Competition

  • March 14, 2024

    Axon, Cities Fight Over Producing Material From FTC Case

    Axon Enterprise is sparring with municipalities accusing the police equipment maker of monopolizing the Taser and body camera markets, with the local governments pushing for what Axon described as the "premature and improper" production of discovery from the Federal Trade Commission's since-abandoned case.

  • March 14, 2024

    Game Developer Seeks Class Cert. In Valve Antitrust Case

    Developer Wolfire Games is asking a Seattle federal judge for class certification in its consolidated antitrust suit against online game seller Valve, saying discovery has brought abundant evidence that the platform uses its most-favored-nation clause to stifle competition and maintain monopoly power.

  • March 14, 2024

    Koch Can't Bring $30M Claim Against Canada Under NAFTA

    Canada prevailed in a $30 million arbitration brought by Koch Industries over the province of Ontario's decision to cancel a cap-and-trade program in 2018, securing dismissal of the claim on jurisdictional grounds.

  • March 14, 2024

    Water Treatment Co. Must Face Rival's Trade Secrets Suit

    A Tennessee federal judge has found that certain issues in a trade secrets suit against industrial water treatment service company ChemTreat need to go before a jury, shooting down arguments including that no trade secret was adequately identified.

  • March 14, 2024

    Mnuchin Says He's Forming Investor Group To Buy TikTok

    Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday he is forming an investor group to buy TikTok, one day after a measure to separate the social media platform from its Chinese owners passed the House.

  • March 14, 2024

    9th Circ. Is Asked To Revive LegalForce's TM Dispute

    Intellectual property firm LegalForce RAPC Worldwide PC has taken its trademark battle with a Japanese company over the brand "LegalForce" to the Ninth Circuit, arguing in its appeal that a federal statute dictates that infringement can occur through equity sales to investors.

  • March 14, 2024

    Drug Wholesalers Want Preliminary OK On $265M Sandoz Deal

    A group of direct purchasers of generic drugs has asked a Pennsylvania federal court for approval of a $265 million settlement with Swiss drugmaker Sandoz over allegations of federal antitrust violations.

  • March 14, 2024

    Italy Fines TikTok €10M For Harmful Content

    Italy's antitrust authority fined TikTok €10 million ($11 million) on Thursday for failing to protect children from potentially dangerous content on the platform.

  • March 14, 2024

    Biden Comes Out Against $14.9B US Steel-Nippon Merger

    President Joe Biden came out in opposition of U.S. Steel's planned $14.9 billion merger with Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. on Thursday, echoing lawmakers who have expressed concerns about the sale of an American institution to a foreign power. 

  • March 14, 2024

    UK Law Change Threatens PE Firm's Newspaper Group Bid

    The government has set out rule changes that would prevent foreign states from owning British newspapers and other print media, a move that could block the takeover of The Daily Telegraph newspaper and The Spectator news magazine by RedBird IMI, an Abu Dhabi-backed private equity firm.

  • March 13, 2024

    TriZetto's $200M Jury Awards Thrown Out In Syntel Dispute

    A New York federal judge on Wednesday vacated roughly $200 million in damages awards Cognizant affiliate TriZetto won in a trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement suit against Syntel, ruling that the awards were improperly calculated.

  • March 13, 2024

    Amazon Ducks Consumers' 'Buy Box'-Shipping Antitrust Suit

    Amazon.com is facing one less consumer antitrust suit after a Seattle federal judge said Wednesday that Prime members failed to define the relevant market or explain how they were harmed by policies tying placement of the "Buy Box" feature with sellers paying for its shipping services and cannot fix the shortcomings of their complaint.

  • March 13, 2024

    Epic Says Apple Is 'Blatantly' Violating App Store Order

    Epic Games told a California federal court on Wednesday that Apple is "blatantly" violating an order issued under state law barring anti-steering rules in the App Store by imposing new fees and restrictions that make linking to outside payment methods effectively impossible.

