The Robinson-Patman Act: Everyone Old Is New Again
Originally passed in the mid-1930s to protect small grocery businesses in the face of fast-growing chain supermarkets that could negotiate steep discounts for bulk...
Robinson-Patman Ascendant?
It almost goes without saying that Walmart gets the best prices, which are then passed on to customers in the store. You go to...
Resumed FTC Enforcement Against Price Discrimination, and Ramifications of a Conscious...
In September of 2022, FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya gave a speech in which he discussed the resumption of Robinson-Patman enforcement by the FTC. In...
Antitrust Chronicle® – Defining Platform Markets
Dear Readers,
Market definition is perhaps the fundamental step in any antitrust analysis. If competition rules are to seek to regulate markets, and markets (by...
Fragile Giants: Reassessing Market Power in Platform Ecosystems
It is widely assumed that platform technology markets are inherently prone to monopoly outcomes in which a single firm or a handful of firms...
The Impact of Economic Analysis on Market Definition in the Context...
While advances in economic theory, econometrics and data availability have helped antitrust authorities to fine-tune their approach to market definition in traditional brick and...
Platform Market Definition in EU Antitrust Law: The Case of Android
In April 2020, the European Commission launched the review of the Market Definition Notice (MDN), which had remained unaltered since its adoption in 1997....
How to Approach the Calculation of Overcharge by Multisided Platforms
The recent AMEX decision has introduced the economics of “multisided platforms,” “transaction platforms,” “indirect network effects,” and “two-sided analysis” into antitrust analysis. As is...
Compare the Markets: Two-Sided Market Definition in the Comparethemarket Case
In competition law, how to define markets in the context of two-sided platforms is a hot topic. Drawing on the judgment of the UK...
Market Definition and Three 19a Designations Under German Antitrust Law: Alphabet,...
The Bundeskartellamt has designated Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon as 19a firms. Thus, they are potentially subject to specific competition law interventions under a special...