Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

How To Avoid The Constraints Of Rule 10b-5(B): A First Circuit Guide For Underwriters, 43 J. Marshall L. Rev. 931 (2010), Eric H. Franklin

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Universal Service In The United States: A Focus On Mobile Communications, Steven G. Parsons, James Bixby

Federal Communications Law Journal

The concept of universal service, providing affordable telecommunications to all citizens, has a long and changing history in the United States. Prior to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, efforts to achieve universal service were largely based on a complex web of implicit subsidies to basic landline local exchange residential service. The Act expanded and codified the concept of universal service and made the subsidies largely explicit. This Article evaluates the possible economic rationales for subsidizing voice communications and find them lacking. This Article argues that the weak rationale for subsidizing basic voice communications makes it critical that U.S. universal-service policy …

Standardization Of Standard-Form Contracts: Competition And Contract Implications, Mark R. Patterson

Faculty Scholarship

Standard-form contracts are a common feature of commercial relationships because they offer the advantage of lower transaction costs. This advantage of standard contracts is increased when there is a second layer of standardization under which multiple firms agree on a standard contract. Trade associations and similar entities often effect standardization of this kind through collective agreement on a standard contract, sometimes under the aegis of state actors. Multifirm contract standardization can provide not only the usual transaction-cost advantages of standard-form contracts, but also increased competition among firms, because a standard contract makes comparison among firms’ offerings easier. But standardization among …

Consumer Choice As The Best Way To Recenter The Mission Of Competition Law, Robert H. Lande

All Faculty Scholarship

This article will (1) define the consumer choice approach to competition law or antitrust law and show how it differs from other approaches; (2) discuss the types of situations where a consumer choice focus is likely to make a difference in enforcement outcomes, producing better results than the other paradigms; (3) show that another important advantage of using the consumer choice approach would be to nudge decisions in the right direction; and (4) offer a brief overview of implementation issues.

This is a chapter of a forthcoming ASCOLA book, and is a condensation and update of Neil W. Averitt & …

Back To The Future: Rediscovering Equitable Discretion In Trademark Cases, Mark P. Mckenna

Journal Articles

Courts in recent years have increasingly made blunt use of their equitable powers in trademark cases. Rather than limiting the scope of injunctive relief so as to protect the interests of a mark owner while respecting the legitimate interests of third parties and of consumers, courts in most cases have viewed injunctive relief in binary terms. This is unfortunate, because greater willingness to tailor injunctive relief could go a long way to mitigating some of the most pernicious effects of trademark law’s modern expansion. This Essay urges courts to reverse this trend towards crude injunctive relief, and to re-embrace their …

Labeling Of Credence Attributes In Livestock Production: Verifying Attributes Which Are More Than "Meet The Eye", Nicole J. Olynk, Christopher A. Wolf, Glynn T. Tonsor

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Americans are increasingly sensitive to the conditions under which the foods they purchase and consume are produced. It is becoming commonplace for consumers to incorporate perceived environmental impacts, animal welfare concerns, and other process attributes into food purchase decisions. Increased interest in production practices and technologies employed in food production has been seen in the U.S. specifically concerning irradiation, antibiotics, and hormone and pesticide use. Perhaps one of the most controversial technologies employed in food production today is the use of genetic engineering. Not surprisingly, consumers are particularly sensitive about practices employed or technologies used in foods produced specifically for …

A Healthy Diet Of Preemption: The Power Of The Fda And The Battle Over Restricting High Fructose Corn Syrup From Food And Beverages Labeled 'Natural', Adam C. Schlosser

Journal of Food Law & Policy

America is unhealthy. America faces an obesity epidemic. The food consumed by Americans is making them fat. Americans, bombarded every single day by negative headlines like these, are becoming more and more health conscious. This newfound commitment to health is reflected in the food and beverages Americans purchase.

Dietary Supplements And Structure-Function Claims: The Dysfunctional Structure Of Current Regulation, Matthew W. Lindsey

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Twenty percent of Americans report using one of the more than thirty thousand dietary supplement products generated by an estimated one thousand manufacturers, contributing to an industry exceeding twenty billion dollars globally. Fueled by increasing public interest in individual health, dietary supplement manufacturers in the United States (U.S.) continue to exploit the weaknesses in the way the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates these products. Dietary supplement manufacturers perpetuate the perceived safety of supplements through the advertisement of structure-function claims, which many consumers mistakenly assume to be the same as FDA-regulated health claims.

United States Food Law Update: Food Allergy Labels, Reaching Organic Equivalence, Misbranding Litigation And Regulatory Takings, A. Bryan Endres, Michaela N. Tarr

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The start of 2009 found the nation transitioning to a new presidential administration, speculating on the impact new appointees to the executive branch may have on regulatory priorities and monitoring a bill' making its way through Congress that seeks a substantial overhaul of the food regulatory system. This version of the Food Law Update will analyze two major developments in food allergy labeling: finalization of rules requiring the labeling of Cochineal extract/ carmine and an analysis of the proposed "gluten-free" product labels. The update next discusses the execution of an equivalency agreement between the United States and Canada with respect …

Who Needs Tickets? Examining Problems In The Growing Online Ticket Resale Industry, Clark P. Kirkman

