FTC: Watch articles from November 2000

FTC: Watch archives from November 2000

American BioScience objects to FTC subpoena for "privileged" documents.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... In early September, the FTC filed an amicus brief in a U.S. District Court in California that was considering a proposed settlement of litigation between American BioScience, Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. The brief asked the court to delay...

Antitrust funding up, HSR reform delayed.(Hart-Scott-Rodino reform)
November 6, 2000... Hart-Scott-Rodino reform provisions that would raise premerger reportability thresholds from the current $15 million to $50 million and graduate filing fees from $45,000 to $280,000 -- thus favoring the relevant House bill (H.R. 4194) over the...

B2Bs: old wine in new bottles?(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... Business-to-business Internet exchanges with high levels of industry ownership or substantial minimum purchase requirements will invite heightened antitrust scrutiny, cautions a recent FTC staff report, "Competition Policy in the World of B2B...

Judge Jackson preaches to the agnostic.(Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson)(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... Introducing U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson at a George Mason University Law Review forum last month, antitrust law professor and former FTC Policy Planning Office director James Wesley Liebeler characteristically volunteered...

Australian lawyers accountable for bad antitrust advice.(Australian Consumer Protection and Competition Commission)(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... The Australian Consumer Protection and Competition Commission (ACCC) has taken three antitrust actions against lawyers because alleged unlawful conduct in another case arose from the parties following defective legal advice. ACCC Commissioner...

U.S. leads International Marketing Supervision Network for first time; U.S., U.K. consumer protection agreement.(FTC Commissioner Mozelle W. Thomson)(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... Last week, FTC Commissioner Mozelle W. Thomson became the first American to lead the International Marketing Supervision Network (IMSN)- representing consumer protection authorities from 29 countries, the European Commission (EC) and the...

FTC wired for December wireless workshop.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... The FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Financial Practices and Advertising Practices will hold a workshop about wireless privacy, security and advertising on December 11-12. The workshop is designed to inform FTC staff about wireless...

Cargill Dow asks FTC to adopt new textile fiber name and definition.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... The FTC wants to hear from interested parties about Cargill Dow, LLC's petition to establish a new generic fiber name and definition for its fiber polylactic acid or polylactide (PLA). Cargill Dow suggested that the name "synterra" has a...

FTC forum examines whether giving software warranty exemptions is wise.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... An October 26-27 FTC forum on warranty protection for software and other high-tech goods and services did not draw the crowds expected but people did show up to both criticize and laud the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA)...

Merger Watch.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... Merger Watch: At press time, FTC: WATCH learned that the Commissioners had scheduled a closed-door meeting for noon, Thursday, November 9, to discuss the AOL/Time Warner merger. Further, the meeting was not scheduled to consider a consent...

Antitrust Division Watch.(Alcoa Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... Antitrust Division Watch: Alcoa Inc. will sell its Sherwin alumina refinery located near Corpus Christi, Texas to BPU Reynolds, Inc., a private investment company by November 30. Terms were not disclosed. Alcoa acquired the Sherwin refinery --...

Under arrest in four states and you didn't know?(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... Under arrest in four states and you didn't know? One of the three national consumer reporting agencies -- Equifax, Experian and Trans Union -- pledged to initiate a single consumer alert system for victims of identity theft at an FTC identity...

But not us.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... But not us: A CBS "60 Minutes" report on November 5 showed the chairmen of the Republican and Democratic National Committees trying to explain how their mail solicitations differ in degree of deceptiveness from those of commercial mailers...

Damned if we know.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... Damned if we know: The speculation about the impact of the forthcoming change of federal administrations, has, as usual, spawned a large school of predictions. It's kind of expected. One of the topics of speculation, of course, is the Federal...

Words of wisdom (or not, depending).(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... Words of wisdom (or not, depending): Wall Street economist Henry Kaufman thinks that one problem with the megamergers consummated or pending recently is "that the new giants will use their dominant power to push up prices. That has not happened...

Big dollar civil penalty case : Justice Dept. sues Boston Scientific for allegedly violating FTC merger settlement.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... At the FTC's request, the Justice Dept. has accused Boston Scientific Corp. of violating a 1995 consent agreement that allowed Boston Scientific's acquisitions of Cardiovascular Imaging Systems, Inc. and SCIMED Life Systems, Inc. to proceed...

