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Jan 2012 Blog o’ Blogs

By  |  January 24, 2012
It’s a presidential election year so we’re starting with a political salvo on large corporations, antitrust, and innovation. The next political entry comes from an unusual source—the Law Librarian’s Blog. Several commentators then take on the regulators. We continue with insights on issues that will be sure to occupy antitrust attention in 2012—Google’s supposed desire to monopolize the web world, ditto Apple with eBooks, and the muddled question of class certification. And we end by celebrating a major antitrust anniversary.
Scale and Innovation in Today’s Economy
Scale is not the enemy of American prosperity, when achieved through honest competition.
Michael Mandel (Progressive Policy Institute)

Antitrust as Self-Medication
What’s critical about these roles for big companies is that they require that you have lots of entrepreneurial firms to compete with the incumbents.
Jim Manzi (National Review)

Doing De-Regulation Right
There won’t be any Kumbaya moments here, just a lot of grueling political horsetrading, but there’s still plenty of scope for agreement.
Kevin Drum (Mother Jones)
AALL’s Biggest Blunder of 2011
I  think our association’s way-over-the-top antitrustism takes the cake.
Law Librarian Blog
A Year of Aggressive Antitrust Oversight
And no letup in that oversight is expected any time soon.
Ronald Orol (Market Watch)
Divining a Regulator’s Intent
When a regulator’s signals get blurry, resources may be squandered.
Hal Singer (Truth on the Market)
Economic Evidence and Analysis at the Early Stages of EU Merger Control Proceedings
Is there an argument that discussions between the parties and the CET are a waste of resources?
Frederic Depoortere (Kluwer Competition Law Blog)
The Google+ Antitrust Smoking Gun
Usually one of the hardest things to prove in an antitrust case is anti-competitive intent and motive, but Google’s CEO has made that much easier for antitrust authorities.
Scott Cleland (Forbes)

Why Google’s Biggest Problem with Search Your World Isn’t Antitrust
Google is not violating antitrust law, first and foremost, because it does not have a monopoly on search.
Jerry Brito (Time)
Is Apple Forcing Customers to Pay More for eBooks? Global Developments in the Alleged eBook Price-Fixing Case
The case will be proceeding simultaneously with the European Union investigation, a fact that has increasingly become a trend in cases involving American tech giants such as Apple or Google.
Pola Karolczyk (Berkeley Global Antitrust Blog)
Seventh Circuit: Antitrust Class Certification Doesn’t Require Uniform Price Increases
In addition to helping clear a path for antitrust class actions in complex industries, the timing of the Messner opinion is interesting.
Ronald Wick (Class Action Defense Review)
30 Years Ago a Battered AT&T Cried Uncle Sam
…and the telecommunications industry would never be the same.
Paul McNamara (BuzzBlog)