reliance on unsound economic theories” that…
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Executive Reminder: Do Not Forget Your HSR Reporting Requirements
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act requires companies and individuals to report large transactions so the government has time (30 days, or more these days) to investigate any…
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Global Antitrust: South Korea Fines Dolby for Abusing Essential Patent Holder Status
The South Korean Fair Trade Commission has fined Dolby Laboratories for forcing set-top box maker Kaon Media to agree to pay what Dolby claimed were…
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Global Antitrust: German Court Explains Why Booking.com’s “Narrow Price Parity Clauses” Was Illegal
Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has explained its determination that the so-called “narrow price parity clauses” used by Booking.com until February 2016 violated competition law.…
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Global Antitrust: Germany’s Condor Airline Says Lufthansa Wants to Eliminate Transatlantic Competition
German-based leisure airline company, Condor Flugdienst, says competitor Eurowings Discover, Deutsche Lufthansa’s leisure unit, seeks to use “code sharing” agreements with its sister companies as…
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Global Antitrust: China Promises (and Demonstrates) Crackdown on Anticompetitive Behavior in Tech Sector
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation continues its antitrust campaign against the tech industry. CNN reported on Aug. 17 that the agency’s proposed new rules…
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Global Antitrust: EC Flags Illumina for Proceeding With Purchase of Cancer Test Company Despite Investigation
The European Commission is investigating whether Illumina’s decision to complete its acquisition of cancer test manufacturer Grail — despite the Commission’s ongoing investigation into any anticompetitive effects of the deal — breaches the “standstill obligation” under Article 7…
MoginRubin LLP Has Secured Class Certification on Behalf of Independent ATM Operators, Non-Bank Affiliated ATM Operators, and the National ATM Council
“Today’s ruling marks a significant step toward loosening the grip of Visa and Mastercard on the market for ATM network services and promises to benefit…
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GOP v. MLB: Republicans Cry Foul Over All-Star Game Move
Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee want to end Major League Baseball’s antitrust immunity following the league’s decision to relocate the All-Star Game and…
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FTC Sues to Block Illumina/Grail Deal
The Federal Trade Commission has filed an administrative complaint and authorized a federal court lawsuit to block Illumina’s $7.1 billion proposed acquisition of Grail —…
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Hospital Merger Activity and Challenges: Two Conclude, One Merger Abandoned
Deal activity in the trillion-dollar U.S. patient-care industry has been hardy, despite projections that the pandemic might have slowed things down. That means the federal…
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Foreign-Language Trainers Admit to Defrauding NSA
Two providers of foreign-language training services, Comprehensive Language Center Inc. (CLCI) and Berlitz Languages Inc., admitted that they took part in a conspiracy to defraud…
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Antitrust Reform Effort Gets Some Shade
Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to our blog post, Will the Antitrust Laws Get an Update? The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the effort…
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“Big Poultry” Producer Pleads Guilty to Price Fixing
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. of Colorado has pleaded guilty and will pay $107 million in criminal fines for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices…
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DOJ Joins Group in Effort to Better Police Emerging Tech
The Department of Justice is joining the Computational Antitrust project, hosted by the Stanford University CodeX Center and created by Professor Thibault Schrepel. “The project…
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U.S. Antitrust Law Not Working for Book or Tech Market?
“American antitrust is basically a failure.” That’s a quote from a law professor in a recent New York Times article written by Shira Ovide titled…
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Will Facebook Sue Apple?
Facebook reportedly planning to sue Apple for alleged antitrust violations. According to sources speaking to TheInformation.com, Facebook believes Apple abused its power in the smartphone…
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China Reportedly Cracking Down on Web-Based Antitrust
The South China Morning Post has reported that 2021 will be the year of antitrust regulations for the State Administration for Market Regulation. The paper…
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Pilgrim’s Pride Settles Poultry Price-Fixing Charges
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. has agreed to pay $75 million to chicken buyers to settle price-fixing claims, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company,…
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U.K. Investigates Market Impact of Change in Google Ad Targeting Tools
Google plans to end support for third-party cookies in the Chrome browser and its Chromium engine, a decision that has prompted an investigation by the…
MoginRubin Partner Jennifer Oliver Co-Authors Paper on Cannabis Industry and Competition Law
Included in this month’s inaugural issue of the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, published by Fastcase Full Court Press, is an article co-authored by…
Partners Jonathan Rubin and Jennifer Oliver Published in Bloomberg Law: FTC and State AGs v. Facebook: Monopolization Law Faces Biggest Challenge in Decades
FTC and State AGs v. Facebook: Monopolization Law Faces Biggest Challenge in Decades By Jonathan Rubin and Jennifer M. Oliver Jan. 13, 2021 “The FTC…
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Congress Agrees to End Antitrust Exemption for Health Insurers
Bill Awaits President’s Signature Healthcare insurance companies, like other insurers, have enjoyed an exemption from U.S. antitrust laws since March 1945 when President Roosevelt signed…
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With Anticompetitive Concerns Addressed, Intuit / Credit Karma Deal Moves Forward
Intuit Inc., owner of the popular TurboTax DIY tax preparation service, has moved forward with its $8.1 billion acquisition of Credit Karma, Inc., after satisfying…
New Law Designed to Protect Antitrust Whistleblowers
Signed into law by President Trump on Dec. 23, 2020, the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act bars employers from retaliating against individuals who report criminal antitrust…
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European Commission Examining Aon’s Acquisition of Willis Towers Watson
The European Commission announced Dec. 21 that it is investigating Aon’s proposed acquisition of Willis Towers Watson, a deal that would combine two leading providers…
