Law Commons^™

From Energy Sector Inquiry To Recent Antitrust Decisions In European Energy Markets: Competition Law As A Means To Implement Energy Sector Regulation In Eu, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

This paper presents the conceptual path followed by European Union, European Commission and European Competition Network, after the Energy Sector Inquiry (2007) towards the realisation of the objective of an Energy Internal Market, fully functional and open to competition. Firstly, we examine the findings of Sector Inquiry and then we describe how the Third Energy Package - that followed - tried to address the issues highlighted by the Inquiry and how Third Energy Package introduces a promising but complex system, in order to develop sector rules. Following the above, we proceed to a brief but close examination of 10 recent …

An Economic Assessment Of Patent Settlements In The Pharmaceutical Industry, Bret Dickey, Jonathan Orszag, Laura Tyson

Bret Dickey

In recent years, patent settlements between branded and generic manufacturers involving “reverse payments” from branded manufacturers to generic manufacturers have received close antitrust scrutiny, driven by concerns that such settlements harm consumers by delaying the entry of lower-priced generic drugs. It appears that such settlements will be a focus of the Obama Administration’s antitrust enforcement policy. Yet there is a growing consensus among the courts that such settlements are anticompetitive only under narrow sets of circumstances. In this paper, we present an analytical framework for evaluating the competitive effects of patent settlements, including those involving reverse payments, and demonstrate that …

Department Stores On Sale: An Antitrust Quandary, Mark D. Bauer

Mark D Bauer

In 2005, Macy’s bought its largest competitor, May Department Stores, for $17 billion. The resulting combination created a department store behemoth with over one thousand stores across the United States. Despite protests by the attorneys general of a number of states, and consumers and advocacy groups around the country, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) blessed this merger without requiring any modification in its terms. And according to law and economics scholars, this merger had no substantive impact on consumers, competition or consumer welfare.

My empirical research, published in an earlier law review article, showed that Macy’s now charges consumers 13% …

Regional Competition Law Agreements: An Important Step For Antitrust Enforcement, Michal Gal

Michal Gal

This essay argues that regional competition law agreements on joint enforcement and advocacy (RJCAs) hold an important potential to solve many of the enforcement problems that small and developing jurisdictions face and can provide additional benefits that go beyond such solutions. It also argues that the costs involved in such agreements are not prohibitive and that many of these costs can be overcome by structuring appropriate solutions. Accordingly, RJCAs have the potential to create Pareto superior solutions to enforcement problems relative to unilateral enforcement. The essay then broadens the analysis to the potential effects of RJCAs on non-member states. It …

Expansion And Contraction In Monopolization Law, Michal Gal, Spencer Waller Weber, Avishalom Tor

Michal Gal

This article introduces a special symposium issue of the Antitrust Law Journal based on a conference on monopolization. It argues that monopolization law has been experiencing simultaneous expansion and contraction processes that are not wholly contradictory but at least partly complementary. Specifically, the authors suggest that the contraction of monopolization law in the United States and the EU might serve to facilitate its expansion and increased importance worldwide, providing other antitrust regimes with more focused and effective tools to address the challenges involved in regulating dominant firms. Moreover, monopolization law's increased reach internationally also has made its refinement and rationalization …

The Follower Phenomenon: Implications For The Design Of Monopolization Rules In A Global Economy, Michal Gal, Jorge A. Padilla

Michal Gal

Laws are oftentimes modeled, at least in part, on those of jurisdictions with established antitrust regimes, a trend we call “the follower phenomenon.” Follower behavior might involve a transplant of a legal rule, its interpretation, or both.

This article analyzes the main causes of the follower phenomenon in antitrust and its welfare effects, both on the following jurisdiction and on the followed one. It argues that the proliferation of one's antitrust prohibitions can sometimes act as a boomerang, negatively affecting the welfare of the followed jurisdiction as well as third jurisdictions. This boomerang effect can result from three main causes: …

Striking An Efficient Balance: Making Sense Of Antitrust Standing In Class Action Certification Motions, Kelly J. Bozanic

Kelly J. Bozanic

Class actions are powerful litigation devices, especially in antitrust cases. Plaintiffs who otherwise would not have the economic incentive to pursue judicial redress are vested with status as equal players in the commercial marketplace. The aims of both the antitrust laws and Rule 23(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are served through class actions, yet class actions also bear the potential of negatively impacting the consuming public. This is so, because district court judges considering certification motions face seemingly contradictory standards when it comes to certifying an antitrust class. As a result, plaintiff classes are often given an …

The Reasonable Certainty Requirement In Lost Profits Litigation: What It Really Means, Robert M. Lloyd

Robert M Lloyd

This article explains the factors courts consider when determining whether to award damages for lost profits. It contains an extensive review of the case law.