On January 16, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (together, the Agencies) released the Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers (Guidelines),...more
1/30/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Wage and Hour
Key Points -
- We expect the second Trump administration to take a relatively aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement, as regulators did during President-elect Trump’s first term, because there is bipartisan support...more
On January 25, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an inquiry scrutinizing the investments and partnerships of Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon relating to growing artificial intelligence startups Open AI and...more
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released the final 2023 Merger Guidelines (the Guidelines). While the final version of the Guidelines reflects...more
12/22/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Vertical Mergers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a draft of proposed new merger guidelines today, 18 months after FTC Chair Lina Khan and Assistant Attorney General...more
Key Points - U.S. antitrust regulators at the DOJ and FTC embarked on a joint review of merger enforcement by soliciting public input on modernizing federal merger guidelines. While public comments ran the gamut from...more
7/13/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
As the Biden Administration enters its second year, the White House and antitrust enforcers at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continue to focus on the intersection between antitrust and...more
On June 28, 2021, Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Facebook’s motions to dismiss two parallel antitrust complaints filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a group...more
7/12/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Instagram ,
Laches ,
Monopolization ,
Sherman Act ,
Social Media ,
The Clayton Act ,
WhatsApp
More than four years after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly released the Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals in 2016 (Antitrust Guidance), the DOJ has...more
2/22/2021
/ Antitrust Conspiracies ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Indictments ,
No-Poaching ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
Following their January publication of Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines (draft guidelines) for public comment, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) (collectively, the agencies) issued final...more
As anticipated, on January 10, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the Agencies) released Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines (Draft Guidelines), marking the first update...more
1/22/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Sensitive Business Information ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency ,
Vertical Mergers
In September, Georgetown University Law Center hosted its 13th Annual Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium and Fordham University School of Law hosted its 46th Annual International Antitrust Law and Policy Conference. Each...more
10/15/2019
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Ascertainable Class ,
Big Tech ,
Binding Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Digital Currency ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRCP 23 ,
Innovative Technology ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Public Policy ,
Unbundling
Antitrust treatment of no-poach agreements continues to evolve as private cases progress, state attorneys general ramp up enforcement efforts and federal regulators further contemplate the legality of no-poach agreements....more
Legal battles over the antitrust treatment of no-poach agreements continue to escalate with new district court decisions and new pronouncements from two “titans” of antitrust policy, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the...more
6/10/2019
/ AAI ,
American Antitrust Institute ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dominos ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracy ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
No-Poaching ,
Per Se Rule ,
Quick Look Analysis ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Vertical Restraints
Evolving antitrust treatment of so-called “no-poach” agreements continues to offer important guidance for company counsel and human resources professionals. Over the past two years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has...more
2/12/2019
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Horizontal Restraint ,
Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracy ,
No-Poaching ,
Pleading Standards ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Universities
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it will hold a series of public hearings examining whether changes in the economy, evolving business practices, new technologies or international developments might...more
11/26/2018
/ Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Event Tickets ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GAO ,
Internet Retailers ,
Public Comment ,
Public Hearing ,
Sports ,
Ticket Pricing
On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the Agencies) issued revised Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property...more
1/20/2017
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comity ,
Competition Authorities ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTAIA ,
International Harmonization ,
IP License ,
New Guidance
On October 20, 2016, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly issued new guidance designed to help human resources professionals and their companies understand...more
11/4/2016
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Liability ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
New Guidance ,
No-Poaching ,
Technology Sector ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing
On August 13, 2015, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued formal guidance on Section 5 enforcement consisting of a general statement of principles1 to guide application of its authority to challenge “unfair methods...more
8/24/2015
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Public Policy ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Section 5 ,
Sherman Act ,
Standalone Authority ,
The Clayton Act ,
Unfair Competition
On September 8, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a federal antitrust complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against defendants AbbVie, Abbott Laboratories, Unimed...more
On April 8, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed settlement with hair restoration company Bosley, Inc. to resolve allegations that Bosley illegally exchanged competitively sensitive, nonpublic...more