Blog o’ Blogs August 2014

Lindsay McSweeney
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August 2014, Volume 4, Number 8
We’ll leave it to you whether Chillin’ Competition is serious with their posting about DG Comp’s beach investigation, but otherwise we’re hoping to bring clarity about such key issues as China, the NCAA decision, Amazon, SEPs, protectionism, sentencing, discounts, and evidence.
A post from the past
Silly posts never get old.
Alfonso Lamadrid (Chillin’ Competition)
Q. and A.: David Hoffman on Antimonopoly Investigations into Foreign Companies in China
It’s funny that no one is looking at this from the perspective of what would actually constitute a monopoly situation.
Didi Kirsten Tatlow (Sinosphere)
China Ramps Up Antitrust Enforcement With Second Round Of Raids Of Microsoft
The main defect in the current guidelines is that the primary driver of an individuals’ sentence is the volume of commerce of the conspiracy.
Aymeric Dumas-Eymard (Antitrust Today)
Antitrust Trial Verdict Gives Athletes Partial Victory Over NCAA
It confronts and debunks the NCAA’s efficiency justifications for their cartel-like restrictions on athletic scholarships.
Alden Abbott (Truth on the Market)
The N.C.A.A.’s Nod to Reality
It is far too late for the N.C.A.A. to rein in the commercialization of college sports.
Editorial Board (N.Y. Times)
The Two Amazons: The Disruptor and the Architect
So one Amazon is the relentless one pursuing a disruption strategy. But the other Amazon is the one that arises because it is no longer a start-up.
Joshua Gans (Digitopoly)
New Paper on SSOs, SEP and Antitrust by Joanna Tsai & Joshua Wright
This is an important contribution to the growing literature on patented innovation and SSOs, if only due to the heightened interest in these issues by the FTC and the Antitrust Division at the DOJ.
Adam Mossoff (Truth on the Market)
Pfizer/AstraZeneca and the Public Interest: Do Vince Cable’s Foreign Takeover Proposal Prescribe the Right Medication?
Furthermore, at a fundamental level, the UK must ensure it takes every step to preserve its reputation as a nation that is open for business.
David Reader (Competition Policy Blog)
A Look at Other Significant Submissions to the Sentencing Commission on Possible Reforms to the Antitrust Guidelines
Without the DOJ seeking amendments to the guidelines, it is unlikely the Commission will seek any changes.
Robert Connolly (Cartel Capers)
Can Bundled Discounts Be Illegal If Offered by a Firm Without Market Power?
It is difficult enough to know when a monopolist’s bundled discount might be found illegal; now, claims against manufacturers with about one-third of the market might need to be defended. 
Steven J. Cernak (AntitrustConnect Blog)
Changing Old Antitrust Thinking for a New Gilded Age
The trust is back, baby.
Steven Davidoff Solomon (DealB%k)
Does a Refusal to Deal With a Competitor Create Antitrust Liability?
Courts shouldn’t become central planners (the Court’s words), acting like a parent telling two siblings to play nicely together (my words).
Jarod Bona (The Antitrust Attorney Blog)
 
Highlights from Josh Wright’s Interview
A commitment to evidence-based antitrust also means that the agency shouldn’t get ahead of itself in restricting conduct with known consumer benefits and only theoretical (i.e., not empirically established) harms.
Thom Lambert (Truth on the Market)
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