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Full-Text Articles in Law
Antitrust And Competition Law Update: U.S. V. Visa: Government Wins Major Rule Of Reason Case, William Kolasky, Robert Bell, Lee Greenfield, Veronica Kayne, Jim Lowe, Doug Melamed, Thomas Mueller, Ali Stoeppelwerth
Antitrust And Competition Law Update: U.S. V. Visa: Government Wins Major Rule Of Reason Case, William Kolasky, Robert Bell, Lee Greenfield, Veronica Kayne, Jim Lowe, Doug Melamed, Thomas Mueller, Ali Stoeppelwerth
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
On September 17, 2003, the Second Circuit issued an important decision in U.S. v. Visa U.S.A., Inc., 2003 WL 22138519 (2d Cir. Sept. 17, 2003). The court affirmed a district court ruling invalidating Visa and Mastercard rules that prohibit member banks from issuing American Express or Discover.1 The district court had found that these ìexclusionary rulesî substantially harmed competition and failed scrutiny under a rule of reason analysis. Visa is noteworthy both because it is a (relatively rare) government win in a major rule of reason case ó with the Second Circuit affirming the trial courtís rigorous inquiry into the …
Ip Antitrust: Keeping The Free-Market Innovation Machine Working, William Kolasky
Ip Antitrust: Keeping The Free-Market Innovation Machine Working, William Kolasky
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
One of the most thoughtful books in recent years on how innovation drives economic growth is Professor William Baumol’s The Free-Market Innovation Machine. In it, Professor Baumol shows that over the past 150 years, per capita incomes in a typical free market economy have risen at unprecedented levels. He argues that the engine driving this growth is the competitive pressure a well-functioning free market economy places on firms to invest in innovation and to share new technologies with the firms that can use it most efficiently.
Pharmabulletin Issue 3, Fall 2005, Mark Heller, Hollie Baker, Robert Barry, James Burling, Suyong Kim
Pharmabulletin Issue 3, Fall 2005, Mark Heller, Hollie Baker, Robert Barry, James Burling, Suyong Kim
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
On August 15, 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Association of American Medical Colleges released a joint report that examines possible steps to accelerate drug discovery and development. The report, entitled Drug Development Science: Obstacles and Opportunities for Collaboration Among Academia, Industry and Government, is the product of a two-day conference among leaders from the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and FDA. The goal of the conference and the report was to explore means of overcoming the high failure rate for tentative drug candidates.
New Safe “Round Trip Investment” Circular Lightens The Regulatory Burden On Venture Capital Investments In China, Lester Ross
New Safe “Round Trip Investment” Circular Lightens The Regulatory Burden On Venture Capital Investments In China, Lester Ross
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), China’s foreign exchange regulatory authority, recently clarified the PRC’s overall attitude with respect to offshore VC investments by setting out clearer registration procedures and expressly permitting VC transactions involving offshore SPV structures, subject to compliance with foreign exchange registration requirements. This clarification was set forth in the Circular on Issues Relating to Financing through Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles by Domestic Residents and Round Trip Investment (Circular No. 75), promulgated on October 21, 2005, with effect from November 1, 2005. Circular No. 75 supersedes two SAFE circulars promulgated earlier this year, Circular No. 11 …
Major Events And Policy Issues In Ec Competition Law, 2004-2005 (Part 1), John Ratliff
Major Events And Policy Issues In Ec Competition Law, 2004-2005 (Part 1), John Ratliff
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
This article is designed to offer an overview of the major events and policy issues related to Arts 81, 82 and 86 EC in 2004–2005. The article follows the format of previous years and is divided into three sections: — A general overview of major events (legislation and notices, European Court cases, European Commission decisions, ECN developments and new sector inquiries). — Discussion of current policy issues, including cartel enforcement, private actions and Art.82 EC modernisation. — An outline of certain areas of specific interest, notably competition and the liberal professions, the Commission’s ‘‘Sport and 3G’’ review and a DG …
Wto Dispute Settlement And Competition Law: Views From The Perspective Of The Appellate Body's Experience, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann
Wto Dispute Settlement And Competition Law: Views From The Perspective Of The Appellate Body's Experience, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
The current discussions on a future framework for competition policy within the World Trade Organization ("WTO")have revealed reservations against the full application of the WTO dispute settlement system to such a framework. The current dispute settlement system of the WTO is one of the results of the Uruguay Round negotiations. For an international agreement of nearly universal scope, this system is unique in its obligatory and quasi-automatic character. In general, complaints can be brought to the WTO against national laws which fail to comply with WTO obligations and also against a WTO-inconsistent application of national laws in individual cases. The …
Worst Us Antitrust Decisions...Ever - Part Two, William Kolasky
Worst Us Antitrust Decisions...Ever - Part Two, William Kolasky
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
Last month we invited a panel of three US lawyers to discuss some of the worst antitrust decisions of all time. We now conclude that series, with the second set of candidates for the 'Hall of Shame'. Read the opinions carefully--we'll be picking the worst of the worst in a website survey next month.
