FTC: Watch articles from April 2002

FTC: Watch archives from April 2002

Merger watch: when is a "club" store not a club store?(officials analyze Wal-Mart's proposed purchase of Amigo)
April 8, 2002... "The... Horizontal Merger Guidelines observe... that because the specific standards they set out must be applied in widely varied factual circumstances, mechanical application of those standards could produce misleading results. Thus, the...

Cruz to Alaska: M.D. antitrust exemption bad idea.(Federal Trade Commission Policy Planning Director R. Ted Cruz)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Proposed legislation that would authorize collective bargaining among Alaska's physicians is likely to significantly bump up the state's health care costs, FTC Policy Planning Director R. Ted Cruz advised Alaska's House of Representatives'...

FTC staff to Connecticut: Allow online & interstate vendors to sell replacement contact lenses.(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... A restrictive interpretation of Connecticut's state laws for the sale of contact lenses would hurt competition from Internet, phone, and mail order sellers of replacement contact lenses and increase consumer costs, FTC staff recently advised...

DOJ and FTC to Rhode Island: Let non-lawyers compete for real estate closings.(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... The Rhode Island House of Representatives should consider less restrictive alternatives to a proposed bill that would prevent non-lawyers from competing with lawyers to perform real estate closings, the FTC and Antitrust Division jointly urged...

FTC/BBB/NYBA advertising workshop.
April 8, 2002... "Advertising is now so near perfection that it is not easy to propose any improvement. " Samuel Johnson, 1759 "Advertising may be described as the science of arresting human intelligence long enough to get money from it. " Stephen Leacock...

"Do Not Call" comment period extended.(deadline for comments on FTC's proposed changes to Telemarketing Sales Rules extended)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... You now have until April 15 to submit comments on the FTC's proposed changes to its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to allow the creation of a centralized national "Do Not Call" registry. More than 20,000 commentators have so far lodged their...

Staff Opinion Letters.(guidance on FTC's Franchise Rule via the Internet)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... 1. Franchise Rule Internet instructions Franchise.com has made a good faith effort to comply with the proposed Internet instructions specified in the FTC'S October 1999 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Franchise Rule, FTC staff opined...

FTC economists identify econometric issues for analyzing mergers.(antitrust analysis)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Economic antitrust analysis can be improved if practitioners confront and resolve a number of difficult econometric and conceptual issues, according to an April 2 FTC Economics Bureau staff working paper, "Demand System Estimation and its...

District court rejects DOJ's tomato seed Complaint.(involving LSL Biotechnologies Inc., Hazera)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... A non-compete agreement between Israeli and U.S. tomato seed developers is not illegal under the Sherman Act because the the Justice Dept. hasn't identified a proper product market or shown a "direct, substantial and reasonably foreseeable...

Japanese & German firms fined $1.44 million for carbon cathode block cartel.(Nippon Electrode Company Ltd., VAW Carbon GmbH)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Japan's Nippon Electrode Company Ltd. (NDK) and Germany's VAW Carbon GmbH (VAW) have agreed to plead guilty and hand over $1.44 million in fines -- after the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia charged them with conspiring with unnamed...

Michigan hospital network low docs proposal approved.(Michigan Hospital Group Inc. to negotiate with health plans)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Seven small and geographically dispersed Michigan hospitals have won approval from the Justice Department for a proposed network intended to negotiate on their behalf with insurance companies, employers, and managed care plans. The...

Appropriations.(FTC, Justice Department funds)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Appropriations: Money to run the FTC and the Justice Dept. falls into the same large appropriations bill -- State Dept., Commerce Dept., Justice Dept., the Judiciary and Related Agencies -- and is thus vulnerable to being held up while Congress...

Microsoft stuff.(Microsoft Corp. seeks trademark for Windows)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Microsoft stuff: Microsoft Corp. has asked U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle to overrule himself and find that Windows is not generic and can be trademarked. Microsoft had sued start-up software developer Lindows.com, Inc. for...

