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The New Road To Serfdom: The Curse Of Bigness And The Failure Of Antitrust, Carl T. Bogus Dec 2015

The New Road To Serfdom: The Curse Of Bigness And The Failure Of Antitrust, Carl T. Bogus

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article argues for a paradigm shift in modern antitrust policy. Rather than being concerned exclusively with consumer welfare, antitrust law should also be concerned with consolidated corporate power. Regulators and courts should consider the social and political, as well as the economic, consequences of corporate mergers. The vision that antitrust must be a key tool for limiting consolidated corporate power has a venerable legacy, extending back to the origins of antitrust law in early seventeenth century England, running throughout American history, and influencing the enactment of U.S. antitrust laws. However, the Chicago School’s view that antitrust law should be …


Aftermarketfailure: Windows Xp's End Of Support, Andrew Tutt Apr 2014

Aftermarketfailure: Windows Xp's End Of Support, Andrew Tutt

Michigan Law Review First Impressions

After 12 years, support for Windows XP will end on April 8, 2014. So proclaims a Microsoft website with a helpful clock counting down the days. "What does this mean?" the website asks. "It means you should take action." You should "migrate to a current supported operating system - such as Windows 8.1 - so you can receive regular security updates to protect [your] computer from malicious attacks." The costs of mass migration will be immense. About 30% of all desktop PCs are running Windows XP right now. An estimated 10% of the U.S. government's computers run Windows XP, including …


Stop Being Evil: A Proposal For Unbiased Google Search, Joshua G. Hazan Mar 2013

Stop Being Evil: A Proposal For Unbiased Google Search, Joshua G. Hazan

Michigan Law Review

Since its inception in the late 1990s, Google has done as much as anyone to create an "open internet." Thanks to Google's unparalleled search algorithms, anyone's ideas can be heard, and all kinds of information are easier than ever to find. As Google has extended its ambition beyond its core function, however it has conducted itself in a manner that now threatens the openness and diversity of the same internet ecosystem that it once championed. By promoting its own content and vertical search services above all others, Google places a significant obstacle in the path of its competitors. This handicap …


Antitrust Rulemaking As A Solution To Abuse On The Standard-Setting Process, Adam Speegle Mar 2012

Antitrust Rulemaking As A Solution To Abuse On The Standard-Setting Process, Adam Speegle

Michigan Law Review

While many recognize the critical role that technology plays in modern life, few appreciate the role that standards play in contributing to its success. Devices as prevalent as the modern laptop computer for example, may be governed by over 500 interoperability standards, regulating everything from the USB drive to the memory chip. To facilitate adoption of such standards, firms are increasingly turning to standard-setting organizations. These organizations consist of members of an industry who agree to abide by the organization's bylaws, which typically regard topics such as patent disclosure and reasonable licensing. Problems arise, however, when members violate these bylaws …


Predation Analysis And The Ftc’S Case Against Intel, Daniel A. Crane May 2010

Predation Analysis And The Ftc’S Case Against Intel, Daniel A. Crane

Law & Economics Working Papers

The Federal Trade Commission's pending antitrust case against Intel challenges a number of Intel's discounting and rebating practices. The Commission appears poised to apply a cost-price test to the challenged practices, but proposes to include "fixed sunk costs" in the appropriate measure of cost. This paper explains the importance of using cost-price screens to assess unilaterally imposed prices and analyzes the futility of including sunk costs in the relevant cost measure.