  • March 13, 2024

    Robinhood Says Investors Shouldn't Get Discovery Extension

    Trading platform Robinhood has told a Florida federal court that it should not be required to produce documents requested by investors in their "eleventh hour" motion to extend discovery in a suit alleging investors were damaged when Robinhood suspended purchases of so-called meme stocks to avoid a purported liquidity problem.

  • March 13, 2024

    Cherry IP Deception Claims Would Inflame Jury, Canada Says

    The Canadian government has told a Washington federal judge that jurors should not hear allegations that its IP licenser deceived the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in a trial against Washington fruit growers it claims rebranded a unique Canadian sweet cherry variety as their own, citing the "inflammatory" nature of the growers' counterclaim.

  • March 13, 2024

    Versata Wants Axed $105M Ford Verdict Revived Or Expanded

    Versata Software has urged the Federal Circuit to undo a Michigan federal judge's decision erasing a nearly $105 million trade secrets and breach of contract verdict it won against Ford, and argued that it was wrongly barred from presenting damages theories seeking up to $1.3 billion.

  • March 13, 2024

    Google Calls DOJ's 'Fake Privilege' Docs Citation 'Misleading'

    The D.C. federal judge weighing the fate of Google's search business should pay no heed to discussions, cited by the Justice Department, from company lawyers in a separate case of "fake privilege" hiding otherwise discoverable evidence, Google has said.

  • March 13, 2024

    AI Auto Damage-Assessing Giant Accused Of Monopoly

    Tractable Inc. is hitting back at CCC Intelligent Solutions with counterclaims in an ongoing trade secrets spat, alleging in a new motion CCC has leveraged its dominant share of the auto collision-assessment market to stifle consumer choice and increase prices in violation of antitrust laws.

  • March 13, 2024

    Meta's 'Expense & Annoyance' Not Enough To Stop FTC Tweak

    A D.C. Circuit panel refused late Tuesday to temporarily block proposed Federal Trade Commission tweaks to a $5 billion data privacy settlement aimed at blocking Meta's monetization of children's data — finding the social media giant has not shown it is likely to succeed in its appeal of the changes, nor that it will suffer irreparable harm.

  • March 13, 2024

    Jury Must Weigh Willfulness In Secrets Case, Calif. Court Says

    A California state appellate court has found a jury will have to decide whether a former director at Applied Medical Distribution Corp. willfully misappropriated trade secrets from his former employer.

  • March 13, 2024

    HP Says It's Upfront About Blocking Ink Cartridges

    HP has urged an Illinois federal judge to throw out consumers' claims that it has a monopoly over the replacement-ink cartridge market and used software updates to block consumers from using cheaper rival cartridges in HP printers, saying it "goes to great lengths" to disclose that its printers are intended to work only with cartridges that have an HP security chip.

  • March 13, 2024

    FTC Bid To Block Kroger's $25B Albertsons Deal Set For Aug.

    An Oregon federal court has scheduled an August hearing on the Federal Trade Commission's challenge of Kroger's planned $24.6 billion purchase of fellow grocery store giant Albertsons, a deal also under attack by state enforcers in Washington and Colorado.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ex-VP's 'Dereliction' Provokes Default Judgment As Sanction

    An exasperated judge in North Carolina gave an HVAC company an early win by default against a former executive accused of stealing trade secrets, calling his failure to meet discovery demands "dereliction" and granting his former employer's request for sanctions as a result.

  • March 13, 2024

    40-Nation Noncompete Must Be Nixed, Conn. Trader Says

    A Connecticut trader who quit his job at Rowayton-based Graham Capital Management LP is seeking a quick win on arguments that his two-year noncompete agreement, which he says bans him from working in more than 40 nations worldwide, is too broad to be enforced under Nutmeg State law.

  • March 13, 2024

    EB-5 Suit Says Hotel Project Tricked Non-English Speakers

    A real estate investment company is facing a proposed class action in California federal court alleging it took advantage of immigrant investors' limited English by fraudulently making them agree that the company and an Embassy Suites project could keep their investments indefinitely.