Administrative Law Judge Upholds Ftc Complaint Ordering Evanston Northwesternhealthcare Corporation To Unwind Five-Year-Old Acquisition , James Lowe, Alexander Krulic
Administrative Law Judge Upholds Ftc Complaint Ordering Evanston Northwesternhealthcare Corporation To Unwind Five-Year-Old Acquisition , James Lowe, Alexander Krulic
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
On October 21, 2005, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Administrative Law Judge Stephen J. McGuire had ordered Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corporation (ENH) to divest Highland Park Hospital, located in a Chicago suburb. (The decision can be found at http://www.ftc. gov/os/adjpro/d9315/051021idtextversion. pdf.) ENH had acquired Highland Park five years ago for $200 million. In an administrative complaint issued in February 2004, the FTC alleged that the acquisition had resulted in "substantially lessened competition" and higher prices for insurers and healthcare consumers for general acute care inpatient services sold to managed care organizations. In upholding part of the complaint, Judge …
China's Proposed Anti-Monopoly Law, Pamela Bookman
China's Proposed Anti-Monopoly Law, Pamela Bookman
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
Well-designed competition policy can promote consumer welfare and economic growth. Poorly designed policy can retard both. As China’s importance in the world economy grows steadily each year, so does the importance of its competition policy. Because China is a low-cost manufacturing center and home to an enormous market, foreign companies have invested in China extensively, including through joint ventures with Chinese companies that involve sharing the foreign companies’ intellectual property rights with their Chinese partners.
Empagran S.A. V. F. Hoffman-Laroche, Ltd.: Dc Circuit Restricts Reach Of Us Antitrust Laws Over Injuries Sustained In Foreign Commerce, Leon Greenfield, David Olsky
Empagran S.A. V. F. Hoffman-Laroche, Ltd.: Dc Circuit Restricts Reach Of Us Antitrust Laws Over Injuries Sustained In Foreign Commerce, Leon Greenfield, David Olsky
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
On June 28, 2005, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued an important opinion on the extraterritorial reach of the US antitrust laws in Empagran S.A. v. F. Hoffman-Laroche, Ltd. The court held, on remand from the Supreme Court, that plaintiffs injured outside US commerce cannot bring antitrust suits in US courts unless the US effects of the anticompetitive conduct at issue are the proximate cause of their injuries. The decision construes narrowly the circumstances under which plaintiffs may be able to sue in US courts for injuries suffered in foreign commerce.
Us Merger Review: A ‘Goldilocksian’ Perspective, William Kolasky
Us Merger Review: A ‘Goldilocksian’ Perspective, William Kolasky
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
US merger control rests on four strong cornerstones. The first is section 7 of the Clayton Act, as amended by the Celler-Kefauver Act in 1950, which created the substantial lessening of competition standard as the test for the legality of mergers and acquisitions. The second is the Supreme Court’s 1962 decision in Philadelphia National Bank, which relied on the structure-conduct-performance paradigm from industrial organisation economics to fashion a presumption that mergers that significantly increase concentration in already concentrated industries will lessen competition, imposing on the parties the burden of rebutting the government’s structural case. The third is the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust …
Single-Firm Conduct: The Search For The Holy Grail Of Administrable Procompetetive Standards, William Kolaskly
Single-Firm Conduct: The Search For The Holy Grail Of Administrable Procompetetive Standards, William Kolaskly
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
During my tenure as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for International Enforcement in the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice, in a speech I delivered in London, in May 2002, I identified the regulation of single-firm conduct as the area of greatest divergence between U.S. and European competition policy. In the United States, led by the insights of the so-called Chicago School of economics, the courts have moved progressively toward an approach to single-firm conduct that has substantially narrowed the range of potential antitrust intervention. In Europe, by contrast, the courts appear to continue to take a more …