Novartis & Astrazeneca divest fungicides, herbicides to form spin-off joint venture.(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... Novartis will divest its worldwide foliar fungicide business based on the strobilurin chemical class to Bayer, and AstraZeneca will divest its worldwide corn herbicide business based on the active ingredient acetochlor to Dow AgroSciences -- to...

Judge finds biz op salesman in contempt for violating a 1996 FTC order.(Chapel Hill Enterprises, LLC.)(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway has found Barry Taylor in civil contempt and entered a $656~257 judgment against him for violating a 1996 FTC order by resuming the sale of greeting card rack and other business opportunities through his North...

Federal court halts alleged home based business op scammers.(Para-Link International)(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... A federal court in Florida issued a temporary restraining order and an asset freeze against three Sarasota-based companies marketing work-at-home paralegal business opportunities, following a FTC complaint that Para-Link International, AAA...

FTC adds defendant to Repair Services case.(Consumer Repair Services, Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 6, 2000... The Commission authorized staff to file amended its complaint against Consumer Repair Services, Inc. to add Manhattan West Marketing, Inc., a Nevada corporation operating in the Central District of California as a defendant. The complaint was...

Calendar.
November 6, 2000... November 8: The ABA Antitrust Section's Exemptions & Immunities Committee will sponsor a Brown Bag call in-luncheon program at noon Central Standard Time to discuss the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals' en banc decision in Cardtoons v. Major...

FTC Staff divided over high-profile slotting fees case.(McCormick and Co.)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... More than a year ago, in October, 1999, a senior FTC antitrust official described for a Congressional hearing an FTC investigation of supermarket shelf-space payments that could lead to charges of anticompetitive activity. At that time, the...

Appeals court resuscitates baby food merger challenge.(Heinz U.S.A.)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... In a stunning decision on November 8th, the D.C. Circuit reversed District Judge Robertson's October 20 decision refusing to enjoin the Beech-Nut/ Heinz merger. Although the decision simply entered an injunction pending appeal, and a further...

Merger Watch.(DTE Energy Co.)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... A settlement with the FTC is said to be (still) very close in the DTE Energy-MCN Energy merger. The parties, says an informed source, are just "ironing out the details." On the other hand, the FTC's review of America Online's acquisition...

Thompson urges B2B lawyers to study specific markets.(Commissioner Mozelle Thompson)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... Commissioner Mozelle Thompson advised antitrust practitioners who are guiding clients forming business to business B2B ventures last week to study how specific markets operate and guide their clients to create value without running afoul of...

Leary on economic uncertainties in antitrust.(FTC Commissioner Thomas B. Leary)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... "There are a number of close, balancing antitrust questions where current economic learning cannot provide definitive answers," FTC Commissioner Thomas B. Leary told economists at the Charles River Associates Annual Meeting on November 15. ...

Don't expect vertical guidelines soon, but don't give up.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... Georgetown University Economics and Law Professor Steven C. Salop recently asked prominent government economists if now is a good time for vertical merger guidelines. But FTC Commissioner Thomas B. Leary told FTC: WATCH that antitrust law is...

Bulow: too many lawyers, too few economists.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... FTC Economics Bureau Director Jeremy Bulow laments that economists are outnumbered by lawyers by four to one at the FTC and that the Commissioners typically don't have either economic advisors or attorney advisors with economic backgrounds....

Leary: FTC eyeing drug patent misconduct.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... The Commission will pursue potential violations in pharmaceutical patent settlement cases far more aggressively than it has up to now, FTC Commissioner Thomas B. Leary told the Northwestern University Law School's 6th Annual Health Care...

ESI study says airline mergers good for you.(Economic Strategy Institute)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... Don't assume conventional wisdom about market consolidation applies to the airline sector, advises a new Economic Strategy Institute (ESi) study "Consolidation, Connectivity, Competition, and Communities: The Advent of National Aviation...

Senate to umpire baseball competition.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... As we went to press, the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee was preparing to hold a hearing on competition in baseball on Tuesday November 21. On July 14, baseball fan DeWine, representing a state with Major League teams in Cincinnati and...

