Antitrust Lawyer Blog

A company and its owner selling contact lenses directly to consumers via three Web sites are settling Federal Trade Commission (“Commission” or “FTC”) charges they violated federal law by failing to verify consumers’ prescriptions as required by the Commission’s Contact Lens Rule. They will pay $40,000 in civil penalties and will be prohibited from violating…

On August 3rd, European Union antitrust regulators asked Spain to explain why it attached conditions to German energy company E.On AG’s $34 billion bid for the Spanish utility Endesa SA. Spain’s National Energy Commission said last week that it would permit the 26.9 billion euro deal only if E.On sells about a third of Endesa’s…

By a unanimous vote, the Federal Trade Commission (“Commission” or “FTC”) determined on August 2 that computer technology developer Rambus, Inc. unlawfully monopolized the markets for four computer memory technologies incorporated into industry standards for dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”) chips. DRAMs are widely used in personal computers, servers, printers, and cameras. In an opinion…

On August 1, the DOJ Antitrust Division announced that it would require Mittal Steel Company N.V. to divest one of three North American tin mills it will own after its $33 billion acquisition of Arcelor S.A. in order to proceed with the deal. After a thorough investigation, the DOJ concluded that the original deal would…

Testifying on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) before the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee on Aging, Commissioner Jon Leibowitz described the FTC’s work in the area of branded and generic pharmaceutical competition and discussed barriers that can lead to the delay of generic entry into the U.S. marketplace.Opening with a discussion of pharmaceutical prices,…

The Federal Trade Commission will host three days of public hearings to examine how evolving technology will shape and change the habits, opportunities and challenges of consumers and businesses in the coming decade. The event will bring together experts from business, government and technology sectors, consumer advocates, academicians, and law enforcement officials to examine emerging…

On July 31, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia barred a purported former preacher, his two sons, and his companies from selling a healthcare business opportunity promising consumers millions of dollars if they participated in an alleged network of Medicaid providers. In fact, according to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) complaint,…

On July 28, the FCC issued a public notice in which its Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (“Bureau”) identifies 168 applicants found to be qualified to bid in the upcoming auction of Advanced Wireless Services licenses in the 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz bands (“AWS-1”) (Auction No. 66). Bidding in Auction No. 66 is scheduled to begin…

Canadian telemarketers settled Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) charges on July 26 that they fraudulently marketed and sold credit card loss protection and healthcare discount plans to U.S. consumers in violation of federal law. Their telemarketing boiler rooms were shut down, and they will pay $200,000 in consumer redress as part of the settlement.According to the…

On July 21, China International Marine, Inc. and Netherlands-based Burg Industries stated that their merger announced in February, which would have created one of the world’s largest container makers, would be scrapped. This merger, valued at approximately $104 million, would have effectively combined the two companies under a single holding company. China International said that…