Miss Cleo.(FTC sues psychic)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Miss Cleo: In February, the FTC sued the "renowned psychic" Miss Cleo for a host of alleged transgressions, including violation of the 900 Number Trade Regulation Rule. Civil Action No.: 02-60226 CIV GOLD; [less...

I'm from your government.(several Federal Trade Commission issues discussed)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... I'm from your government... and I'm here to help you: the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel has produced a set of recommended fees that many Internet radio broadcasters claim are outrageous and will put many of them permanently out of...

FTC rocket docket.(Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. case)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... FTC rocket docket: FTC Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell has scheduled trial of the charges in Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. to begin on August 6. In October, 2001, the FTC issued a post-consummation Complaint charging Holland's...

Pro se CID petition denied.(Loree and Lord, sale of bulk e-mail products)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Pro se CID petition denied: We don't know about your e-mail box, but ours is the routine recipient of offers for lists of other people's e-mail addresses so that we can broadcast an advertisement to "millions" of them. The best way to describe...

Libbey/Anchor Hocking merger Commission to court: revote unneeded.(acquisition challenge authorized)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... The FTC Commission does not interpret Section 13(b) of the FTC Act "to require the Commission formally to reconsider its actions in every case where merging parties amend a merger agreement that the Commission has found reason to believe...

Napa Valley OB/GYN group disbands; "Risk-sharing," "clinically-integrated" JVs OK.(Obstetrics and Gynecology Medical Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... A for-profit physicians' group of obstetricians/ gynecologists (OB/GYNs) will disband within 120 days to resolve FTC charges that their collective bargaining actions harmed health plans, employers, and individual consumers by illegally raising...

FTC and friends tackle tsunami of deceptive commercial email.
April 8, 2002... The FTC, eight state law enforcers and four Canadian agencies have brought 63 law enforcement actions against deceptive spam stretching from auction fraud to baloney cancer cure sites. The agency, six state law enforcers, and Canada's...

Building siding companies strip down claims.(FTC order would ban Kryton, Procraft from misrepresenting "liquid siding" product)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Multi-Gard "liquid siding" dealers agreed to not inflate efficacy claims to settle FTC charges that there is insufficient evidence to support ad claims that "MultiGard" liquid coating works as well as fiberglass insulation and can save up to...

Southwestern University Law Professor Warren Grimes.(American Antitrust Institute Senior Research Fellow )(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Southwestern University Law Professor Warren Grimes will serve as a full-time American Antitrust Institute Senior Research Fellow for one year, commencing in August.

Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust and current Senior Competition Counsel at CocaCola Abbott ("Tad") Lipsky.(joining Latham and Watkins)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust and current Senior Competition Counsel at CocaCola Abbott ("Tad") Lipsky and two other members of Coca-Cola's global competition team, Michael Egge and John Colahan, will join Latham &...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Committee on Consumer Policy.(elects Mozelle W. Thompson chairman)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Committee on Consumer Policy (CCP) elected FTC Commissioner Mozelle W. Thompson to become its Chairman at a March 13 meeting in Paris. Thompson has served as head of the US...

FTC Competition Bureau Senior Attorney James Fishkin.(leaves agency)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... FTC Competition Bureau Senior Attorney James Fishkin left the agency after 15 years to become Of Counsel at Swidler, Berlin, Shereff & Friedman's Antitrust Section. Fishkin helped litigate a number of successful FTC actions, including FTC v....

Howrey Simon Arnold & White.(James C. Miller III appointed)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Howrey Simon Arnold & White has named former FTC Chairman James C. Miller, III chairman of Howrey's Capital Group, "some 75 professionals, who support the firm's practice groups by providing high level economic, financial, scientific and...

After more than 12 years at the agency.(Glenda Etchison leaves)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... After more than 12 years at the agency, FTC Chairman Timothy Muris' Staff Assistant Glenda Etchison has left to become assistant to Patent and Trade Office Director James Rogan. Glenda also served as Assistant to former FTC Chairman Robert...

