Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On April 24, 2014, Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe agreed to settle a major antitrust case regarding an alleged no employee-poaching agreement in an effort to lower employee compensation. According to the lawsuit, Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, Intuit, Pixar and LucasFilm signed a no-solicitation agreement dating from as far back as 2005. These companies agreed…

On April 25, 2014, the FTC announced that it had relocated its Premerger Notification Office (“PNO”) to 400 South 7 Street, SW, from its old location at the corner of 7th and D Streets SW in Washington D.C. The New Address, which goes into effect on April 28, 2014, is: Premerger Notification Office Federal Trade…

On April 24, 2014, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it has reached an agreement with Baazarvoice which will remedy its illegal acquisition of PowerReviews. Under the proposed remedy, Baazarvoice will sell all the assets it obtained from its acquisition of PowerReviews to a divestiture buyer, and to compensate it for PowerReview’s deteriorated market…

On April 18, 2014, China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) unveiled the first tentative guideline for the simple merger review process: It would appear that MOFCOM’s recourse to a public review process is aimed at increasing the transparency of the merger review process, since it replaces the old “one-on-one” consultations between MOFCOM and domestic stakeholders. It…

On April 17, 2014, the Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, Deborah Feinstein, praised the agency’s role in preventing Jostens, Inc. (“Jostens”) from acquiring American Achievement Corp. (“AAC”). In a statement, she said, “The parties’ abandonment of the transaction preserves competition for consumers in the markets for class rings, which are an…

Our own Robert Doyle is often sought out by premier news agencies for comments on the leading anti-trust matters of the day, and recently, Bloomberg interviewed Bob on Hertz’s potential re-acquisition of several locations which it had divested to Advantage Rent a Car during its acquisition of Dollar Thrifty. The resulting Bloomberg article, including quotations…

On April 15, 2014, the FTC approved a petition from Toys “R” Us (“TRU”) to reopen and modify a 1998 final Commission order. In that order, Toys ‘R’ Us, Inc. v. FTC, 221 F.3d 928 (7th Cir. 2000), TRU was found, among other things, to have used its significant market power to orchestrate a “hub-and-spoke” conspiracy…

On April 14, 2014, the FTC announced that it reached a settlement agreement with Akorn Enterprises (“Akorn”), which allows it to proceed with its acquisition of Hi-Tech Pharmacal, Inc. (“Hi-Tech”). Specifically, Akorn and Hi-Tech will sell the rights and assets to three generic prescription eye medications and two generic topical anesthetics to Watson Laboratories, Inc.,…

On April 11, 2014, the FTC won a court judgment against an illegal immigrant services scam. The court has ordered the defendants, Manuel and Lola Alban of Loma International Business Group, Inc. liable for $616,000 in refunds to Spanish immigrants. The court noted the severe nature of the case due to the amount of harm…

On March 17, 2014, sports labor attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, filed suit against the NCAA and five power conferences, alleging that capping player compensation at the cost of a scholarship is an antitrust violation.  The lawsuit argues that limiting player compensation amounts to “price-fixing,” and should be considered a violation of existing antitrust laws.  Unlike previous…