Competition

  • September 20, 2024

    House To Weigh Patent Bill Aimed At Cutting Drug Prices

    The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider a bill soon that has already cleared the Senate and could streamline patent litigation by curbing the number of patents that makers of biologic drugs can assert over biosimilar drugs.

  • September 20, 2024

    Ad Tech Judge Not Biting On Google's Market Metaphor

    Comparing Big Macs and Whoppers to undermine the Justice Department's market definition appeared to be a step too far Friday for the Virginia federal judge weighing the fate of Google's display advertising placement technology.

  • September 20, 2024

    Court Cuts Down Antitrust Suit From Loggers, Landowners

    An Oregon federal court has tossed a lawsuit by loggers and landowners that accused Iron Triangle LLC of monopolizing the market for logging services in part of the Pacific Northwest, saying they failed to show the logging and lumber company has monopoly power.

  • September 20, 2024

    Amazon Seller Rips Rival As 'Bully' In Fake Reviews Suit

    A maker of jump starters for cars on Thursday urged an Ohio federal court to reject a sanctions bid by a Chinese competitor that it accuses of posting fake reviews on Amazon in order to win market share, saying that the company is trying to "bully" its way out of the suit.

  • September 20, 2024

    Media Ownership Needs More Oversight, 8th Circ. Told

    A coalition of media reform advocates, broadcast workers and public interest groups are coming to the defense of the Federal Communications Commission's updated broadcast ownership rules, telling the Eighth Circuit in a new brief Friday that the changes will promote competition and diversity in the TV and radio broadcast industry.

  • September 20, 2024

    Fed's Surprise Rate Cut Gives M&A Markets Needed Relief

    Mergers and acquisitions activity is inextricably linked to borrowing costs, which means the Federal Reserve's larger than expected half-point interest rate cut could provide just the type of relief dealmakers need for a significant rebound, attorneys say.

  • September 20, 2024

    Lawmakers Ask USPTO To Fix Patent Calculation Problem

    Federal patent officials need to change standards that could let drug companies hold on to patent rights beyond the time frame they are entitled to, according to federal lawmakers.

  • September 20, 2024

    Chevron's Demise May Not Bring Deluge Courts Had Feared

    Though the death of Chevron deference has opened a door to attacking administrative decisions, the expected uptick in litigation probably won't threaten to clog federal courts, numerous administrative law experts told Law360.

  • September 20, 2024

    FTC Accuses Drug Middlemen Of Raising Insulin Prices

    The Federal Trade Commission on Friday accused the three largest pharmacy benefits managers, Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx, of artificially inflating insulin prices by relying on unfair rebate schemes that hurt competition.

  • September 20, 2024

    Ventilation Biz Volution To Acquire Aussie, NZ Rival For $190M

    Volution Group PLC said Friday that it has agreed to acquire rival Fantech Group, for 280 million Australian dollars ($191 million), as the U.K. ventilation provider looks to expand in Australia and New Zealand.

  • September 19, 2024

    Publishers 'Did Not Trust Google,' Former Ad Tech Exec Says

    A former Google executive acknowledged Thursday that at least some website publishers sought a workaround to the search giant's advertising placement technology because they didn't trust the company's consolidated control, which the Justice Department has challenged in a Virginia federal courtroom.

  • September 19, 2024

    Booking.com's Price Clauses May Violate Law, EU Court Says

    The European Court of Justice found on Thursday that Booking.com BV's price parity clauses that prevent hotels from offering their rooms cheaper elsewhere could violate competition law and that the company can run its business without them.

  • September 19, 2024

    Republicans Air Grievances At House Hearing on FTC Practices

    The Federal Trade Commission ought to stick to combating consumer scams and leave the competition regulation alone — that was the general tenor of Republicans on Wednesday morning at a House hearing about the agency's past and present practices.

  • September 19, 2024

    AndroGel Antitrust Case On Hold Amid Settlement Talk

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has agreed to pause a class action against Abbott and other drugmakers over allegedly sham patent cases, saying a settlement between the two sides may be in the works.

  • September 19, 2024

    Birkin Bag Lovers Must Rework Antitrust Suit, Judge Says

    A California federal judge said Thursday that consumers behind a proposed antitrust class action accusing Hermes of unlawfully tying the sale of its iconic Birkin handbag to other expensive items should amend their complaint, since the current version doesn't show how the luxury fashion retailer has foreclosed competition.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ga. Appeals Court Says Hospital Must Get Certificate Of Need

    The Georgia Court of Appeals for the second time has said that a Georgia hospital must obtain a new certificate of need from the state to convert its long-term care beds to short-stay acute care beds, following guidance issued by the state's justices earlier this year.

  • September 19, 2024

    Senate Panel Holds Steward CEO In Contempt After No-Show

    A U.S. Senate committee voted unanimously Thursday to hold Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre in civil and criminal contempt after he defied a subpoena to testify about the bankrupt health system's downfall.

  • September 19, 2024

    Live Nation Looks To Trim Gov't Antitrust Case

    Live Nation has asked a New York federal court to toss claims seeking damages in the government's antitrust case, arguing that consumers were not harmed by its dealings with concert venues and promoters, and also asked to nix a tying claim from the case.

