The following post was originally included as part of our recently published memorandum “Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2023”.
Last year we noted that U.S. antitrust enforcement was in a period of nearly unprecedented public attention and policy debate, and also that the Biden Administration seemed likely to launch significant new policy initiatives as the year progressed.
Continue Reading 2023 Update: U.S. Antitrust Sets Sail into Uncharted Seas
In the third episode of a three-part series on U.S. antitrust enforcement, host Nick Levy interviews Cleary Gottlieb colleagues Bruce Hoffman and Leah Brannon about the U.S. enforcement environment for Big Tech, the agencies’ application of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, and the prospects for legislative change. Continue Reading Antitrust Review U.S. Edition, Episode 3: The Spectre of Enforcement
In the fourth episode of Cleary Gottlieb’s Antitrust Review podcast, host Nick Levy interviews Professor Eleanor M. Fox, who for 40 years has been one of the world’s most distinguished academic commentators on antitrust law and has played an instrumental role in bringing competition law to emerging markets. Nick and Eleanor discuss U.S. antitrust enforcement under President Biden, the EU’s new regulatory regime for Big Tech, strengths and weaknesses in current enforcement policy, how to inspire students, and much more.
Listen below, or select from the following links:
On June 15, 2022, the General Court annulled the Commission’s decision and corresponding fine of €997 million in the Qualcomm case[1] due to procedural violations and a flawed substantive assessment. The General Court first found that the Commission had infringed Qualcomm’s rights of defense by failing to properly inform Qualcomm of meetings with third parties, and failing to hear Qualcomm on the consequences of substantial changes between the Statement of Objections (“SO”) and the final decision. Continue Reading Qualcomm v. Commission (Case T-235/18): General Court Stresses the Importance of Procedural Rigor and a Careful Analysis of Anticompetitive Effects
On April 11, 2022,[1] the TAR Lazio annulled an ICA decision finding that Telecom Italia S.p.A. (“Tim”) had infringed Article 102 TFEU for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the market for Short Message Service (“SMS”) termination (the “Decision”).[2] The Court followed the same reasoning as that set out in its September 2021 judgment, in which it overturned the €5.7 million fine imposed by the ICA on Vodafone Italia S.p.A. (“Vodafone”) in a parallel decision. Continue Reading TAR Lazio Annuls ICA Decision Fining Telecom Italia €3.7 Million for Alleged Abuse of Dominance
On January 26, 2022, the General Court partially annulled the Commission’s decision imposing a €1.06 billion fine on Intel for abusing its dominant position through the granting of exclusivity- conditioned rebates.[1] The General Court found that the Commission had not established to the requisite legal standard that the rebates were capable of having, or were likely to have, anticompetitive effects.[2] Continue Reading Intel Corporation v Commission (Case T-286/09 RENV): General Court Quashes Intel’s €1.06 Billion Fine
On Tuesday, January 18th, FTC Chair Lina Khan and DOJ Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter held a joint press conference in which they announced ambitious plans to review and update the Merger Guidelines, targeting a release of new guidelines before the end of 2022.
Continue Reading U.S. DOJ and FTC Announce Plan to Revamp Merger Guidelines
The following post was originally included as part of our recently published memorandum “Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2022”.
In the 2021 edition of this memo, we wrote that antitrust in 2020 received more political and media attention than at any recent time. 2021 beat that standard in multiple ways, and 2022 looks to continue that trend. In addition to continuing the major tech cases brought under the Trump administration, 2021 saw unprecedented levels of legislative activity in antitrust (both federal and state), competition policy taking a leading position across federal agencies and startling new approaches at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in particular – new approaches that, while they haven’t yet produced a wave of new enforcement actions, have required changes in thinking about and approaching antitrust issues. We expect these trends to accelerate in 2022. Continue Reading U.S. & EU Antitrust: Developments and Outlook in 2022
The area of standards, and licensing of Standard Essential Patents (“SEPs”) on “fair reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (“FRAND”) is alive as ever. There are developments in three jurisdictions: Continue Reading U.S. & UK Consult on Standard Essential Patents, Injunctions, FRAND Licensing, and Antitrust