Folk music fans might want to catch one of Pam Steinfeld's concerts in the Washington, D.C.
April 8, 2002... Folk music fans might want to catch one of Pam Steinfeld's concerts in the Washington, D.C. area. Steinfeld is the wife of Rick Dagen, head of the FTC Competition Bureau's Anticompetitive Practices shop. Her latest album, "Open Hands," features...

Merger watch.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... For the mergers and acquisitions business, there's good news and bad news this week. First, the bad news. The FTC has issued a request for additional information in connection with Wal-Mart's proposed acquisition of to Amigo supermarket...

FTC makes Biovail dismiss patent suit and dispose of exclusive rights.(Andrx Pharmaceuticals to make generic Tiazac)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Canadian corporation Biovail illegally acquired an exclusive patent license license and wrongfully listed that patent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the FTC charges, "to block the entry of any bio-equivalent generic drug capable of...

The antitrust jurisprudence of Justice White.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... With the passing of Justice Byron White, antitrust jurisprudence lost one of its greatest authors. In more than three decades on the Supreme Court, White painted on almost the entire canvass of antitrust law, from damages to horizontal...

FTC policy planning chief Cruz on Rx industry antitrust red flags.(Ted Cruz, prescription industry)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Are certain types of conduct by pharmaceutical companies likely to attract increased antitrust scrutiny? You bet, and FTC Policy Planning Office Director Ted Cruz recently offered some antitrust red flags for worrisome types of agreements...

Leary on MedSouth and implications of "Clinical Integration" JVs.(Thomas Leary)
April 22, 2002... The Colorado physician independent practice association, MedSouth, Inc.'s proposal to partially integrate its member physicians' practices "could have a profound effect on future evolution of managed care," FTC Commissioner Thomas B. Leary...

In the pipeline: cases charging deceptive claims for dietary supplements.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Marketers of dietary supplements should not make the mistake of assuming "that they are immune to an enforcement action as long as they don't sell dangerous products or cancer cures" FTC Commissioner Sheila F. Anthony warned at the Food & Drug...

Public comments on disgorgement as an antitrust remedy.
April 22, 2002... Six parties responded to the Commission's request for public comment on its use of its use of disgorgement remedies for redressing violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act, the FTC Act, and the Clayton Act. They are: 1. American...

Playwright antitrust exemption bill.(Orrin Hatch, Chuck Schumer introduce bill)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will introduce the "Playwrights, Licensing Relief Act of 2002." If enacted, the bill would grant "playwrights the ability to act collectively, without...

Remember the FTC's Intel case?(Federal trade Commission)(Intel Corp.)(Intergraph Corp.)(antitrust case)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Remember the FTC's Intel case? The agency formally accused Intel of bullying Intergraph Corp. and Digital Equipment Corp into surrendering patents rather than lose access to Intel microprocessors. [FTC: WATCH No. 503, June 15, 1998] This...

Privacy.(Recording Industry Association of America)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Privacy: According to The Recorder, "On April 5, the Recording Industry Association of America dropped its request that the U.S. Copyright Office force Internet radio operators to collect data not required of their traditional broadcasting...

Energy.(California Unfair Competition Act)(wholesale power companies)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Energy: Alleging violations of his state's Unfair Competition Act, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer "filed complaints against four wholesale power companies for charging unjust, unreasonable and illegal rates for electricity during...

Exclusive dealing.(Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. investigation)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Exclusive dealing: From a European Commission April press release: "The European Commission has closed an investigation into a complaint against Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. after the Israeli software company undertook not to engage...

One way to settle an antitrust suit.(Bertelsmann AG)(Napster Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... One way to settle an antitrust suit: Early in 2001, Former Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Joel Klein joined the German music and publishing company Bertelsmann AG as its chief U.S. liaison officer. [FTC:WATCH No. 560, February 12,...

