Amicus Briefs

When a court considers a case whose outcome may affect consumers or competition, the FTC may file a “friend of the court” brief to provide information that can help the court make its decision in a way that protects consumers or promotes competition. To find a specific FTC brief, use the filters on this page.

Displaying 81 - 100 of 143

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Chavez v. Netflix, Inc.

Citation Number: CGC-04-434884
Date:
In this amicus brief opposing a proposed settlement of a class action by Netflix customers, the Commission raises two concerns. First, because the settlement involves limited-time free service or service upgrades that automatically continue at the consumer’s expense unless cancelled, it would serve more as a promotional vehicle for Netflix than a means of providing redress to consumers, and could leave some consumers in a worse position than if they had decided not to participate. Second, the notice to class members does not adequately inform them about the existence of the negative option, and the settlement agreement does not require disclosure of the terms of the negative option plan and fails to specify how consumers can cancel.
application/pdf icon Chavez v. Netflix, Inc. (1.05 MB)

In re Tamoxifen Citrate Antitrust Litigation

Citation Number: 03-7641
Federal Court: U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Date:

An amicus brief in support of plaintiffs-appellants’ petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc. The case concerns a decision by a divided panel of the appeals court upholding the dismissal, pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6), of an antitrust challenge to a Hatch-Waxman patent settlement between AstraZeneca, the manufacturer of a branded drug, and Barr Labs., an FDA applicant for a generic counterpart. The Commission argues that the panel did not properly consider the Hatch-Waxman Act, which encourages challenges to pharmaceutical patents to facilitate the early entry of generic drugs, and that, if not corrected, the panel decision would permit the holder of a challenged drug patent to harm competition, and thus consumers, substantially by impermissibly paying a would-be generic rival to stay off the market.

application/pdf icon In re Tamoxifen Citrate Antitrust Litigation (133.21 KB)

Texaco, Inc. v. Dagher

Citation Number: 04-805
Federal Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Date:
Joint brief of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission, as amici curiae, urging the Supreme Court to reverse a ruling of the court of appeals, which had held that an agreement between two owners of a joint venture, regarding the prices of products to be sold by the joint venture, in markets in which the partners themselves no longer participated, could constitute a per se violation of the Sherman Act.
application/pdf icon Texaco, Inc. v. Dagher (173.86 KB)

Illinois Tool Works, Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc.

Citation Number: 04-1329
Federal Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Date:
Joint brief of the United States, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Patent and Trademark Office, as amici curiae, urging the Court to reverse the ruling of the court of appeals, which was based on a presumption that the possession of a patent conveys market power for purposes of adjudicating a claim of tying.
application/pdf icon Illinois Tool Works, Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc. (178.18 KB)

Texaco, Inc. v. Dagher

Citation Number: 04-805
Federal Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Date:
Joint brief of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission, as amici curiae, urging the Supreme Court to grant certiorari in this case, in which the court of appeals held that an agreement between two owners of a joint venture, regarding the prices of products to be sold by the joint venture, in markets in which the partners themselves no longer participated, could constitute a per se violation of the Sherman Act.
application/pdf icon Texaco, Inc. v. Dagher (161.42 KB)

Volvo Trucks North America, Inc. v. Reeder-Simco GMC, Inc.

Citation Number: 04-905
Date:
Joint brief of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission, as amici curiae, urging the Supreme Court to reverse the judgment of the court of appeals, which upheld a verdict of unlawful price discrimination, despite the fact that plaintiff lost sales not to ostensibly favored Volvo dealers, but to dealers for other brands.
application/pdf icon Volvo Trucks North America, Inc. v. Reeder-Simco GMC, Inc. (98.73 KB)

Empagran, S.A. v. Hoffmann-LaRoche, Ltd.

Citation Number: 01-7115
Federal Court: U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Date:
Joint brief of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission, as amici curiae, addressing the proper application of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act. This brief, which was filed after the case was remanded by the Supreme Court, argues that plaintiff's so-called “alternative theory” of liability is legally insufficient to establish jurisdiction, and that the plaintiff’s complaint should be dismissed. The brief also argues that, even if there were jurisdiction, the case should be dismissed because plaintiff lacks standing.
application/pdf icon Empagran, S.A. v. Hoffmann-LaRoche, Ltd. (87 KB)

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Pfizer, Inc.

Citation Number: 04-1186
Date:

In this amicus brief in support of Teva’s combined petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc, the Commission argues that the court erred in affirming the district court’s dismissal of Teva’s complaint in this Hatch-Waxman Act case. The brief argues that the court applied the wrong test to assess jurisdiction under the Declaratory Judgment Act. The court only considered the likelihood that Teva would face a patent infringement suit, but failed to take account of the injury Teva will suffer. The brief argues that Teva will face injury even in the absence of a patent infringement suit because the FDA cannot approve Teva’s generic sertraline hydrochloride drug unless Teva can obtain a court decision regarding Pfizer’s patent.

application/pdf icon Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Pfizer, Inc. (81.38 KB)

Edward H. Phillips v. AWH Corporation

Citation Number: 03-1269, 1286
Date:

Amicus Brief of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission addressing the proper methodology for construing the claims of a patent. This brief was filed in response to an order of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit taking the case en banc and inviting the government to submit its views on the questions of the en banc order. The brief argues that in construing patent claims a court should primarily rely on a patent’s intrinsic evidence (its description of the invention and its prosecution history) rather than dictionaries and other external sources. This approach is more likely to result in claim constructions that are closer to those used by the Patent Office in issuing patents and that reflect the inventions as described and enabled.

application/pdf icon Edward H. Phillips v. AWH Corporation (623.38 KB)

Empagran, S.A. v. F. Hoffmann-LaRoche, Ltd.

