In 1995, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice first issued the Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property. They represent the antitrust enforcement policy of the agencies with...more
There was a time not long ago when the odds of beating the Federal Trade Commission on a hospital merger antitrust challenge were slim. Two recent defeats, however, may change that some. Late last year, the FTC, in quick...more
Antitrust practitioners, enforcers and industry professionals came together in Washington, D.C. for the 64th installment of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law's annual Spring Meeting. The Spring Meeting provides a look at the...more
4/20/2016
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Baker Hughes ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Divestiture ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Forex ,
FTC v Actavis ,
FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System ,
Halliburton ,
Libor ,
Mergers ,
NC Board of Dental Examiners v FTC ,
REMS ,
SCOTUS ,
The Clayton Act ,
Yates Memorandum
Enforcement actions for violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) often are announced with substantial money penalties or other restrictions agreed in advance between the agency and the parties. Not so with the Department...more
4/14/2016
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Halliburton ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Injunctions ,
Investment Management ,
Investment-Only Exemption ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Yahoo!
Primary merger filing threshold raised from $76.3 million to $78.2 million -
Last week, the FTC announced revisions to HSR Act and Clayton Act Section 8 thresholds, which it revises each January to account for inflation...more
"Prophesy is a good line of business, but it is full of risks." Mark Twain could have been speaking about the FTC's recent challenge to a merger between the second- and third-largest sterilization companies in the world,...more
On the heels of the FTC's recent HSR passive investor exemption enforcement action comes another reminder that HSR compliance is not always clear, and that it is not always easy. The Federal Trade Commission has announced a...more
10/2/2015
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Conversion ,
Corrective Actions ,
Exemptions ,
Failure-to-File ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Institutional Investors ,
Notice Requirements ,
Statutory Waiting Period
Recently, the Third Circuit issued the first federal appellate decision interpreting the Supreme Court's landmark decision in FTC v. Actavis, Inc.[1], potentially greatly expanding the scope of settling parties in reverse...more
7/9/2015
/ Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) ,
Exclusivity ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
FTC v Actavis ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hatch-Waxman ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Reverse Payment Settlement Agreements ,
Reverse Payments ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sherman Act ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals
On June 9, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in its ruling in Pharm. Research & Mfrs. of Am. v. FTC, upheld the FTC's expansion of HSR reporting requirements for pharmaceutical companies, and solidified...more
The Supreme Court once again showed that, when it comes to the antitrust laws, the consumer is king. In Oneok, Inc. v. Learjet, the Court was asked to decide where state antitrust laws end and federal regulation begins. The...more
This year's 63rd ABA Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting featured extensive remarks from antitrust regulators forewarning of more vigorous antitrust enforcement in 2015. The Proskauer antitrust team was on the ground and...more
In a closely-watched post-merger challenge, the Ninth Circuit this week sided with the FTC and affirmed an Idaho federal court's determination that the 2012 merger of two health care providers in the same city violated...more
DOJ recently concluded that a standard-setting organization's proposal to update its policy regarding patents underlying its standards was pro-competitive. DOJ's analysis of the association's process and legal structure...more
In a closely watched case out of a Texas federal court, the Fifth Circuit recently reversed the district court and found that the evidence was insufficient to show that the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) unlawfully...more
January is a good time to take stock of compliance programs and set aside dated opinions and guidance to avoid relying on old rules, and antitrust is no exception to that. Because the FTC announces revisions to HSR Act and...more
On November 7, 2014, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice ("DOJ") announced that it had imposed a civil penalty of $3.8M and disgorgement of $1.15M in profits on Flakeboard America Limited (and its parent...more
11/19/2014
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Flakeboard America ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Settlement ,
Sherman Act ,
SierraPine ,
Waiting Periods
The business of buying, selling, investing in, and arbitraging legal claims continues to grow, and carries with it hidden pitfalls. This is particularly the case when a litigation expert has a business relationship with a...more
Continued strong antitrust enforcement under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) reminds us that HSR compliance issues can arise in unexpected places. When Berkshire Hathaway Inc. acquired voting securities of Symetra Financial...more