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Internet has dramatically changed the methods by which people purchase tickets to events. In the past decade, the secondary ticket market has grown exponentially, and today the online ticket resale industry is valued at approximately $4 billion. Although there are consumer benefits to this industry growth, some of the industry practices have precipitated a consumer backlash. This was typified in 2007 when many parents, hoping to purchase tickets to the Hannah Montana "Best of Both Worlds Tour," watched as tickets sold out online in only a few minutes or less. Coupled with this episode was the Ticketmaster v. RMG …

The Price Of Abuse: Intel And The European Commission Decision, Robert H. Lande

All Faculty Scholarship

The May 13, 2009 decision by the European Commission ('EC') holding that Intel violated Article 82 of the Treaty of Rome and should be fined a record amount and prohibited from engaging in certain conduct, set off a predictable four part chorus of denunciations:

1. Intel did nothing wrong and was just competing hard;
2. Intel's discounts were good for consumers;;
3. The entire matter is just another example of Europeans protecting their own against a more efficient U.S. company; and;
4. Even if Intel did engage in anticompetitive activity, the fine was much too large. These assertions will be addressed in turn.;

Whatever Happened To Old Mac Donald's Farm… Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, Factory Farming And The Safety Of The Nation's Food Supply, Julie Follmer, Roseann B. Termini

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Today, livestock farming is a far stretch from the nostalgic notion of animals grazing in green pastures, roaming free in the fresh country air and returning at the end of the day to a cozy barn. Simply stated, livestock farming is a large scale business, where tens of thousands of animals are swiftly raised industrial-style for maximum profit. Under the "factory farm" model, large corporate owned operations grow quantities of animals for slaughter for human consumption as food. In fact, livestock farms now raise 40% of all animals in the United States.

Equalizing The Playing Field: The Time Has Come For Secondary Meaning In The Making In Small Restaurant Trade Dress Infringement Cases, John Pesek

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Imagine it is opening day for your first restaurant. It has taken months, if not years, to get to this point and you have spent a lot of money in developing the menu, artist style, and feel for the restaurant. A few months after the opening of your restaurant, a competing restaurant, right down the block from your restaurant, opens its doors; its menu and overall look are virtually indistinguishable from your restaurant. You are left wondering what remedies, if any, you have as a small restaurant owner. This was the case for Chef Rebecca Charles and her Pearl Oyster …

United States Food Law Update: Pasteurized Almonds And Country Of Origin Labeling, A. Bryan Endres

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The last six months of 2008 found the nation occupied with a heated presidential election campaign and the transition to a new party's control of the executive branch. The outgoing president, as is often the case in the waning months of an administration's time in office, attempted to finalize several policy initiatives. This version of the Food Law Update will discuss two major developments with significant long-term impact on the law of food: the implementation of mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) for most unprocessed agricultural commodities; and the increasing use of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural …

Monopoly Pricing On Campus: New York's Textbook Access Act, Gary Minda

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

Revitalizing Section 5 Of The Ftc Act Using “Consumer Choice” Analysis, Robert H. Lande

All Faculty Scholarship

This paper makes two points. First, Section 5 of the FTC Act, properly construed, is indeed significantly broader and more encompassing than the Sherman Act or Clayton Act. Section 5 violations include incipient violations of the other antitrust laws, and also violations of their policy or spirit.

Second, the best - and probably the only - way to interpret Section 5 in an expansive manner is to do so in a way that also is relatively definite, predictable, principled and clearly bounded. This best can be done if Section 5 is articulated using the consumer choice framework. Without the discipline …

The Ftc Takes Action On Stop-Foreclosure Scams, Kyle Gaffaney

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Sarah Tennant

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Checks And Balances: European Competition Law And The Rule Of Law, Philip Marsden

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Ban On Automated Prerecorded Messages, So-Called "Robocalls," Goes Into Effect, Kyle Gaffaney

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Checks And Balances: European Competition Law And The Rule Of Law, Philip Marsden

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Does Antitrust Regulation Violate The Rule Of Law?, Elbert L. Robertson

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Introduction

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Does The Rule Of Reason Violate The Rule Of Law?, Maurice E. Stucke

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Roundtable Discussion

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Eu Competition Law And The Rule Of Law Ii: Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied, Tim Cowen

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Does Antitrust Regulation Violate The Rule Of Law?, Elbert L. Robertson

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Does The Rule Of Reason Violate The Rule Of Law?, Maurice E. Stucke

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Can Bundled Discounting Increase Consumer Prices Without Excluding Rivals?, Daniel A. Crane, Joshua D. Wright

Articles

Since we abhor suspense, we will quickly answer the question our title poses: No. As a general matter, bundled discounting schemes lower prices to consumers unless they are predatory—that is to say, unless they exclude rivals and thereby permit the bundled discounter to price free of competitive restraint. The corollary of this observation is that bundled discounting is generally pro-competitive and pro-consumer and should only be condemned when it is capable of excluding rivals. We pose and answer this question because it is at the heart of Section VI of Professor Elhauge’s provocative draft article which is the subject of …

The Fundamental Goal Of Antitrust: Protecting Consumers, Not Increasing Efficiency, John B. Kirkwood, Robert H. Lande

All Faculty Scholarship

The conventional wisdom in the antitrust community is that the purpose of the antitrust laws is to promote economic efficiency. That view is incorrect. As this article shows, the fundamental goal of antitrust law is to protect consumers.

This article defines the relevant economic concepts, summarizes the legislative histories, analyzes recent case law in more depth than any prior article, and explores the most likely bases for current popular support of the antitrust laws. All these factors indicate that the ultimate goal of antitrust is not to increase the total wealth of society, but to protect consumers from behavior that …