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Blog O’ Blogs November

 |  November 29, 2019
November brings us closer to the end of the year, and the introspective, questioning, and somewhat nostalgic pieces this month reflect the intensity of a big year for antitrust – one whose long-lasting consequences will take shape in the coming months. Discussions over Big Tech have touched on the very idea of what, exactly, Antitrust is for, and opened the arena for several interpretations, styles of management, and strategies to fight it out across jurisdictions all over the world. With advances coming at breaneck speed, and a growing multitude of antitrust and consumer protection voices contributing to the discussion, expect an intellectually stimulating, if philosophical, winter to come…

Playing Chess like Commissioner Vestager
Every world chess champion possessed his own unique playing style. Were Commissioner Vestager to play high-level chess, she would probably play like Mikhail Tal…
Dymitrios Kyriazis (European Law Blog)

And Again: Liability for Cartel Damages
Spain has recently provided the international media with more than just one news story worthy of making frontpage headlines. From a competition law perspective, the next big thing could just have been launched from Barcelona… 
Hans-Markus Wagener (D’Kart)

Anarchy, State, and Blockchain Utopia
Imagine a space in which the Rule of Law does not have the same prevalence it has in the real space. Imagine a space where fundamental rights are created and enforced by the technology, a space in which your rights are absolute, meaning that you enjoy no limits on them…
Thibaut Schrepel 
(Le Concurrentialiste)

Antitrust Division Announces Procurement Collusion Strike Force
The Antitrust Division, in conjunction with US Attorneys’ Offices, the FBI, and various government agencies’ Inspector General’s Offices, announces that they have launched a strike force to help uncover bidding collusion on government contracts…
Robert Connolly 
(Cartel Capers)

Avoidance devices won’t avoid HSR penalties
The Commission and Department of Justice’s recent Hart-Scott-Rodino case makes an important point: restructuring a deal to avoid or delay an HSR filing may subject the merging companies to substantial penalties…
Marian Bruno (FTC)

3 Priorities for Policy-Makers thinking of AI and Machine Learning for Procurement Governance
I find that carrying out research in the digital technologies and governance field can be overwhelming. And that is for an academic currently having the luxury of full-time research leave…
Albert Sanchez-Graells (How to Crack a Nut)

How a Municipality Can Get Rich at the Expense of Competition and What We Should Do About it
Selling a product or service when there is little to no competition is a great way to get rich. An economist might call some of those profits “monopoly rents.”…
Jarod Bona (The Antitrust Attorney)

Can Deals That Do Not Trigger an HSR Filing Raise Antitrust Concerns? Yes, Buyer and Sellers Beware!
The federal antitrust agencies continue their emphasis on investigating, challenging, and unwinding consummated transactions that are not reportable under the Hart Scott Rodino (“HSR”) Act…
Doyle, Barlow & Mazard PLLC (Antitrust Lawyer)

The Utah Statement: Reviving Antimonopoly Traditions for the Era of Big Tech
Over the last several years, a movement to revive the anti-monopoly traditions of the United States has gained increasing momentum and even retaken its place in presidential political debate…
Tim Wu (OneZero)

The Danish Supreme Court’s Ruling in the “Road Marking Case”: The End of a Joint Bidding Era
In this insightful and thoughtful blog post, Heidi Sander Løjmand discusses the hot-off-the-press Judgment of the Danish Supreme Court in longstanding litigation concerned with joint bidding in procurement procedures…
Heidi Sander Løjmand (How to Crack a Nut)

Is Go the Ultimate Antitrust Boardgame?
In the ancient game of Go, players compete by placing stones on a grid board with the goal of enclosing the greatest amount of territory with their stones. Think of the board as a two-dimension product space…
Ramsi Woodcock (What am I missing?)

Antitrust remedies to the domination of digital platform technologies and the acquisition of nascent competitors
The debate over the role of large internet companies and their impact on the U.S. economy ranges from those who see nothing wrong to proposals to break them up…
Michael Kades
(Washington Center for Equitable Growth)

Amendment to China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law
This is the first major amendment to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law since its implementation in 1993, and it will have a significant impact on businesses in China…
Shi Bisheng & King & Wood Mallesons (China Law Insight)

Pay-for-delay and the structure of Article 101(1) TFEU: points of law raised in Lundbeck and Paroxetine
People sometimes ask me how much time I devote to the blog. And I almost invariably answer by saying that the correct question is how much I benefit from the blog…
Pablo Ibanez Colomo 
(Chilling Competition
)