Antitrust Lawyer Blog

In an August 14 letter to the FCC, internet video distributor VDC Corp. (“VDC”), owner of VDC.com, complained that it is having difficulty securing carriage deals with established cable networks. While VDC.com distributes content from Discovery Communications, most of the company’s carriage deals are with smaller cable networks such as The Pentagon Channel and Mav…

On August 10, the DOJ announced that it would not oppose a proposal by the American Trucking Associations Inc. (ATA) to develop and publicize model agreements for motor carriers and freight transportation brokers. The DOJ said the model agreements are not likely to be anticompetitive.The DOJ’s position was stated in a business review letter from…

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced on August 10 that it entered into a court settlement with Nomrah Records, Inc. and its president, Mark Harmon – named defendants in the recent DIRECTV telemarketing case. Under the settlement, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on the FTC’s behalf, Harmon will pay a $75,000 civil penalty…

On August 10, the Chinese government issued rules outlining the conditions for foreign investment in local companies through share swaps, paving the way for such transactions in merger and acquisition deals. The regulations also cover the entry of foreign investors in local companies through mergers and acquisitions. The rules, which take effect on September 9,…

An operation selling Chinese herbal supplements was banned on August 9 from claiming its products treated or cured diseases, to settle Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) charges it violated a previous court order. The FTC alleged the sellers of Dia-Cope, a pill claimed to prevent, treat, and cure diabetes, violated the order by misrepresenting the health…

On August 8, the DOJ announced it would not oppose a proposal which would allow 10 textile maintenance companies to bid jointly to provide textile rental and laundry services to national healthcare outpatient centers. Based on representations made in the proposal by Linen Systems for Healthcare LLC, the DOJ concluded that the proposed joint venture…

Newly appointed FCC member Robert McDowell supports agency involvement to ensure that phone companies can enter local cable-TV markets without having to overcome a lot of red tape. On August 8, during his first meeting with reporters at FCC headquarters, McDowell said “I do think we can do a lot to help speed the deployment…

The European Commission said on August 8 it would look into the Italian government’s move to block a proposed merger between the Italian highway operator Autostrade and the Spanish infrastructure company Abertis. The Italian government and highways regulator rejected the proposed merger, worth nearly 12 billion euros ($15 billion). The deal created the world’s largest…

On August 7, the FCC reaffirmed its ruling that Time Warner Cable (“Time Warner”) had to carry the NFL Network for 30 days on systems just acquired from Comcast and Adelphia Communications. On August 4, Time Warner threatened to take the FCC to court if the agency did not back down and allow it to…

The FTC and the Federal Reserve Board on August 7 issued a joint report to Congress on compliance with the consumer dispute provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (“FACT Act”), which generally amends the FCRA, required the FTC and the Board to conduct a…