Even before the COVID-19 crisis, artificial intelligence and algorithms, particularly in the context of pricing, were a focus of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. With the...more
COVID-19 has disrupted supply and demand for public health products and other essential goods and services. In response to surging demand, prices for many of these items have increased sharply. These increases have drawn...more
The US Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission issued a joint statement on Tuesday, March 24, making clear to the public that “firms, including competitors, can engage in procompetitive...more
Antitrust FAQs for Merging Parties -
What modifications have the FTC and DOJ made for transactions reportable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act? Will timing to receive HSR clearance be impacted?...more
Basic threshold $94 million effective February 27 -
Filing thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act will increase 4.4%, effective February 27, 2020, based on the change in the US gross national product during 2019. The...more
1/30/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission has promised vigorous antitrust enforcement in life sciences industries, with Chairman Joe Simons promising a "robust program to identify and stop anticompetitive conduct, especially in the...more
Basic threshold now $90 million -
Filing thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act will increase in mid-March by approximately 6.6%, based on the change in the US gross national product. The most critical threshold, which...more
As 2019 kicks off, the Cooley antitrust group highlights 10 recent developments and trends corporate counsel should be aware of – from the US Supreme Court and lower courts, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade...more
1/10/2019
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
Mergers ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act ,
UK Brexit
Biologic drug makers will soon have to alert the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice of agreements, including patent litigation settlements, they reach with biosimilar applicants. The new reporting requirement...more
High-tech antitrust enforcement is at the top of the Trump administration antitrust enforcement agenda, including challenges to mergers affecting technology platforms and the pharma and life sciences industries. Statements by...more
With new leadership poised to take the helm at the Federal Trade Commission, now is an opportune time to review consumer protection trends and developments to watch over the coming months as the new commissioners get down to...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit this week issued an en banc decision reversing an earlier Ninth Circuit panel order that had found the Federal Trade Commission has no authority over “common carriers,” including...more
1. Trump’s appointments set the antitrust agenda for 2018 -
Almost a year into the Trump Administration, leadership at the Department of Justice Antitrust Division is now set. The Senate confirmed Makan Delrahim as...more
1/25/2018
/ Antitrust Division ,
Cartels ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
IP License ,
No-Poaching ,
Ohio v American Express ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Trump Administration ,
Vertical Mergers ,
Wage-Fixing
Leadership at the top of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission appears to be set – nine months into the Trump Administration – with the confirmation of Makan Delrahim as Assistant Attorney...more
The Federal Trade Commission has recently updated guidance on the use of endorsements in The FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, which address the use of social media and paid influencers to promote companies...more
On January 19, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission announced its annual revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ("HSR") jurisdictional thresholds, increasing key thresholds approximately 3.3% to reflect changes in the gross...more
1/25/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Reporting Requirements ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Voting Securities
1. Transition to a Trump Administration is top of the agenda -
President-elect Donald Trump's DOJ and FTC transition team appointments and public short list of candidates to run the agencies indicate that antitrust...more
1/12/2017
/ Antitrust Division ,
Big Data ,
CFIUS ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Wage-Fixing
Obama Administration antitrust enforcers have faced criticism over the last year for not being sufficiently aggressive, allegedly leading to concentrated industries to the detriment of consumers. The Department of Justice and...more
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are seeking public comment on a proposed update to the agencies' Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual...more
On July 29, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) announced its long-awaited decision in its LabMD enforcement action. The Commissioners reversed the decision of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and held...more
8/5/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
LabMD ,
Likelihood of Harm ,
Popular ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced on July 12 that ValueAct Capital agreed to pay a record $11 million civil penalty to settle claims that ValueAct purchased over $2.5 billion in Halliburton and Baker...more
Failure to comply with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 ("HSR Act") is about to get a lot more expensive.
Effective August 1, 2016, the maximum civil penalty for noncompliance with the premerger...more
On June 22, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced that it would settle its first-ever enforcement action against a mobile advertising company, InMobi. InMobi agreed, subject to court approval of the settlement, to...more
On March 30 the US Federal Trade Commission filed suit in federal court alleging that settlements of patent litigation in the pharmaceutical industry in which a pioneer firm agrees not to market an "authorized generic"...more
4/7/2016
/ Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
FTC v Actavis ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hatch-Waxman ,
No-AG Agreement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Pay-For-Delay ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Reverse Payment Settlement Agreements
Less than three months after the Federal Trade Commission issued new guidelines on native advertising, the agency announced an enforcement action against national retailer Lord & Taylor.
The FTC alleged on March 16, 2016...more