Reflections On Section 5 Of The Ftc Act And The Ftc's Case Against Intel, Daniel A. Crane Jan 2010

Reflections On Section 5 Of The Ftc Act And The Ftc's Case Against Intel, Daniel A. Crane

Articles

The Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC’s”) unprecedented enforcement action against Intel raises profound issues concerning the scope of the FTC’s powers to give a construction to Section 5 of the FTC Act that goes beyond the substantive reach of the Sherman Act. While I have urged the FTC to assert such independence from the Sherman Act, this is the wrong case to make a break. Indeed, if anything, Intel poses a risk of seriously setting back the development of an independent Section 5 power by provoking a hostile appellate court to rebuke the FTC’s effort and cabin the FTC’s powers in …


Software Development As An Antitrust Remedy: Lessons From The Enforcement Of The Microsoft Communications Protocol Licensing Requirement , William H. Page, Seldon J. Childers Jan 2007

Software Development As An Antitrust Remedy: Lessons From The Enforcement Of The Microsoft Communications Protocol Licensing Requirement , William H. Page, Seldon J. Childers

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

An important provision in each of the final judgments in the government's Microsoft antitrust case requires Microsoft to "make available" to software developers the communications protocols that Windows client operating systems use to interoperate "natively" (that is, without adding software) with Microsoft server operating systems in corporate networks or over the Internet. The short-term goal of the provision is to allow developers, as licensees of the protocols, to write applications for non-Microsoft server operating systems that interoperate with Windows client computers in the same ways that applications written for Microsoft's server operating systems interoperate with Windows clients. The long-term goal …


Microsoft Tying Consumers' Hands - The Windows Vista Problem And The South Korean Solution, Daniel J. Silverthorn Jan 2007

Microsoft Tying Consumers' Hands - The Windows Vista Problem And The South Korean Solution, Daniel J. Silverthorn

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Currently, more than ninety percent of the world's PCs operate under Windows. To cement its market power, Microsoft has engaged in controversial business practices. Those practices have led to adverse antitrust decisions in the United States, the European Union (EU), and South Korea. Many of these decisions, both judicial and administrative, revolve around Microsoft's bundling, or "tying," of certain subsidiary applications with the Windows operating system, including Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. In doing so, Microsoft arguably gains a greater than deserved market share with these bundled applications, inhibiting fair competition in the software marketplace. The United States, EU …


Antitrust Enfocement And High-Technology Markets, William J. Baer, David A. Balto Jun 1999

Antitrust Enfocement And High-Technology Markets, William J. Baer, David A. Balto

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Although the antitrust laws apply to all industries, the application must be tempered in each case by the myriad ways in which competition can be modified by structural, behavioral, technological, regulatory, and other characteristics. The Commission applies the antitrust laws with sensitivity to the special characteristics of high-tech industries and of intellectual property, but also with the recognition that--as in other industries--competition plays an important role in spurring innovation and in spreading the benefits of that innovation to consumers. This focus is not new. This balanced approach has roots that go back at least to the 1977 Antitrust Guide to …


The Joint Enterprise: Collaboration Between The Public And Private Sectors, Howard Anawalt, Karen Robbins Jan 1984

The Joint Enterprise: Collaboration Between The Public And Private Sectors, Howard Anawalt, Karen Robbins

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article first outlines the structures of the joint and tripartite enterprises. It then addresses two legal concerns facing an operational enterprise, the potential tort liability of enterprise participants and antitrust restrictions. Tort liability is a threshold concern of any joint venture or partnership, and antitrust law is a basic constraint on the operations of any business. The article proceeds to show that the problems they pose for a joint enterprise can be minimized or avoided. In the third part of the article the authors demonstrate the special utility of the joint enterprise.


Introduction: Transnational Corporate Concentration-The Issues, Thomas E. Kauper Jan 1981

Introduction: Transnational Corporate Concentration-The Issues, Thomas E. Kauper

Michigan Journal of International Law

Competition policy in the United States, particularly reflected in antitrust policy, in recent years has focused on corporate structure. To some, this emphasis simply reflects a belief in a close correlation between corporate structure and behavior. A single firm monopoly inevitably will restrict output and raise prices above levels that would prevail under competition conditions, distorting allocative efficiency. The behavioral pattern is a direct consequence of structure. Many believe that high corporate concentration, even short of single firm monopoly, is at least conducive to, if not a cause of, monopolistic behavior. Some also view high corporate concentration, and the aggregation …