Sector Inquiries On The Italian Electricity And Natural Gas Markets Expose Failures In Both Liberalisation Processes., Antonio Capobianco
Sector Inquiries On The Italian Electricity And Natural Gas Markets Expose Failures In Both Liberalisation Processes., Antonio Capobianco
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
On 9 February 2005, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) and the Autorità per l’Energia Elettrica e il Gas (AEEG) concluded a joint sector inquiry on the progress of liberalisation in the Italian electricity market (Electricity Sector inquiry). The Electricity Sector inquiry follows another joint inquiry by the two authorities a few months earlier on the progress of liberalisation of the natural gas market in Italy (Natural Gas Sector inquiry). The Natural Gas Sector inquiry was published on 19 June 2004. This article summarises the findings and the conclusions of both sector inquiries and describes the methodology …
Unilateral Effects: The Enforcement Act Under The Old Ec Merger Regulation, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, Axel Gutermuth
Unilateral Effects: The Enforcement Act Under The Old Ec Merger Regulation, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, Axel Gutermuth
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
The reform of the EC Merger Regulation was preceded by an animated debate about whether the traditional "dominance" test allowed the Commission to challenge mergers that did not lead to single firm or collective dominance in the traditional sense, but nevertheless may have reduced competition to the detriment of consumers. The authors submit that the dominance test failed to reach such situations of "unilateral" or "non-coordinated" effects. The old Merger Regulation therefore suffered from a potential "enforcement gap" that was closed only by the legislative change to the "significant impediment of effective competition" test. National jurisdictions still using variants of …
Pharmabulletin Issue 2, Summer 2005, Mark Heller, Hollie Baker, Robert Barry, James Burling, Suyong Kim
Pharmabulletin Issue 2, Summer 2005, Mark Heller, Hollie Baker, Robert Barry, James Burling, Suyong Kim
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
In May 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance on the type of information to be posted on its new “Drug Watch” website—a site intended to identify drugs for which it is actively evaluating early safety signals. At this time, the FDA plans only to post information on drug products regulated by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, therefore vaccines, blood products and medical devices shall be excluded.
Antitrust And Competition Law Update: Agencies Send A Strong Message On Hsr Filing, William J. Kolasky, Robert Bell, James W. Lowe, Leon Greenfield, A. Douglas Melamed, Veronica Kayne, Ali Stoeppelwerth, Janet Ridge
Antitrust And Competition Law Update: Agencies Send A Strong Message On Hsr Filing, William J. Kolasky, Robert Bell, James W. Lowe, Leon Greenfield, A. Douglas Melamed, Veronica Kayne, Ali Stoeppelwerth, Janet Ridge
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division last week each announced enforcement actions against and settlements with parties that alleged failed to make required notifications of transactions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended. Each case resulted in a significant fine (one of $800,000 and one of $1 million) and signaled the agencies’ intent to pursue vigorously parties that fail -- intentionally or negligently -- to meet their obligations under the HSR Act. Moreover, both cases address the scope of the HSR Act’s “investment only” exemption and show that the agencies construe it strictly …
Trading And Distribution In China, Lester Ross, Kenneth Zhou
Trading And Distribution In China, Lester Ross, Kenneth Zhou
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
Trading and distribution rights were major issues in the negotiation of China’s entry to the World Trade Organisation, a process which took 14 years before concluding in late 2001. Trading rights, i.e. the right to import and export goods, had historically been mainly restricted to a small number of largely sector-specific state-owned monopoly trading enterprises. Trading rights were modestly liberalised in the years preceding China’s entry, but generally remained tightly restricted.
