Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons^™

Promotion Of U.S. Foreign Investment In Selected Eastern European Countries In The 1990’S. Comparative Analysis Of Foreign Investment Laws In Poland, The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, And Hungary And Possible Impact Of The U.S. Law On Their Operation, Dorota Szewc

LLM Theses and Essays

Perestroika describes the historical revolution of political and economic reforms which were aimed at accelerating economic growth, democratization, and openness. As the failings of the socialist economic model became more apparent, Eastern European nations were motivated to enact laws allowing foreign investment. A comparative analysis of these foreign investment laws in Poland, the Soviet Union, Hungary, and Yugoslavia is made. Even with the reforms in Eastern Europe, U.S. law may affect the actions of American investors in Eastern Europe. Specifically, U.S. export control laws effect the trade between the U.S. and countries still deemed to be communist, and U.S. antitrust …

Cable Traffic And The First Amendment Must-Carry Under A Diversity Approach And Antitrust As Possible Alternative, Bruno Vandermeulen

LLM Theses and Essays

Recent technological progress in the field of telecommunications has greatly changed the competitive structure between broadcasters, cable operators, and telephone companies. The legal and economic environment for these media participants has shifted, and new problems have arisen. One major problem is the enhanced threat of concentration of media corporations, as corporate bigness becomes desirable and the number of diversified owners of media outlets continues to decrease. This paper analyzes broadcasting regulations and subsequent case law to show the concern by the legislature and regulatory agencies to preserve diversity in opinion and media-ownership through emphasis on “localism” and a “marketplace of …

Transnational Discovery In The Extraterritorial Application Of U.S. Antitrust Laws, Maria Eugenia Gimenez

LLM Theses and Essays

After World War II, there was a push for economic integration to promote growth and prevent conflict. Multinational corporations became key players, but their mobility and links to different countries created legal challenges, with nations seeking to assert their laws and policies over foreign entities. U.S. courts’ efforts to compel compliance with antitrust laws abroad can lead to conflicts with foreign jurisdictions, especially concerning the disclosure of evidence held by foreign entities. The “effects doctrine” allows U.S. antitrust laws to be applied to foreign conduct if they have intended economic effects in the U.S. Subsequent cases refined this doctrine, considering …

Sino-American Equity Joint Ventures In The People's Republic China, Lu Wang

LLM Theses and Essays

This LL.M. thesis provides a comprehensive examination of the legal framework governing Sino-American equity joint ventures in the People's Republic of China, written from the standpoint of an American investor navigating the rapidly evolving Chinese legal landscape of the 1980s. The work traces the development of China's foreign investment regime from the watershed adoption of the 1979 Joint Venture Law through subsequent implementing regulations, and analyzes the practical and legal challenges American investors face in establishing and operating equity joint ventures. Key topics include the nature and legal status of joint ventures under the Joint Venture Law and its implementing …

Competition And-Or Efficiency: A Review Of West German Antimerger Law As A Model For The Proposed Treatment Of Efficiency Promotion Under Section 7 Of The Clayton Act, James F. Ponsoldt, Christian Westerhausen

Scholarly Works

The purpose of this Article is to demonstrate the need for legislative change in the Clayton Act. Such change should be based upon the merger control legislation enacted in the Federal Republic of Germany ("Germany"), which explicitly recognizes an appropriate role for the efficiency effects of mergers but, at the same time, often subordinates the role of efficiency to the quite separate goal of protecting competitive markets, when those goals conflict. This Article first will briefly summarize the existing state of United States antimerger law, insofar as Section 7 of the Clayton Act and its history incorporate efficiency considerations. The …

Judicial Activism, Economic Theory And The Role Of Summary Judgment In Sherman Act Conspiracy Cases: The Illogic Of Matsushita, James F. Ponsoldt, Marc J. Lewyn

Scholarly Works

The proper role of neoclassical economic theory in the resolution of antitrust disputes will continue to be debated into the next administration. The Reagan Administration has succeeded in persuading the Supreme Court to incorporate laissez-faire assumptions and goals into Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts jurisprudence in at least three major decisions, although the long-range importance of the holdings in two of those cases remains somewhat in doubt.