International Implications Of Limitations On "Aggregate Concentration", David Boies Jan 1981

International Implications Of Limitations On "Aggregate Concentration", David Boies

Michigan Journal of International Law

Traditionally, antitrust laws have been concerned with competition and concentration within a single market. In the past few years, however, increasing attention has been given to economywide or aggregate concentration-especially when such concentration is accomplished by merger rather than by internal growth. In 1979 and 1980, Congress considered Senate Bill S. 600 which would limit mergers based on size criteria that are unrelated, at least directly, to proof of a lessening of competition within any given market. The international implications of applying this principle are complex and difficult, and have yet to be fully addressed. It is the purpose of …


Structural Aspects Of Multinational Corporate Trade With The Nonmarket Economies Of Eastern Europe: An Mnc Perspective On Domestic And Foreign Regulation, John G. Scriven Jan 1981

Structural Aspects Of Multinational Corporate Trade With The Nonmarket Economies Of Eastern Europe: An Mnc Perspective On Domestic And Foreign Regulation, John G. Scriven

Michigan Journal of International Law

In considering the structural aspects of multinational corporate trade relationships with the nonmarket economies of Eastern Europe, it is important, as a preliminary matter, to acknowledge certain intractable features of that trade. Only through a continuing awareness of the interplay of these factors can one hope to understand the role of law or regulation in trade with these states.


Sherman Act Applications To Predation By Controlled Economy Enterprises Marketing In The United States: Departures From Mechanical Formulae, Deborah M. Levy Jan 1981

Sherman Act Applications To Predation By Controlled Economy Enterprises Marketing In The United States: Departures From Mechanical Formulae, Deborah M. Levy

Michigan Journal of International Law

In a reproachful dissent in United States v. Columbia Steel, the late Justice Douglas sought to remind his brethren what the antitrust laws of the United States are all about: [A]ll power tends to develop into a government in itself. Power that controls the economy should be in the hands of elected representatives of the people, not in the hands of an industrial oligarchy. Industrial power should be decentralized.... That is the philosophy and the command of the Sherman Act.


United Kingdom Regulation Of Transnational Corporate Concentration, J. Denys Gribbin Jan 1981

United Kingdom Regulation Of Transnational Corporate Concentration, J. Denys Gribbin

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article begins by describing the United Kingdom's policy toward outward and inward direct investment and then sets out the essentials of the competition laws that are among the major, nondiscriminatory regulatory mechanisms that affect corporate behavior and planning. The article also analyzes the development of competition policy as a microeconomic instrument along with its application to monopoly, oligopoly, and cartels involving transnational corporations. Competition policy, except for cartels, is shown to be relatively benign toward mergers until recently, and with respect to monopoly and oligopoly has sought remedies in regulation of prices and behavior rather than through structural change. …


Regulating Multinational Corporate Concentration-The European Economic Community, John Temple Lang Jan 1981

Regulating Multinational Corporate Concentration-The European Economic Community, John Temple Lang

Michigan Journal of International Law

It is the purpose of this article to discuss the policies and goals of the efforts of the European Communities to regulate multinational corporate concentration. For reasons that will become clear in the course of the article, it is necessary to start by outlining the means available to the European Communities, both presently and potentially, to promote these policies. It is not possible to see what those policies might be or how they are likely to develop without understanding the practical implications of the various legal rules on which the Community might rely in the future. This article does not …


Reflections On Recent Oecd Activities: Regulation Of Multinational Corporate Conduct And Structure, Kurt Stockmann Jan 1981

Reflections On Recent Oecd Activities: Regulation Of Multinational Corporate Conduct And Structure, Kurt Stockmann