  • September 19, 2024

    Calif. Vape Co. Says Mich. Store Is Selling Counterfeit G Pens

    California-based GS Holistic LLC is suing a Michigan smoke shop in federal court, alleging that it is selling counterfeit versions of its G Pen e-cigarettes without authorization at a fraction of the price, infringing its trademarks and harming its reputation.

  • September 19, 2024

    Google Accused Of Apple 'Stranglehold' In £7B Class Action

    A consumer champion bringing a £7 billion ($9.3 billion) class action against Google told a tribunal Thursday that the tech giant has maintained a "stranglehold" on Apple devices through an illegal exclusivity deal with the iPhone-maker.

  • September 18, 2024

    Google Judge Wonders: Does Ad Tech Benefit Publishers?

    The Virginia federal judge weighing the fate of Google's display advertising placement business zeroed in Wednesday on a key aspect of the search giant's defense against a Justice Department monopolization suit — the assertion that even if company practices disadvantaged rival ad exchanges, they benefited publishers.

  • September 18, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Revives Astellas Patent Axed As Natural Law

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday vacated a lower court's invalidation of an Astellas Pharma overactive bladder medication patent for claiming only a natural law, saying the holding was improper because the generics makers accused of infringement never made that argument.

  • September 18, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Gas Price-Fixing Suit Over Trump Pact

    The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a proposed class action alleging price fixing between major oil producers as part of the Trump Administration's 2020 deal with Russia and Saudi Arabia to cut production, saying that subjecting the pact to judicial review would be inappropriately "second-guessing" executive branch foreign policy.

  • September 18, 2024

    Nintendo Stole BlackBerry IP For Devices, Patent Holder Says

    Nintendo has been hit with a patent infringement suit in Washington federal court by an Irish firm that holds the rights to many of BlackBerry's inventions, targeting technologies used in controllers for the popular Switch console and other gaming accessories.

  • September 18, 2024

    Gov't Lifeline Gives Nippon A Fighting Chance On US Steel

    The Biden administration has indicated it's poised to block Nippon Steel from proceeding with a controversial $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, but the government is reportedly giving the Japanese steelmaker an additional 90 days to prove its case, a development that should give Nippon hope it can get the deal done, attorneys say.

Expert Analysis

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

    Author Photo

    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Takeaways From EU's Initial Findings On Apple's App Store

    Author Photo

    A deep dive into the European Commission's recent preliminary findings that Apple's App Store rules are in breach of the Digital Markets Act reveal that enforcement of the EU's Big Tech law might go beyond the literal text of the regulation and more toward the spirit of compliance, say William Dolan and Pratik Agarwal at Rule Garza.

  • A Simple Proposal For Improving E-Discovery In MDLs

    Author Photo

    Given the importance of e-discovery in multidistrict litigation, courts, parties and counsel shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel in each newly consolidated case — and a simple process for sharing e-discovery lessons and knowledge across MDLs could benefit everyone involved, particularly clients, say Benjamin Barnett and Shauna Itri at Seeger Weiss.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

    Author Photo

    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • A Look At State AGs Supermarket Antitrust Enforcement Push

    Author Photo

    The ongoing antitrust intervention by state attorneys general in the proposed Kroger and Albertsons merger suggests that states are straying from a Federal Trade Commission follow-on strategy in the supermarket space, which involved joining federal investigations or lawsuits and settling for the same divestment remedies, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • The Show Must Go On: Noncompete Uncertainty In Film, TV

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission has taken action to ban noncompetes while the entertainment industry is in the midst of a massive shift away from traditional media, so it is important for studio heads and content owners alike to understand the fate of the rule and their options going forward, say Christopher Chatham and Douglas Smith at Manatt.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

    Author Photo

    Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

    Author Photo

    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Opinion

    Cell Tech Patent Holdup Is Stalling Automaker Innovation

    Author Photo

    Courts and Congress should seek to stem anticompetitive harm caused by standard-essential patent holders squeezing automakers with unfairly high royalties for cellular connectivity technology, says Charles Haake at Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

  • Mitigating Risks Amid 10-Year Sanctions Enforcement Window

    Author Photo

    In response to recent legislation, which doubles the statute of limitations for actions related to certain U.S. sanctions and provides regulators greater opportunity to investigate possible violations, companies should take specific steps to account for the increased civil and criminal enforcement risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

    Author Photo

    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • FBI Raid Signals Growing Criminal Enforcement Of Algorithms

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's increased willingness to pursue the use of algorithmic pricing as a potential criminal violation means that companies need to understand the software solutions they employ and stay abreast of antitrust best practices when contracting with providers, say attorneys at Rule Garza.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • What UK Digital Markets Act Will Mean For Competition Law

    Author Photo

    The new Digital Markets Act’s reforms will strengthen the Competition and Markets Authority's investigatory and enforcement powers across its full remit of merger control and antitrust investigations, representing a seismic shift in the U.K. competition and consumer law landscape, say lawyers at Travers Smith.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Competition archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!