Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On January 16, 2008 the European Commission (the “Commission”) announced that it launched an inquiry into the pharmaceuticals sector under Article 17 of Regulation (EC) 1/2003. The Commission is concerned that competition within the pharmaceuticals sector may be restricted or distorted. In particular, the Commission highlighted the decline of innovation. In its announcement, the Commission…

Opera, a Norwegian developer of web-browsers, filed a complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission (the “Commission”) claiming Microsoft is abusing its dominant position by tying its browser, Internet Explorer, to the Windows operating system and by hindering interoperability by not following accepted Web standards. The developer asked the Commission to require Microsoft to unbundle…

The Federal Trade Commission stopped a father, his two sons, and their network of companies from deceptively selling a healthcare business opportunity with false promises of earning up to a million dollars in profits. In addition, the FTC halted their sale of an herbal tea product, marketed with claims that it could prevent, treat, or…

Two U.S. Department of Defense (“DOD”) contractors were arrested in New York City on January 6, 2008, and charged with conspiring to steal information relating to DOD contracts to supply fuel to DOD aircraft worldwide. Two contractor firms and a third individual are also charged with participating in the conspiracies. The Department said the conspiracies…

On December 20, 2007 the Federal Trade Commission announced that it will not seek to block Google Inc.’s proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of Internet advertising server DoubleClick Inc. In a 4-1 vote to close its eight-month investigation of the transaction, the Commission wrote in its majority statement that “after carefully reviewing the evidence, we have…

On November 16, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission entered into a settlement regarding Schering-Plough Corporation’s proposed $14.4 billion acquisition of Organon BioSciences N.V. from Akzo-Nobel N.V. The FTC alleges that the deal harms competition in the U.S. markets for the manufacture and development of three poultry vaccines. In settling the charges, the companies entered into…

On November 7, 2007, the Department of Justice announced that Mister A.C. Ltd. (Mister A.C.), a Rockville Center, N.Y. heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) services company and its owner, Michael Vignola, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan for rigging bids to NYPH from approximately 2002 until January of 2006. Mr. Vignola also…

On October 26, 2007 the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) entered into a settlement agreement with Owens Corning regarding its proposed acquisition of the glass fiber reinforcements and composite fabric assets of Compagnie de Saint Gobain (Saint Gobain). The complaint accompanying the consent agreement asserts that the deal reduces competition in the North American market for…

On October 24, 2007, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it will require two of the nation’s largest newsprint manufacturers – Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. and Bowater Inc.- to divest a newsprint mill in Arizona. As originally laid out, the DOJ alleged that the $1.6 billion transaction would have considerably hampered competition in the production and…