Closings.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Closings: In an undated letter recently placed in a public information binder, FTC Competition Bureau Director Joseph Simons informed Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz's Michael Byowitz that the Commission has closed its investigation into...

Microsoft stuff.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Microsoft stuff: As we went to press, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates was slated to testify April 22 as the eighth Microsoft witness in the sixth week of the antitrust remedy proceedings pressed by the nine...

Competition Bureau appeals Tribunal efficiencies decision.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... On April 4, 2002, the Competition Tribunal once again dismissed the Commissioner of Competition's application against the 1998 merger of ICG Propane Inc. and Superior Propane Inc., two retailers of propane with operations across Canada. For the...

Jail House embezzlement stew.(former Nassau County New York Correctional Center employee pleads guilty)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... A former Nassau County New York Correctional Center (NCCC) employee pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn to fraudulently canoodling $42,000 from NCCC between November 1996 and June 1998. The Antitrust Division charged that as a...

Alleged stamp auction bid-riggers head to court.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... A San Francisco stamp dealer and its president are charged with "conspiring with unnamed co-conspirators to submit collusive, noncompetitive, and rigged bids at stamp auctions from the early 1980s until at least June 1997 and for several months...

FTC asks court to shut down Canadian boiler rooms targeting U.S. consumers.(Consumer Alliance)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... The FTC asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to permanently enjoin a Canadian operation and require the company to provide consumer redress. The agency alleges Canada's Consumer Alliance violated Section 5 of the...

Triad officer to post $1 million bond before telemarketing again.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Triad Discount Buying Service Officer Richard Kaylor will post a $1 million bond before telemarketing selling negative options, and hand over $137,500 for consumer redress -- to resolve FTC charges that he helped trick consumers into paying for...

FTC alleges two defendants violated 1996 order Magazine telemarketers face April 30 hearing.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Judge J. Owen Forrester has scheduled an April 30 hearing on the Justice Dept.'s request for a temporary restraining order against telemarketers Cross Media Marketing Corporation, Media...

FTC sweep finds 11 NY and NJ Funeral Homes violating Funeral Rule.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Eleven of 31 funeral homes in the greater New York City metropolitan area and Essex County in New Jersey appear to be in violation of the FTC's 1984 Funeral Rule. That's what FTC staff found after inspecting the 31 funeral homes as part of the...

Sonic toothbrush delivery not supersonic.(Amden Corp. problems)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... What on earth is a sonic toothbrush? Who knows? But according to a FTC complaint, a company that marketed the pricey Cybersonicr Complete Sonic Oral-Care System both online and in infomercials failed to break the sound barrier with the speed it...

FTC staff caution companies hawking energy saving products.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Inflated ad claims for automotive additives and home products purported to save energy have been riding the same wave as rising gas prices. Now, more than fifty companies making dodgy energy-saving advertising claims, received warnings from the...

"Operation Dialing for Deception" snags 11 companies.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Hoping to make a serious dent into "in-bound" telemarketing fraud (consumers call companies in response to classified/Internet/TV ads), the FTC brought 11 complaints in federal district courts -- against purveyors of advance-fee loans and...

Alleged toner-phoner victims got mail: $2 million worth.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... The FTC is using the consumer redress fund that it set up after settling office supply scam allegations against Modern Concept to reimburse the 28,000 or so businesses that allegedly fell victim to its fraudulent "tonerphoner business"...

For the record.
April 22, 2002... The following orders are final: TechnoBrands, Inc. File No. 992-3034 Contact: Gregory Ashe, 202-326-3719 Campbell Mithun LLC File No. 012-3204 Contact: Kial Young, 202-326-3525 Interstate Bakeries Corporation File No....

Calendar.(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... April 24-26 - ABA Antitrust Section Annual Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C. April 25 - FTC Commissioner Mozelle Thompson will discuss "e-Commerce" at the Beyond Payments Conference, Meadowood Resort, Napa, California FTC Northeast...