One of those decisions, however, reflects more than just a disagreement about application is of the antitrust laws. In Matsushita, the Court, ordering summary judgment for defendants at the urging of the Justice …

Introduction: A Retrospective Examination Of The Reagan Years, James F. Ponsoldt

Scholarly Works

The Antitrust Bulletin and its readers are fortunate to receive the views of the distinguished contributors to this two-issue symposium, and to receive those views in 1988, potentially a watershed year in antitrust, rather than several years earlier. Some of the authors focus upon particular antitrust issues, whereas others have chosen to take a broader view of the Reagan Administration's efforts and impact on antitrust. The articles reflect some differences of opinion, of course. The symposium as a whole, however, is marked by the recognition that the most suitable antitrust policy must balance government intervention, on the one hand, with …

Per Se Legality Of Vertical Restraints: Contested In America -- Not Debated In Germany: Search For Reasons And Comparison, Rainer F. Hildebrandt

LLM Theses and Essays

The approach towards vertical restraints depends heavily on the outcome of the "battle for the soul of antitrust". Therefore, to make the implications of the dispute more comprehensible, this study necessarily has to prefer to the basics of antitrust policy such as legislative history and political underpinnings. The second chapter addresses the underlying values of American and German antitrust laws and compares the concepts chosen to protect these values. Based on these foundations, chapter three evaluates resale price maintenance. In chapter four, the Supreme Court's judgment in Business Electronics Corp. v. Sharp Electronics Corp. is analyzed according to the GWB …

Trade Regulations In International Transfer Of Technology Agreements: A Comparative View Of National And International Legal Provisions, Franz-Martin Wolff

LLM Theses and Essays

This LL.M. thesis provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of national and international legal frameworks governing the regulation of international transfer of technology agreements, set against the backdrop of the stalled UNCTAD negotiations on a Draft International Code of Conduct on the Transfer of Technology. The work examines the role of national patent systems under the Paris Convention, analyzes proposed modifications — including preferential treatment for Developing Countries — and evaluates the adverse effects of monopolistic rights granted under patent laws. Key topics include antitrust regulation in the United States (Sherman Act per se violations and rule of reason), the European …

Legal Reasoning And The Jurisprudence Of Vertical Restraints: The Limitations Of Neoclassical Economic Analysis In The Resolution Of Antitrust Disputes, John J. Flynn, James F. Ponsoldt

Scholarly Works

Cognizant of historical shifts in the methodology and standards applied in antitrust analysis, particularly in the analysis of vertical restraints, this Article first considers the underlying jurisprudential nature of legal reasoning as background for determining what the law of vertical restraints ought to be. The Article then explores the implications of substitution "economic analysis"--in the narrow sense of the economic analysis advocated by the Chicago School of "law and economics"--for legal reasoning in disputes arising under the antitrust laws. A more accurate, multivalued background for antitrust policy is explored. This Article finally proposes a method for analysis of vertical restraints …

A Comparative Approach To Extraterritoriality In The Fields Of Antitrust And Export Controls, Andreas Knaul

LLM Theses and Essays

This work will show that all isolated proposals for the solution of the extraterritoriality problem are fundamentally insufficient. Only a combination of negotiation, agreements and arbitration comes near to a solution of the problem. Taking the example of antitrust and export control laws the author will describe and analyze the different approaches currently discussed to cope with the fact that one sovereign state tries to extend its jurisdiction into the field of another sovereign state. It is to be shown that no approach can succeed as long as the substantive laws in the antitrust and export control field are different.

