The European Commission increasingly issues large document requests in complex merger cases. The number of requested documents has increased significantly in recent years, from a few hundred to several hundred thousand, in particular in Phase I or Phase II cases that raise substantial issues. If the document request is issued during the formal proceedings, the documents…
On May 10, 2017, the European Commission published the final report on its sector inquiry on competition in the e-commerce sector (the E-Commerce Report) and a mid-term review of its digital single market (DSM) initiative (the DSM Review), both of which were originally announced in May 2015. The E-Commerce Report confirms that the Commission has…
The “New Frontiers of Antitrust 2017” competition law conference organized by Concurrences Review will be held in Paris on June 26, 2017. This year the conference, held each year since 2009, will focus on Competition Authorities, Mergers and Innovation, State Aid and Tax Ruling, and the Politics of Competition Regulation. The “Competition Authorities: Towards More…
With just two months left in the U.S. Supreme Court’s current term, it’s a good time to take a look at the handful of petitions in antitrust cases that remain on the docket. Since the first Monday in October 2016, the Court has yet to grant any petitions for review in antitrust cases. However, three…
It is becoming increasingly common for companies to set prices for their products automatically using algorithms. One recent study found evidence of more than 500 sellers using algorithmic pricing on Amazon marketplace (see here). The Commission’s Preliminary Report on the E-commerce Sector Inquiry also reported use of automatic price adjustments (see paragraph 552). There are…
By Robert E. Connolly[1] and Masayuki Atsumi[2] [This is Part 2 of a multi-part article on ways a foreign fugitive may be able to get some issues heard by a US federal court without surrendering to the United States and personally appearing in court. Part 1 can be found here: http://cartelcapers.com/blog/defending-foreign-fugitive-fugitive-disentitlement-doctrine/] A foreign defendant who…
By Robert E. Connolly [1] and Masayuki Atsumi [2] The fugitive disentitlement doctrine is an equitable doctrine under which a court has the discretion to decline to consider a petition of a defendant if that defendant does not appear before the court. “The paradigmatic object of the doctrine is the convicted criminal who flees while…
Earlier this year, Libratus – an artificial intelligence system developed by Carnegie Mellon University – conquered four of the world’s top professional poker players in a Head’s-Up No-Limit Texas Hold’em tournament (one of the most complicated forms of poker). [1] This might not sound all that surprising to those recalling Gary Kasparov’s defeat at the…
The Federal Trade Commission’s new Economic Liberty Task Force, launched by FTC Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen, is an important step that addresses concerns from this blogger and others that the FTC’s commissioners should do more to head off the competitive restraints imposed by certain state licensing requirements. The move is consistent with recent efforts by…
What light does the European Commission’s much anticipated 130-page decision, published Monday, 19 December 2016, shed on the Commission’s case and the parties’ prospects for appeal? In the second of a series of short blogs on the Apple case, here’s a quick-look review and comment on the Commission’s decision. We know now that the Commission’s…