“Start-Up Aid” For Low Cost Carriers– A Policy Perspective, Sven Völcker
“Start-Up Aid” For Low Cost Carriers– A Policy Perspective, Sven Völcker
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
On 7 February 2005, the European Commission published draft “Community guidelines on the financing of airports and start-up aid to airlines departing from regional airports” for consultation. This article focuses on the Draft Guidelines’ statements on “start-up aid,” which seek to integrate the Commission’s statements in last year’s Charleroi decision into a consistent state aid policy framework. It is submitted here that such an attempt is highly problematic, given the absence of a coherent and objective justification for start-up aid in its proposed form. The Commission should not depart from its long-standing hostility to operating aid for reasons of perceived …
Mario Monti’S Legacy: A U.S. Perspective, William Kolasky
Mario Monti’S Legacy: A U.S. Perspective, William Kolasky
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
The departure of Commissioner Mario Monti from his post as the EC Commissioner for competition policy provides a good opportunity to reflect upon the achievements and perceived failures of the European Commission in the field of antitrust law over the past five years. This paper attempts to do so on the basis of six core principles of sound competition policy. Under the first principle, it is undisputable that the Commission under Commissioner Monti’s leadership has been at the forefront of the international efforts undertaken in the fight against cartels. Second, despite some weaknesses in areas such as conglomerate mergers or …
Pharma Bulletin - Spring 2005, Mark Heller, Hollie Baker, Robert Barry, James Burling, Suyong Kim
Pharma Bulletin - Spring 2005, Mark Heller, Hollie Baker, Robert Barry, James Burling, Suyong Kim
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
FDA to Create Drug Safety Board In February 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it will create a new independent Drug Safety Oversight Board (DSB) to oversee the management of drug safety issues within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). The FDA Commissioner will appoint individuals from the FDA and medical experts from other Health and Human Services agencies and government departments to the DSB, which also will consult with other medical experts and patient and consumer group representatives. Additionally, the FDA is proposing a new “Drug Watch” web page for emerging data and risk …
Oracle In Brussels, Christian Duvernoy, Sven Völcker
Oracle In Brussels, Christian Duvernoy, Sven Völcker
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
It was hands across the water when both a U.S. district court and the European Commission cleared the $10.3 billion merger of Oracle and PeopleSoft. The Department of Justice, which had opposed the deal, had decided not to appeal its defeat in the San Francisco court, and it is thought that the Commission took this as a sign that U.S. regulators would not take it amiss if their European counterparts also let the merger proceed. In any event, there was none of the resentment and outrage that bubbled over not so long ago when U.S. antitrust authorities approved the GE/Honeywell …
Schering-Plough Corp. V. Federal Trade Commission: Eleventh Circuit Rejects The Ftc’S Position On “Reverse Payments” In Patent Suit Settlements, Ulrich Quack, James Burling, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, John Ratliff, Suyong Kim, Douglas Melamed, William Kolasky
Schering-Plough Corp. V. Federal Trade Commission: Eleventh Circuit Rejects The Ftc’S Position On “Reverse Payments” In Patent Suit Settlements, Ulrich Quack, James Burling, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, John Ratliff, Suyong Kim, Douglas Melamed, William Kolasky
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
In recent years, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or the “Commission”) has investigated several settlement agreements between pioneer and generic drug manufacturers involving “reverse payments.” In the view of the FTC, reverse payments are cash that a pioneer drug manufacturer pays to a generic manufacturer who has challenged the patent(s) protecting the pioneer drug, in exchange for the generic manufacturer’s agreement to delay market entry. Such payments sometimes occur in the settlement of patent infringement actions. The Commission has been extremely skeptical of reverse payments, viewing them as objective indicia of intent to illegally share monopoly profits that the delayed …
Antitrust Enforcement: Four New Investigations Opened By The Agcm In The First Months Of 2005, Antonio Capobianco, Stefano Fratta
Antitrust Enforcement: Four New Investigations Opened By The Agcm In The First Months Of 2005, Antonio Capobianco, Stefano Fratta
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
The first three months of this year have witnessed extensive enforcement activity by Italy’s Autorità Garante per la Concorrenza ed il Mercato (“AGCM”). In the closing 90 days of the chairmanship of Professor Tesauro, former Advocate General at the European Court of Justice, the AGCM initiated a number of investigations for infringement of EC competition rules in various key markets: natural gas, telecommunication services, pharmaceuticals and postal services. The cases reported below are of particular interest since they are the first examples of enforcement of EC competition rules by the AGCM in the new “modernised” system of European enforcement.
Spanish Competition Tribunal Rejects Price Squeeze Allegations In Relation To Mobile Vpn Services, Axel Desmedt, Pablo Charro
Spanish Competition Tribunal Rejects Price Squeeze Allegations In Relation To Mobile Vpn Services, Axel Desmedt, Pablo Charro
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
On December 20 and 22, the Spanish Competition Tribunal (Tribunal de Defensa de la Competencia, or TDC) dismissed three actions that were brought by Uni2 and WorldCom (both alternative fixed operators) against the three Spanish mobile operators (Telefonica Moviles, Vodafone, and Amena) for abuse of a dominant position. The complaints alleged that the three mobile operators applied a price squeeze on the corporate market segment and discriminatory pricing practices as regards mobile termination services. In particular, according to Uni2 and WorldCom, during the period of 2000-2002, the three Spanish mobile operators offered retail services to corporate clients (including pricing terms …
