Antitrust

The FTC and DOJ jointly published draft merger guidelines reflecting the agencies’ current aggressive approach to merger enforcement. In an article, Mintz Antitrust attorneys discuss the draft guidelines’ move away from the consumer welfare standard, lower thresholds for deals presumed to be illegal, and other key changes, including a focus on the effect of industry roll-ups.

Read the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI, including a recent FCC and NSF Workshop on AI’s implications for communications networks and consumers.

Read the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI, including the FTC’s enforcement actions and guidance related to AI.

On Monday, the FTC lost its bid to preliminarily enjoin Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, the maker of the popular video game, “Call of Duty.” 

Read the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI, including the newly introduced National AI Commission Act that seeks to establish a commission to formulate a legislative framework on AI.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced this week its Notice of Proposed Rule Making, drafted in concurrence with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), that, if implemented would result in significant and burdensome changes to the U.S. merger review process.

The accelerating advances in AI have heightened legislative, executive, and regulatory activities focused on its implications. In a series of articles, Mintz and ML Strategies explore the federal government’s actions in this area, such as the national AI strategic plan and upcoming US Senate forums aimed at forging consensus and informing future legislation.

Read the second edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, or regulatory activities related to AI.

Read the inaugural issue of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, or regulatory activities related to AI.

The Federal Trade Commission, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, recently released a summary of the Agencies’ June 2022 joint workshop titled “The Future of Pharmaceuticals: Examining the Analysis of Pharmaceutical Mergers.”

On April 13, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission put approximately 670 advertisers on notice that they should avoid deceiving consumers with advertisements that make product claims that cannot be backed up or substantiated.

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced Monday that it had reversed its in-house Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) Initial Decision dismissing a complaint brought by FTC staff against Illumina, Inc.’s acquisition of GRAIL, Inc.

On March 16, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ Antitrust Division”) announced that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging a former health care staffing executive of fixing wages for nurses.

The Federal Trade Commission on Friday announced a Request for Information regarding “franchise agreements and franchisor business practices, including how franchisors may exert control over franchisees and their workers.”

On January 24, 2023, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and state attorneys general for California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against Google LLC (“Google”).

In a closely watched private antitrust case, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. (“St. Francis”) sued its rival, the Hartford Healthcare Corporation (“HHC”), and on February 13, 2023, the litigation survived a motion to dismiss.

Late last week, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced its withdrawal of a string of healthcare enforcement policy statements issued in 1993, 1996, and 2011.

Mintz Antitrust and Government Law attorneys examine an FTC proposed rule that would ban almost all non-compete provisions in employment relationships. They also discuss why employers should consider auditing non-compete policies and practices and exploring alternatives such as non-disclosure or customer non-solicitation agreements.

This alert discusses the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, which was signed into law on December 29, 2022, and how it substantially increases merger filing fees under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

Prior to the recent midterm elections, we wrote about five Senate Republicans who issued a warning letter to major U.S. law firms regarding the potential antitrust implications of Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) investing and activities. The letter advises that ESG activities may be viewed as “climate cartels” and present antitrust risk when firms engage in ESG group initiatives. With the midterm election results, those Senate Republicans will likely not be able to follow through on this line of investigation. However, House Republicans have taken up the issue, and they will have the ability to conduct antitrust scrutiny of ESG initiatives.