Competition Matters 2019 Archive

More and more, merging parties argue that their merger does not raise competition concerns because they are not each other’s closest competitors. Parties have advanced this argument even in markets...

The Commission and Department of Justice’s recent case against Canon Inc. and Toshiba Corporation for violating the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act makes an important point: restructuring...

Parties regularly present their arguments and defenses of conduct and mergers to the Front Office of the Bureau if staff has recommended a challenge. A surprising number of these presentations begin...

For the good of the antitrust bar and our entire profession, the BC Front Office encourages parties to give associates, counsel, and newer partners more opportunities to present to the Bureau and the...

The Bureau of Competition is pleased to announce the conversion of the Technology Task Force into a permanent division in the Bureau of Competition. Effective October 1, 2019, it has become the...

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was told to ignore the man behind the curtain. Some may argue that the same guidance applies to ancillary parts of a merger or joint venture agreement. These can include...

The FTC’s Bureau of Economics is updating its guidance regarding the best practices for submitting data and economic analysis related to antitrust investigations. BE routinely engages in econometric...

Are you a fast-learning, tech-savvy professional driven to use your expertise to help ensure that competitive technological innovation benefits consumers? Then the FTC may have a unique opportunity...

The Front Office of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition receives a great deal of advocacy from the bar. Virtually every day, parties and their counsel make arguments and present evidence to us regarding...

The wellness strategy of the moment is mindfulness: focusing on the present and being completely aware of your situation. Even in the corporate sphere, there are good reasons for anyone in governance...

Crafting effective merger remedies is one of the Commission’s most important tasks. Done well, a divestiture prevents the competitive harm likely to result from a proposed merger and ensures that...

Last week, Bureau of Competition staff published a report on filings received in fiscal year (FY) 2016 under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), the...

The great majority of attorneys appearing before the Commission share a sense of practicing at the height of our profession. They engage with Commission staff on pressing issues of fact, antitrust law...

On May 1, the Federal Trade Commission registered for the International Competition Network’s Framework for Competition Agency Procedures (CAP), making it a founding member of the ICN’s most recent...

In written submissions to the Bureau or the Commission, be brief, be direct, and avoid repeating points made in previous papers. Wherever possible, multiple aligned parties should prepare joint...

Designing effective merger remedy orders is one of the Commission’s most important tasks. An effective merger remedy prevents the merger from causing harm. For many years – ever since our 1999...

Commission orders – both from negotiated settlements and from litigated matters – routinely require Respondents to submit periodic reports on their efforts to comply with the order. ( See also...

When Congress passed the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, it created minimum dollar thresholds to limit the burden of premerger reporting. In 2000, it amended the HSR statute to...

The FTC’s ability to obtain information through subpoenas and civil investigative demands (CIDs) is critical to the task of investigating potential law violations. The FTC uses this authority...