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Thirty-Eight AGs Bring a Third Antitrust Case Against Google
Google Illegally Maintained Monopolies, Created Insurmountable Barriers to Entry for Competitors, Suit Says A bipartisan coalition of 38 attorneys general have sued Google LLC for…
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MoginRubin’s Competition Law Attorneys Featured on Webinar: “The Antitrust Case Against Google”
Competition law and class action specialists from MoginRubin LLP joined a law professor who served as a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division and an…
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Partner Jennifer Oliver Featured on Podcast re Cannabis Industry Competition Law
MoginRubin LLP Partner Jennifer Oliver is featured on the new HB Emerging Issues in Litigation Podcast along with Ausra Deluard of Dentons LLP. The podcast…
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DOJ: Visa / Plaid Deal Would be Bad for Online Debit Market and Consumers
Government Sues to Block Deal Intended to Erase Disruptor Referring to Visa Inc. as a monopolist in the online debit services industry, the Department of…
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Healthcare: Anticompetitive Tying Class Action Moves Forward Against Sutter Health
Indirect purchasers of health insurance will proceed as a class against Sutter Health for alleged anticompetitive conduct which plaintiffs maintain illegally tied health plans to…
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Pharma: Consumer Groups, States Support Reviving Generic Drugs Antitrust Case Against AbbVie
Pro-consumer organizations — Consumer Action and U.S. Public Interest Research Group — and 20 states have filed amici curiae briefs with the Seventh Circuit U.S.…
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Pistacchio vs. Apple: iPhone Gamers Claim Anticompetitive Behavior in Subscription Game Market
Apple iPhone gamer John Pistacchio filed a proposed class action against Apple, Inc. on behalf of purchasers of “Apple Arcade,” a subscription mobile gaming service…
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TikTok Gets Reprieve from Trump Ban, Nears Deal with Oracle, Walmart
Now that TikTok has more time to keep its U.S. operation alive – thanks to a federal court order enjoining the Trump administration’s effort to…
MoginRubin Remains Among Most Influential U.S. Antitrust Law Firms
MoginRubin LLP remains one of the leading law firms for antitrust matters in the US. Since inception, the firm has litigated several cases successfully resulting…
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DOJ Requires Divestiture of Hawaiian Brewer Before Anheuser Can Buy Craft Brew
The Justice Department Antitrust Division will approve a major acquisition in the beer industry, but only if one of the merging company’s divests its holdings…
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House Bill Would Allow College Athletes to Capitalize on Their Fame
A group of U.S. House Democrats and Republicans have introduced the “Student Athlete Level Playing Field Act” which would add momentum to the current movement…
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French and American Luxury Brands Litigate Delayed Merger
Dispute in Delaware, Tussle in Brussels LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton of France used business challenges presented by the novel coronavirus to avoid a multi-billion-dollar…
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Apple Fires Back at Epic Games in Fortnite Fight
Responding to Epic Games’ bold suit against Apple (and separately against Google) — alleging anticompetitive operation of the Apple Store — the computer and mobile…
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Claim That LinkedIn Has a ‘People Analytics’ Monopoly Fails
hiQ Labs Inc., a new employment tech firm, sued professional network giant LinkedIn for abuse of its market power. Specifically, the startup-alleged LinkedIn blocked its…
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Casino Sues Scientific Games, Bally’s for Antitrust Law Violations, Charge 100% Card-Shuffler Monopoly
The Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, a casino operator, alleges in a proposed class action that Scientific Games Corp., Bally Technologies, Inc., and Bally…
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New Study in Harvard Business Law Review Confirms Antitrust Dangers of Horizontal Shareholding
A new study illustrates the anticompetitive effects of horizontal shareholding in concentrated markets according to a Harvard Business Law Review article by Einer Elhauge, Professor…
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Antitrust Subcommittee and Big Tech CEOs: Creatures From Very Different Planets
A Tale of Two Hearings: Breaking Down the July 2020 Hearing on Tech Marketplace They appeared at the hearing, appropriately enough, digitally. This allowed…
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FTC Approves Elanco’s $7.6B Acquisition of Bayer Animal Healthcare, Sets Divestiture Conditions
Pending approval, two of the world’s largest animal healthcare manufacturers will consummate a multibillion dollar acquisition in August 2020, subject to FTC and other, international…
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California AG Opposes Healthcare System’s Pandemic-Prompted Proposal to Delay Settlement
In response to Sutter Health’s motion for a continuance, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra requested that a San Francisco state court move forward with a…
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U.S. House of Representatives Extends Antitrust Penalty Leniency Program for Cooperating Defendants
On June 25, 2020, the House passed a bill to permanently extend a recently expired provision within the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act…
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Californians Will Vote on Whether to Expand the State’s Consumer Privacy Act
In November, California residents will vote on a proposal to augment the California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which took effect in January 2020. The Secretary…
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Apple, Inc. Probed by European Commission for Possible Antitrust Violations
In late June, the European Commission (EC) opened several formal cases investigating Apple’s mobile payment technology (Apple Pay) and various third-party and user agreements to…
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DOJ Secures Admission of Guilt, Agrees to Deferred Prosecution Agreement for Generic Drug Manufacturer Accused of Price Fixing
The Justice Department has announced a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and a $24.1 million criminal penalty against Apotex, Inc., a Florida-based generic pharmaceutical manufacturer. Apotex…
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FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges that Danaher Corporation’s Acquisition of GE Biopharma Was Anticompetitive
FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges that Danaher Corporation’s Acquisition of GE Biopharma Was Anticompetitive May 29, 2020 Following a public comment period, the Federal…