Citation Number: 01-7115
Federal Court: U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Date:
Joint brief of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission, as amici curiae, addressing the proper application of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act. This brief is in response to an order issued by the D.C. Circuit, which called for supplemental briefing regarding what action that court should take upon remand of the case to it by the Supreme Court. At issue is whether there is jurisdiction to proceed on the so-called “alternative theory” of liability described by the Supreme Court. The brief argues that, in lieu of remanding the case to the district court, the D.C. Circuit should hold that the “alternative theory” is legally insufficient to establish jurisdiction, and that the plaintiff’s complaint should be dismissed.
application/pdf icon Empagran, S.A. v. F. Hoffmann-LaRoche, Ltd. (1.53 MB)

Ashby v. Farmers Group, Inc

Citation Number: 04-35394
Federal Court: U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Date:
FTC amicus brief arguing that the district court erred in its interpretation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act when it held that an insurance company cannot take “adverse action” against a consumer, as that term is defined in the FCRA in connection with an initial offer of insurance. The brief points out that the district court’s interpretation of the Act is at odds with the most natural reading of the statutory language, as well as with both the central purpose and legislative history of the FCRA.
application/pdf icon Ashby v. Farmers Group, Inc (146.03 KB)

American Bankers Ass’n v. Lockyer

Citation Number: 04-16334
Federal Court: U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Date:
Joint amicus brief of the Federal Trade Commission, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the National Credit Union Administration, arguing that the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act preempts provisions of a California statute.
application/pdf icon American Bankers Ass’n v. Lockyer (1.26 MB)

Spano v. SAFECO Insurance Co

Citation Number: 04-35313
Federal Court: U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Date:
The Commission argued that the district court erred in its interpretation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act when it held that an insurance company cannot take “adverse action” against a consumer, as that term is defined in the FCRA in connection with an initial offer of insurance. The brief points out that the district court’s interpretation of the Act is at odds with the most natural reading of the statutory language, as well as with both the central purpose and legislative history of the FCRA.
application/pdf icon Spano v. SAFECO Insurance Co (149.02 KB)

Andrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Kroger Co

Citation Number: 03-779
Federal Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Date:

Joint brief of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission, urging the Court to deny a writ of certiorari in this case, regarding private patent litigation and the legal standards applicable to “reverse payment” patent litigation settlements in the Hatch-Waxman context.

application/pdf icon Andrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Kroger Co (85.23 KB)

Cole v. U.S. Capital, Inc. et al.

Citation Number: 03-3331
Federal Court: U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Date:
In this amicus brief, filed at the invitation of the court, the FTC argues that, although the Fair Credit Reporting Act permits a business to obtain a consumer report if it provides the consumer with a firm offer of credit or insurance, the law is not satisfied if the business provides the consumer with an offer that is merely a sham. Accordingly, the brief contends that the district court erred in holding that plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted when her complaint alleged that the offer in the ad she received was a sham. The brief also argues that the court erred when it dismissed, without addressing, plaintiff's allegation that statutorily-mandated disclosures, which were made in tiny type, were not clear and conspicuous.
application/pdf icon Cole v. U.S. Capital, Inc. et al. (142.41 KB)

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Pfizer, Inc.

Citation Number: 04-1186
Date:

The Commission argues that the district court erred by dismissing Teva's complaint against Pfizer in this Hatch-Waxman Act case. Teva sought a declaratory judgment that its generic version of sertraline hydrochloride would not infringe a patent held by Pfizer (or that the patent was invalid). The brief argues that the court applied the wrong test to assess jurisdiction. It failed to take account of the fact that, unless Teva can obtain a court decision regarding Pfizer's patent, the FDA cannot give Teva approval to market its generic drug until 180 days after the first generic applicant (Ivax Pharmaceuticals) enters the market with its version. The brief also explains that the district court’s holding will leave subsequent generic applicants (such as Teva) powerless to prevent brand-name manufacturers and first generic applicants from greatly delaying other generic manufacturers from entering the market.

application/pdf icon Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Pfizer, Inc. (147.6 KB)

Allen and Sharon Schneider v. Citicorp Mortgage, Inc. and Citicorp

Citation Number: CV 97-837 (NG)(CLP)
Federal Court: Eastern District of New York
Date:

Amicus brief objecting to a proposed settlement that called for consumers to be compensated with coupons for $100 off their next new mortgage or refinancing within the next two years in a case involving allegations that Citicorp violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. The FTC argued it is extremely doubtful that the case satisfied the legal requirements for class certification, that the coupons were worth much less than their face value, and that the proposed counsel fee appears excessive in light of the likely low value of the settlement.

application/pdf icon Allen and Sharon Schneider v. Citicorp Mortgage, Inc. and Citicorp (54.19 KB)
application/pdf icon Draft Order Granting Leave to Appear and File as Amicus Curiae (7.96 KB)
application/pdf icon Memorandum of FTC As Amicus Curiae Regarding the Proposed Class Action Coupon Settlement (54.19 KB)
application/pdf icon Motion For Leave to File Memorandum of Law As Amicus Curiae (13.52 KB)
application/pdf icon Notice of Intent to Appear (8.4 KB)
application/pdf icon Statement of Commissioner Harbour (13.08 KB)
application/pdf icon Statement of Chairman Muris, Commissioner Swindle, and Commissioner Leary (7.46 KB)
application/pdf icon Statement of Commissioner Thompson (6.95 KB)

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