Antitrust And Competition Law Update, Ulrich Quack, James Burling, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, John Ratliff, Suyong Kim, Douglas Melamed, William Kolasky, Janet Durholz Ridge
Antitrust And Competition Law Update, Ulrich Quack, James Burling, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, John Ratliff, Suyong Kim, Douglas Melamed, William Kolasky, Janet Durholz Ridge
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
The US Federal Trade Commission(FTC) has announced sweeping changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act premerger reporting rules, including those governing transactions involving partnerships and LLCs, that will come into effect on April 6, 2005. See 70 Fed. Reg. 11526 (March 8, 2005). In addition to reconciling the HSR analysis of LLCs, partnerships and other unincorporated entities with that of corporations, the new rules will make a number of technical adjustments and codify some informal FTC interpretations. The changes will make some transactions reportable that have historically be exempt; this effect will be offset to some extent by new exemptions from …
Antitrust And Competition Law Update: Tetra Laval--A Landmark Judgement On Ec Merger Control, Ulrich Quack, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, James Burling, John Ratliff, Suyong Kim, Douglas Melamed, William Kolasky
Antitrust And Competition Law Update: Tetra Laval--A Landmark Judgement On Ec Merger Control, Ulrich Quack, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, James Burling, John Ratliff, Suyong Kim, Douglas Melamed, William Kolasky
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
On 15 February 2005, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed the European Commission’s appeal in the Tetra Laval/Sidel merger case.2 The ECJ’s judgment establishes two significant principles that apply beyond the facts of this particular case:The judgment confirms that the Court of First Instance (CFI) for all practical purposes will continue to be the ultimate arbiter of disputes about the Commission’s use of evidence and economic assessment in merger control proceedings. The ECJ has signaled that it will generally not entertain appeals asserting that the CFI engaged in excessive scrutiny of the Commission’s assessment and therefore overstepped the permissible …
Mario Monti’S Legacy For Competition Policy In Article 82, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, John Ratliff
Mario Monti’S Legacy For Competition Policy In Article 82, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, John Ratliff
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
Commissioner Mario Monti’s impact on Article 82 of the EC Treaty during his period as EC Competition Commissioner has not been as revolutionary as his impact on other areas of EC competition law. Nonetheless, the European Commission has done serious work on Article 82 cases, notably taking several important decisions: Microsoft in the area of refusal to supply and tying and Michelin II on rebates. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Court of First Instance (CFI) have also made important contributions to the law on Article 82 with their judgments in IMS Health and in appeals from these …
Major Events And Policy Issues In Ec Competition Law 2003-2004 Part 2, John Ratliff
Major Events And Policy Issues In Ec Competition Law 2003-2004 Part 2, John Ratliff
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
This paper is the second and final part of the overview of ‘‘Major Events and Policy Issues in EC Competition law in 2004’’, following from last month’s journal. This part of the paper is divided into three sections: (1) Recent Commission decisions on cartels, co-operation, distribution and abuse of dominant position, including notably the Microsoft decision; (2) an outline of current policy issues, including possible extension of in-house privilege and possible Art.82 EC guidelines; (3) a survey of some areas of particular interest.Notably, the Commission’s recent drive topromote cempetition in the liberal professions with a decision involving Belgian Architects; recent …
Antitrust And Competition Law Update: Hsr Filing Thresholds Increased For Inflation Acquisitions Unreportable Up To $53.1 Million Effective March 2, 2005, Ulrich Quack, James Burling, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, John Ratliff, Suyong Kim, Douglas Melamed, William Kolasky, Janet Durholz Ridge
Antitrust And Competition Law Update: Hsr Filing Thresholds Increased For Inflation Acquisitions Unreportable Up To $53.1 Million Effective March 2, 2005, Ulrich Quack, James Burling, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, John Ratliff, Suyong Kim, Douglas Melamed, William Kolasky, Janet Durholz Ridge
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
For the first time since the passage of the HSR Act in 1976, the Federal Trade Commission has published new HSR thresholds adjusted for inflation, slightly reducing the overall number of transactions that will require premerger notification filings. The new, higher thresholds will become effective on March 2, 2005. See 70 F.R. 5020 (January 31, 2005). These threshold raises match changes in the gross national product, and will be readjusted annually going forward, as required by the 2000 amendments to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act of 1976. As of the effective date, acquisitions will be reportable under the HSR Act only …
Implications Of The Court Of First Instance’S Microsoft Order, Sven Völcker, Cormac O'Daly
Implications Of The Court Of First Instance’S Microsoft Order, Sven Völcker, Cormac O'Daly
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Antitrust Series
On 22 December 2004, the President of the European Court of First Instance issued an order rejecting Microsoft’s application for a suspension of the remedies imposed by the European Commission in its decision of 24 March 2004, effectively forcing Microsoft to provide interoperability information to rival server operating systems suppliers, and to offer an “unbundled” version of its Windows operating system without the Windows Media Player. The President found that, while Microsoft had established a prima facie case on the merits, it had not proved that it would suffer serious and irreparable harm from immediate implementation of the remedies ordered …