Michigan Journal of International Law

In recent, years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has repeatedly addressed, in a variety of forms, the problem of transnational corporate concentration. In the field of restrictive business practices, it has made suggestions on specific antitrust problems, issued council recommendations, and promulgated the 1976 Concil Guidelines for multinational enterprises. Not surprisingly for an organization that adheres to the principle of unanimity and, consequently, is governed by the law of the smallest common denominator, these efforts have thus far focused more on procedure than on substance. Even where quasisubstantive rules have been adopted, such as in competition guideline …


Doctrines And Problems Relating To U.S. Control Of Transnational Corporate Concentration, Douglas E. Rosenthal, Stuart E. Benson, Lisa Chiles Jan 1981

Doctrines And Problems Relating To U.S. Control Of Transnational Corporate Concentration, Douglas E. Rosenthal, Stuart E. Benson, Lisa Chiles

Michigan Journal of International Law

It is the principal thesis of this article that important recent case decisions in U.S. antitrust law reflect just this conflict over the extent to which intraindustry (horizontal) concentration is economically harmful. We are at a point where the future direction of the law is difficult to discern. Until there is greater U.S. policy agreement, and consistency within U.S. law itself, it is unlikely that any common transnational response will emerge to even horizontal corporate concentration. Ironically, it may not be possible to clarify U.S. antitrust law as long as the underlying policy conflict remains so sharp. For the present, …


Regulation Of Concentration Through Merger Control: Germany's Continuing Efforts, Kurt Stockmann Jan 1981

Regulation Of Concentration Through Merger Control: Germany's Continuing Efforts, Kurt Stockmann

Michigan Journal of International Law

The Federal Republic of Germany's Law Against Restraints on Competition (the ARC), establishes an extensive regime for regulating market-dominating enterprises. Therefore, large corporations, both national and multinational, are the subject of particular scrutiny in the Federal Republic. Rather than identify and address all the provisions pertinent to corporate concentration (a task whose tedium would be matched only by its enormity), this analysis will undertake three tasks: (1) briefly describe the general scope of West German merger law, (2) discuss the application of the law to cases of transnational concentration, and (3) explain the proposed Fourth Amendment to the ARC as …


The "Economic" Analysis Of Transnational Mergers, William James Adams Jan 1981

The "Economic" Analysis Of Transnational Mergers, William James Adams

Michigan Journal of International Law

No congregation of lawyers can be considered complete without a token economist. The role of the economist consists of describing the economic mode of analyzing the legal problem under consideration. Unfortunately from the standpoint of the token, economists rarely agree on criteria appropriate for the appraisal of economic phenomena. With respect to transnational corporate mergers, four modes of analysis may be described legitimately as economic.


Stein & Nicholson: American Enterprise In The European Common Market: A Legal Profile. Vol. Ii, Sigmund Timberg Jan 1961

Stein & Nicholson: American Enterprise In The European Common Market: A Legal Profile. Vol. Ii, Sigmund Timberg

Michigan Law Review

A Review of American Enterprise in the European Common Market: A Legal Profile. Vol. II. Volume Two. Edited by Eric Stein and Thomas L. Nicholson.


Corporations - Shareholders - Right To Bring Derivative Action For Treble Damages Under Antitrust Laws, William K. Davenport S.Ed. Nov 1953

Corporations - Shareholders - Right To Bring Derivative Action For Treble Damages Under Antitrust Laws, William K. Davenport S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, owner of 50 percent of the stock in a theater corporation, brought a derivative action in federal court for treble damages for loss of profits allegedly suffered from defendant's violation of the antitrust laws. The district court sustained defendant's motion to dismiss. On appeal to the court of appeals, held, reversed and remanded. Under the new federal rules, a stockholder may bring a derivative action for treble damages under the antitrust laws. Fanchon & Marco, Inc. v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., (2d Cir. 1953) 202 F. (2d) 731.


The Standard Oil Decision: The Rule Of Reason, Horace Lafayette Wilgus Jan 1911

The Standard Oil Decision: The Rule Of Reason, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Articles

After twenty-one years the Sherman Anti Trust Act has been applied to the typical combination restraining interstate commerce, which that act was designed to prevent.