Legal Factors In The Acquisition Of A United State Corporation: Litigation By Hostile Targets, Johan E. Droogmans

LLM Theses and Essays

Acquisitions of United States corporations have become increasingly complex takeover contests, where bidders and target corporations are forced into offensive and defensive litigation strategies to protect their respective interests. Targets often assert that the bidders have violated federal or state securities laws, federal antitrust laws, federal margin regulations, federal and state regulatory systems, and federal anti-racketeering laws. These lawsuits are primarily based on the principal federal regulation of takeovers in section 14(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the Williams Act. Target litigation is customary, but entails certain disadvantages; a lawsuit rarely stops an offer, is expensive, …

Immunity Doctrine, Efficiency Promotion, And The Applicability Of Federal Antitrust Law To State-Approved Hospital Acquisitions, James F. Ponsoldt

Scholarly Works

The question whether hospitals should be regarded as private businesses, or alternatively as public utilities, in order to maximize productive and allocative efficiency, remains controversial. In recent years, the ability of American hospitals and doctors to provide excellent health care services has been hindered by rising costs and distribution problems. This combination of rising costs and decreased distribution has prevented medical services from reaching the portion of the American population that has the greatest need for these services.

In response to these problems, Congress in 1974 passed the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act (NHPRDA). The NHPRDA is designed …

The Role Of Efficiency Justifications In U.S.-American And West German Merger Control Law: A Comparison, Christian Westerhausen

LLM Theses and Essays

When merger control laws first emerged in the United States and West Germany in the early 1900s, some businessmen and economists argued that the efficiency of businesses was impeded by antimerger laws. They contended that only very large businesses could realize significant efficiencies, be internationally competitive, and attain technological progress. This paper analyzes the role that these efficiency arguments had on the laws in West Germany and the United States, respectively. German law mainly upheld the idea that preservation of competition was most important for business efficiency, but also included a provision that firms could put forward the social desirability …

Clarifying The Attempt To Monopolize Offense As An Alternative Protectionist Legislation: The Conditional Relevance Of "Dangerous Probability Of Success", James F. Ponsoldt

Scholarly Works

The wounded condition of several major American industries, including steel and textiles, resulting from foreign ‘predatory’ conduct has generated much commentary. At the same time, private spokesmen for our institutionalized business interests, including the financial community, have bemoaned American balance of trade figures, blaming them on such ‘impediments' to our export trade as foreign trade barriers and domestic antitrust laws. The two trade problems suggest a common theme: foreign governments have been unfairly aiding their business interests by protecting monopolized or cartelized foreign markets from American business penetration while also subsidizing, directly or indirectly, foreign invasion of certain targeted American …

The Unreasonableness Of Coerced Cooperation: A Comment Upon The Ncaa Decision's Rejection Of The Chicago School, James F. Ponsoldt

Scholarly Works

The Supreme Court's decision in the NCAA case, upholding that the NCAA's mandatory rules controlling the exclusive sale of television rights to intercollegiate football violate section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, is important for several reasons. First, it is among but a few decisions to hold that a restraint of trade although no per se illegal is economically unreasonable under the rule of reason. Second, its implied questions about the goals and relevance of antitrust enforcement coincide with questions about the governmental regulation of business now addressed in law reviews, editorial pages, and by congressional committees. Last, it may …

Legal Issues Of Market Dominance: A Comparative Study, Helmut Gottlieb

LLM Theses and Essays

Chapter I of this paper will focus on the current approach to the delimitation of the relevant market, the determination of market concentration and the legal requirements for a challenge of market dominating enterprises. In Chapter II, because of the interdependency between monopoly and antimerger policy, the present legal situation of mergers shall be analyzed. Finally, the theories of the problem of the jurisdictional reach of antitrust laws will be considered in Chapter III.

The Injury Test Under The Us And Eec Antidumping And Courntervailing Law, Francois Gabriel

LLM Theses and Essays

Antidumping and countervailing legislation contain two tests. First, is the import product dumped or subsidized? Second, is it causing injury to the domestic producers? The latter test, which is the most controversial in the history of antidumping and countervailing legislation, is, in a comparative perspective between the EEC and the USA, the focus of this thesis.

