FTC: Watch articles from July 2002

FTC: Watch archives from July 2002

Merger watch - vertical challenge.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Conventional wisdom predicts that Republican administrations are adverse to challenging vertical mergers in federal court. But on June 24, a unanimous FTC authorized its staff to seek a preliminary injunction to block Cytyc Corp.'s proposed...

Senate cautions DOJ on satellite merger.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Antitrust Division needs to think long and hard before approving the Echostar/DirectTV satellite merger that would reduce the number of competitors to just one in rural areas that are not served by cable TV companies, Senate Antitrust...

Commission rejects slotting fee guidelines.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... A unanimous FTC has formally denied a petition filed two years ago for guidelines on the legal use of slotting fees (payments by manufacturers for retail shelf space) in the grocery industry. The Independent Bakers Assoc., the Tortilla Industry...

FTC opposes Ameritech class action settlement.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Michael Erikson has filed a class action suit alleging that Ameritech breached contracts with its voice mail subscribers by charging them more for the service than promised. Ameritech has denied all allegations of liability and wrongdoing,...

FTC Economics Chief on getting your deal through.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... It is critical that FTC and merging parties' economic experts meet early on in merger review processes to ensure meaningful dialogues, FTC Chief Economist David Scheffman advised when speaking on "Sources of Information and Evidence in Merger...

Court urged to lower OS entry barriers: Six former DOJ chief economists weigh in at Microsoft remedy hearing.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... To restore competitive conditions after a monopolist has unlawfully raised entry barriers requires the Court to lower entry barriers into the relevant market.' "-Six former Antitrust Division chief economists A week before U.S. District...

On eve of closing arguments, Microsoft bids farewell to Java.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The day before closing arguments in the antitrust remedy hearing, Microsoft announced that it will stop supporting Sun Microsystems' Java by 2004. Microsoft cited "Sun's strategy of using the legal system to compete with Microsoft" as a reason...

Separate Biz Op Rule coming Business opportunity vendors called chief violators of Franchise Rule.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... "Compliance with the FTC Franchise Rule by business opportunity sellers is low," FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Chief Howard Beales told the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection on June 25. "Many business opportunities...

Do-not-call registrants scammed by FTC poseurs seeking credit card details.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The FTC has not even made a final decision on whether to adopt the proposed national "Do Not Call" registry, but already hoodwinks have come up with a related ruse. Bogus FTC registry "officials" are cold calling people and demanding...

Industries still target teen audiences 3rd report on marketing violent media to kids.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... There's good news and bad news in the FTC's third follow-up review of its September 2000 report to Congress, "Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children: A Review of Self-Regulation and Industry Practices in the Motion Picture, Music...

Pass that 'purple pill'; or is there a generic? FTC IP policy area --powering up.(Federal Trade Commission appoints intellectual property attorneys)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The purple pill will come in handy for pharmaceutical industry players who try to put one over on the FTC these days. Or, for that matter, players in any industry who try to finesse the antitrust laws by taking unfair and illegal advantage of...

Generic Rx competition: ALJ files Schering initial decision, Leahy bill moves to Senate floor.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... FTC Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell has filed his initial decision in the Schering-Plough-Upsher-Smith generic drug case (D.9297). A few days earlier, S.754, requiring brand name drug manufacturers and generic makers "with...

New York City Board of Education ripped-off again: copiers this time.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... A major retailer of copiers and duplicators has agreed to pay a $400,000 civil penalty for allegedly conspiring with two competitors to rig bids for the sale of copiers and duplicators to the New York City Board of Education for about a decade....

DOJ challenges high-tech design software market agreement.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The DOJ Antitrust Division slapped a civil antitrust lawsuit on The MathWorks Inc. and Wind River Systems Inc. to enjoin them from allegedly illegally allocating the markets for software used to design dynamic control systems. A February...

Motion to extend term for CBS/Infinity trustee.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Antitrust Division asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan to grant a six-month extension to trustee Gordon J. Davis, who was in charge of overseeing the divestiture required by the June 2000 final judgment entered against CBS Corp.,...

Fourth stamp auction bid-rigging case.(Mark Morrow Stamps Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Antitrust Division charged a Colorado stamp dealer and a company executive with conspiring with unnamed co-conspirators to submit collusive bids at U.S. and cross border stamp auctions held from the early 1980s until at least June 1997. ...

FTC v. RAMBUS: time to re-examine standard setting rules.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Some have questioned the significance and adequacy of the Commission's 1996 enforcement action against Dell Computer, the first antitrust case to challenge a firm's failure to disclose its IP rights to a standard setting body. The decision...

Elan & Biovail agree to unwind generic Adalat agreement.(dosage monopoly)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Canada's Biovail Corp. and Ireland's Elan Corp. agreed to unravel an allegedly anticompetitive agreement to divide the U.S. market for the generic version of Bayer AG's anti-hypertensive drug, Adalat CC. The FTC alleged that although both...

ALJ orders "3 Tenors" collaborators to knock it off.(Judge James P. Timony places order agaijnst sound recording industry price fixing)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Chief Administrative Law Judge James P. Timony has ordered PolyGram Holding, Decca Music, UMG Recordings, Inc. and Universal Music & Video Distribution Corp. to cease and desist from "soliciting, participating in, entering into, attempting to...

For the record.
July 1, 2002... The following orders are final Kryton Coatings International, Inc. File No. 012-3060 Contact: Hampton Newsome, 202-326-2889 FMC Corp. & Asahi Chemical Industry Co. File No. 981-0237 Contact: Richard Dagen, 202-326-2628 ...

AOL/TW seeks approval of ISP and cable agreements.(AOL Time Warner Inc., Time Warner Cable and ShreveNet)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... As required by the April 17, 2001 merger order, America Online/Time Warner (AOL/TW)asked for FTC approval of: (1)a non-affiliated Internet Service Provider (ISP) agreement between AOL/TW and ShreveNet; and (2) an alternative cable broadband ISP...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
July 1, 2002... Correction: In FTC: WATCH No. 591, the story titled "TransUnion, IRSG appeal constitutionality of GLB financial regulations," incorrectly stated that Individual References Services Group (IRSG) continues to fight a ruling by the U.S. District...

Report from Canada.(amendments to the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act)
July 1, 2002... Significant amendments to Competition Act and Competition Tribunal Act On June 21, 2002, all but one of the amendments contained in Bill C-23, An Act to amend the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act, came into force. (An...

FTC Chief Administrative Law Judge James P. Timony.(on retired judge Montgomery Hyun)(Brief Article)(Transcript)
July 1, 2002... FTC Chief Administrative Law Judge James P. Timony upon the celebration of 80th birthday of retired ALJ Montgomery Hyun - June 16, 2002 After receiving degrees from Swarthmore, Columbia, and Georgetown, and clerking at Covington and...

Analyzing Licensing Alternatives under Current Approaches -- Hypothetical Case.
July 1, 2002... Prepared for Antitrust & Intellectual Property: Competition and Innovation in High-Tech Industries --Exploring the Fault Lines, June 6-7, 2002* Hypothetical: FanSoft has the market-leading software for real-time capture and Internet...