This month has so far seen two significant actions taken by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division (Antitrust Division) on wage-fixing and no-poach litigation and enforcement matters, which has shed additional light in an enforcement area that has needed
Antitrust & Competition Blog
The Antitrust & Competition Blog, published by Steptoe LLP, covers developments and analysis in antitrust and competition law. It addresses topics such as regulatory changes, enforcement actions, and litigation trends involving antitrust statutes like the Robinson-Patman Act. The blog discusses issues related to patent settlements and their antitrust implications, digital market regulations including the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act and the EU Digital Markets Act, and the role of business users under these frameworks. It also examines competition authority investigations and policy shifts affecting various industries, including pharmaceuticals, technology, and retail sectors.
Latest from Antitrust & Competition Blog - Page 6
US Procurement Collusion Strike Force Issues Its First Indictment
A little over a year after its creation the Procurement Collusion Strike Force has announced its first public indictments. The Strike Force was created to focus on rooting out collusion and related schemes aimed at impeding competition in public contracting. …
The European Commission’s Findings of the Evaluation of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation
On September 8, 2020, the European Commission (Commission) published its findings of the evaluation of the Vertical Block Exemption (VBER) and the Vertical Guidelines.…
Another Generic Drug Company Accepts a Criminal Indictment Alleging Collusion
(This is a cross-post from Steptoe’s new Investigations and Enforcement Blog.)
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s investigation into price-fixing by generic drug companies continues to remain one of the Antitrust Division’s most active matters. This week the Antitrust…
European Commission’s Regulatory Proposals in the Digital Marketplace – The Outcomes of Our Recent Webinar Discussions
In August 2020 Steptoe’s Antitrust & Competition team in partnership with FTI Consulting hosted two webinars to discuss EU consultations which are likely to affect the regulation of digital space across Europe.…
An Unusual Purchasing Cartel: EU Fines Ethylene Purchasers
On July 14, 2020, the European Commission adopted its 33rd cartel settlement decision: an unusual one involving a purchasing cartel, in the ethylene merchant market. Four companies were found liable for having colluded for over 5 years to drive down…
New Cooperation Agreement Between the DOJ Antitrust Division and SEC
On June 22, 2020 the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (Antitrust Division) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that they had signed an interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to allow for more cooperation and communication between the two…
UK Competition Authority Enquiry into Facebook’s Acquisition of Giphy
On June 9, 2020, the UK Competition Markets Authority (CMA) served an initial enforcement order under section 72(2) of the Enterprise Act 2002 on Facebook in relation to their completed acquisition of Giphy.
The CMA has explained in a statement…
DOJ Touts the Success of its Procurement Collusion Strike Force and Seeks a Global Effort on This Front
Last year, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced that it was creating a Procurement Collusion Strike Force (Strike Force) to focus on bid-rigging in public procurement noting that this area was “particularly vulnerable to collusion.” The creation of the…
DOJ Antitrust Division Enters into Another DPA with a Healthcare Company
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently issued a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) to Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS), an oncology center in Florida. FCS admitted to allocating medical and radiation oncology treatments provided to cancer patients in…