The Extraterritorial Application Of The Export Administration Act Of 1979, Peter T. Knopf

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis deals with the major legal issues of the gas pipeline embargo. It is not an abstract treatise on extraterritoriality under international law, but a legal expertise on the legality of the unique measures imposed in 1982. It also tries to point out the legal trends as indicated by the recent publications. The first part of the thesis examines to what extent some European firms were affected by the American embargo. The second part examines whether the President had the authority under the Export Administration Act of 1979 to impose the far-reaching extraterritorial restrictions. It concludes that the President …

Contribution In Civil Antitrust Litigation: The Emerging Consensus In Legal Literature, James F. Ponsoldt, Benjamin H. Terry

Scholarly Works

The United States Supreme Court recently has agreed to consider the issue of whether contribution among multiple defendants and coconspirators should be allowed in private civil antitrust litigation. Three circuit courts of appeal recently have handed down decisions on the issue of contribution and the result has been disagreement over whether such a right exists or should exist in antitrust law. Legal commentators have responded to these developments with a spate of “solutions” to the problem containing proposals for and against contribution. This article will survey the current status of the literature expressing these opinions. Then, assuming the establishment of …

The Expansion Of Horizontal Merger Defenses After General Dynamics: A Suggested Reconsideration Of Sherman Act Principles, James F. Ponsoldt

Scholarly Works

Logic suggests that if an agreement between two direct competitors to end a price war, allocate customers or refuse to deal with a third party is plainly anticompetitive and forbidden under applicable federal antitrust laws, then a complete integration between those same two direct competitors is equally anticompetitive and similarly should be forbidden. At one point, Congress thought so and the Supreme Court so held, notwithstanding the obvious business advantages enjoyed by the integrated company. In recent years, however, Congress, the Supreme Court and many commentators have changed their view of horizontal integration, and it is now reasonably possible for …

Consent Decrees And Treble Damages: More Effective Antitrust Enforcement, J. E. S.

Georgia Law Review

Congress has adopted three different methods of enforcing the antitrust laws. Under the Sherman Act, enacted primarily as a criminal statute, the Attorney General was granted the authority to institute civil or criminal proceedings for violations of the antitrust laws. The Sherman Act provided a second method of enforcement, by authorizing private parties injured by violations of the antitrust laws to bring suits for treble damages. The third approach is regulation by the Federal Trade Commission through issuance of orders to cease illegal conduct. This Note will discuss only Government civil antitrust enforcement through the use of the consent decree, …

Pure Conglomerate Mergers And Section 7 Of The Clayton Act, R. C. C.

Georgia Law Review

Conglomerate mergers are currently the center of attention in the corporate world. The Wall Street Journal recently published a three-part series on the conglomerate, which was labeled the "corporate phenomenon of the '60s." In a special report, Business Week wrote: "No creation of the U.S. economy reflects the vigor, imagination, and sheer brass of the 1960s more than the conglomerate corporations." Although they are the object of much discussion, little about conglomerates has been agreed upon except that their implications are dearly important.

The conglomerate merger has been under dose scrutiny for the past several years. The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee …

Single-Corporation Competitive Torts And The Sherman Act: A Projection Based Upon A Review Of The Albert Pick, Atlantic Heel And Perryton Cases, John H. Boone

Georgia Law Review

WITH the current vogue for new theories of antitrust liability, due in no small part to the increasing popularity of the private action, it is appropriate to consider the proper application of antitrust concepts to single-corporation competitive torts. Numerous unfair business practices have been conveniently classified under the general label of "competitive tort" because of the lack of uniformity in the application of the term "unfair competition." While as yet not widely accepted, the term "competitive tort" has the advantage of de- noting a more clearly ascertainable array of private wrongs arising in an economic or business context,2 all of …