Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Antitrust & Unfair Competition Law

2005 Articles

Agreement with Coca-Cola ends the European Union’s five-year inquiry into a potential abuse of a dominant position By Heba M. Hamouda April 2005 In 1999, the European Commission began an investigation into Coke and its bottlers in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, and Britain.
The Antitrust Counselor: Robinson Patman after Reeder-Simco By Mildred L. Calhoun December 2005 The Supreme Court appears to be coming to the rescue of counselors who are still bemused by the Eighth Circuit’s astonishing opinion in Reeder-Simco GMC, Inc. v. Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corp.
Case summaries December 2005 The Plaintiff Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) issued complaints against two music distributors and their affiliates alleging that they had agreed to cease advertising certain recordings of The Three Tenors in violation of § 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45.
Editors’ notes December 2005 On Monday, October 31, the Supreme Court heard argument in Volvo Trucks North America v. Reeder-Simco GMC, Inc. Section member Mildred L. Calhoun discusses the “quagmire that the Eighth Circuit’s opinion creates for counselors” and suggests there is reason to hope that the Supreme Court may help to resolve the dilemma created by the Eighth Circuit’s decision, even if it is unlikely to address the broader public policy issues created by the Robinson-Patman Act.
Editor’s notes April 2005 This issue leads off with a look at developments in the area of merger enforcement actions in light of two recent federal court decisions: Federal Trade Commission v. Arch Coal, Inc. and United States v. Oracle Corp.
Merger enforcement after Arch Coal By Mildred L. Calhoun April 2005 This issue leads off with a look at developments in the area of merger enforcement actions in light of two recent federal court decisions: Federal Trade Commission v. Arch Coal, Inc. and United States v. Oracle Corp.
Oracle beats the government’s Section 7 case By John L. Conlon April 2005 The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and 10 states (collectively, the "government") lost in their effort to have Oracle Corporation enjoined from acquiring PeopleSoft, Inc. because such an acquisition allegedly would violate §7 of the Clayton Act. U.S. v. Oracle Corp., 331 F. Supp. 2d 1098 (N.D. Cal. 2004).
“Probation” programs to enforce retail price maintenace By Blake L. Harrop December 2005 Many years ago in Phillips v. Crown Central Petroleum Corp., the district court found that a supplier had coerced its dealers into agreeing to charge minimum resale prices in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.