Expert Analysis

  • Challenging Standing In Antitrust Classes: The Uninjured

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    In virtually every antitrust class action, parties at the certification phase disagree about whether the proposed class includes uninjured members, but the goals of Rule 23 and judicial economy are best served by synthesizing two distinct approaches circuit courts take on this issue, say Michael Hamburger and Holly Tao at White & Case.

  • How 'Purely Legal' Issues Ruling Applies To Rule 12 Motions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Dupree v. Younger holding that purely legal issues resolved on summary judgment need not be reraised in post-trial motions guides litigators on when to preserve certain arguments for appeal, but raises the question of how Rule 12(b) and (c) motion denials will be affected, say Blaine Evanson and Jeremy Christiansen at Gibson Dunn.

  • Pros And Cons Of Top-Four Network Rule In The Digital Age

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    In the era of streaming, broadcasters have recently urged the Federal Communications Commission to remove the top-four network rule — which prohibits common ownership of any two major network stations — in some or all markets, but others argue the rule preserves competition and diversity, say Gregg Skall and Ashley Brydone-Jack at Telecommunications Law Professionals.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

  • How Merger Review Overhaul Could Affect Health Industry

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    For those in the health care industry considering growth and expansion strategies, the antitrust agencies' recent proposals for new Hart-Scott-Rodino rules and more complex merger guidelines will increase deal timelines, the merging parties' burden, and overall uncertainty and potential antitrust risk as to the outcome, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • A Closer Look At China's Landmark Pharma Antitrust Ruling

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    The Supreme People's Court's recent decision in Yangtze River Pharma v. HIPI Pharma — the first antitrust litigation in China's active pharmaceutical ingredient sector — indicates a balanced regulatory approach between competition concerns and intellectual property rights protection, say analysts at The Brattle Group.

  • Perspectives

    More States Should Join Effort To Close Legal Services Gap

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    Colorado is the most recent state to allow other types of legal providers, not just attorneys, to offer specific services in certain circumstances — and more states should rethink the century-old assumptions that shape our current regulatory rules, say Natalie Anne Knowlton and Janet Drobinske at the University of Denver.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • Steps To Take On AI Operations Amid FTC's ChatGPT Probe

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    Following the Federal Trade Commission's civil investigative demand for OpenAI, it is foreseeable that many more investigations into artificial intelligence and its impact on consumers are coming, but companies can be prepared, say David Shonka and Benjamin Redgrave at Redgrave.

  • More UK Collective Actions On The Horizon After Forex Ruling

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    A U.K. appeals court's recent decision in Forex case Evans v. Barclays is likely to significantly widen the scope of opt-out collective proceedings that can be brought, paving the way for more class actions by prospective claimants who have previously been unable to bring individual claims, say Robin Henry and Tamara Davis at Collyer Bristow.

  • Conn. Ruling Highlights Keys To Certificate-Of-Need Appeals

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    The Connecticut Supreme Court's recent decision in High Watch Recovery Center v. Department of Public Health, rejecting rigid application of statutes concerning certificate-of-need procedure, provides important guidance on building an administrative record to support a finding that a case is contested, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Opinion

    'US Cyber Trust Mark' Program Threatens Privacy, Innovation

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    The Federal Communications Commission's recently announced plan to create a "U.S. Cyber Trust Mark,” which would voluntarily affix to smart devices to boost consumer confidence and industry security standards, could lead to an erosion of consumer privacy, competition, innovation, and any firewall between the government and the individual, says attorney Donna Etemadi.

  • Opinion

    Has The NCAA Not Learned NIL Policy Lessons Of The Past?

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    The NCAA has applied its heavy hand — which has been slapped back by courts and legislatures — again, saying that colleges must comply with its name, image and likeness policies even if they conflict with state laws, but recent antitrust decisions might caution against its reasoning, says Kenneth Jacobsen at Temple University.

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