IAEAA info requests to go directly to Competition Bureau director.(1994 International Antitrust Enforcement Assistance Act)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... The Commissioners have amended the FTC's Rules of Practice Regarding Requests from Law Enforcement Agencies for Records and for the Commission to Open Investigations -- to delegate authority to respond to information requests made under the...

Textile and Wool label Rules amended.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... The Commission voted to amend the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act (Textile Rule) and the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 (Wool Rule) The Commission said that a public comment period was not needed because "the amendments are...

North Dakota asks FTC if state or feds best protect financial privacy.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... The North Dakota Department of Banking and Financial Institutions Commissioner asked the FTC to determine how the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) -- that became effective on November 13 with full compliance required by July 1-affects...

More dot coms as ICANN narrows list for new top level domains.(Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... A new scam targets would-be website owners by offering the opportunity to pre-register new top level domain names -- even though the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has not yet announced what and when new top level...

Varian/IMPAC abandon merger plans in the face of government objections.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... Varian Medical Systems Inc. abandoned its plans to buy IMPAC Medical Systems one day after the Justice Department announced it would ask a federal court to block the transaction. DOJ was concerned that the deal would harm competition in the...

Northwest/Continental merger injunction case near settlement.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... The ink on the proposed agreement wasn't dry before the Justice Department announced that Northwest has agreed to sell its controlling interest in Continental. Trial of 1998 charges that the transaction would have injured competition in various...

Billing/collection plan for U.S.-Puerto Rico routes OK.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... Ocean carriers that serve the U.S.-Puerto Rico trades will have billing and collection help now that the Justice Department gave the go-ahead to Carrier Credit Services Inc. (CCS), allowing CCS to act as a billing and collection agent. The...

NYC Food Company exec indicted for bid-rigging, fraud, and related offenses.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... A seven-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Manhattan names Melvyn Merberg, accusing him of participating in four separate schemes to rig bids on produce, dairy, frozen vegetables and other items supplied to the NYC Department...

Verizon's application to provide LD service in Massachusetts raises DOJ alarm.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... Before the FCC allows Verizon (formerly Bell Atlantic) to provide long distance services in Massachusetts, the Commission should consider that Verizon has not demonstrated that it has provided adequately for current and future access to digital...

Election Watch (I).(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... Election Watch (I): The New York Times reported that much of the Election night confusion over the presidential election returns can be traced to a media joint venture "Voter News Service, a little known but influential consortium of TV...

Election Watch (II).(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... Election Watch (II): Now that David Boies has returned to the limelight -- this time the former Microsoft slayer is running legal point with the Democratic Party in Florida -- why not fly down his former rival, John Warden, to work the other...

McCain to pursue retailers.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... McCain to pursue retailers: the newspaper Variety reports that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to have the Commerce Committee, of which he is the chairman, continue its investigation of the entertainment industry's marketing of violent...

International marketing.(International Marketing Supervision Network)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... International marketing: The FTC chairs the International Marketing Supervision Network, and Commissioner Mozelle Thompson is the FTC's designee. Next spring, 29 OECD countries and some others will attend an IMSN meeting in Washington; date to...

Uncle Sam job op scammers $28 million out of pocket.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... William Tankersley was ordered to pay $28,149,600 for consumer redress after Magistrate Judge Theresa L. Springmann agreed with the FTC that he and his eight corporations misrepresented U.S. Post employment programs. Tankersley is also banned...

Internet casino developers invest $550,000 in FTC settlement.(World Interactive Gaming Corp.)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... Internet gambling casino developers will cough up $550,000 for unhappy investors and post $2 million performance bonds prior to promoting online gaming to settle FTC charges that they made deceptive claims to sell their business stock. ...

The following orders are final.(Tyco International Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... SmartScience Laboratories File No. 992-3274 Contact: Janet M. Evans, 202-326-2125 Cox Enterprises, Inc. and Tyco International, Ltd File No. 001-0098 Contact: John B. Kirkwood, 206-220-4484 Unocal Corporation and Agrium, Inc....

Calendar.(Brief Article)
November 20, 2000... November 27 - U.S.v. Microsoft. Microsoft's initial appeal brief due November 29 - "Privacy2000: Information and Security in the Digital Age" hosted by the Technology Policy Group at the Ohio Supercomputer Center, Adam's Mark Hotel,...