Digital platforms are under immense public scrutiny, in the United States and elsewhere, leading to investigations and cases likely to be filed. But how to understand the complex antitrust analysis relevant to platforms including the measurement of power and relevant markets? And if an antitrust case is made against platforms, what’s the fix? Prof. Herbert Hovenkamp, a leading scholar, joins Anora Wang and Christina Ma to discuss the U.S. congressional investigation of platforms as reported in October 2020 and considerations that should go in the design of antitrust remedies involving platforms.

Related Links:

U.S. House Report on Competition in Digital Markets (October 2020) Herbert Hovenkamp, Antitrust and Platform Monopoly

Hosted by:

Anora Wang, Winston & Strawn LLP and Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Antitrust class actions are rarely tried all the way through to a jury verdict. How did a team of lawyers from Columbus, Ohio and Washington, D.C. win a defense verdict in not one, but two antitrust trials in an 18-month period? Jim King and Jay Levine talk with Alicia Downey and John Roberti about how the cases were won. Hear from their younger colleagues about the lessons they learned and the most memorable moments in the courtroom. Listen to this episode to catch up with a case that has been ongoing since 2008, with yet more twists and turns to come.

Featured Guests: Allen Carter, Senior Associate, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP and Arlene Boruchowitz, Associate, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

Related Links:

In re Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation, No. 19-1088 (3d Cir. June 22, 2020)

Hosted by:

Alicia L. Downey, Downey Law LLC and John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy LLP

Market definition is a core concept in antitrust law. While product markets are usually defined based on substitutability, are there situations where products that are not substitutes belong in the same market? Kevin Hahm, a partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth and a long-time FTC enforcer, joins Sergei Zaslavsky and Christina Ma to discuss bundle and cluster markets --- those unique situations where products that are not substitutes are grouped in the same market. Listen to the podcast to learn what bundle and cluster markets are and why they matter.

Related Links:

ProMedica Sixth Circuit Opinion  Staples II District of DC Opinion Whole Foods DC Circuit Opinion

Hosted by:

Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Sergei Zaslavsky, O'Melveny & Myers

The 54 African countries are becoming increasingly important from a competition law point of view. But can we assume the rules are the same as elsewhere? George Lipimile of COMESA and Jocelyn Katz of ENSafrica join John Roberti and Matthew Hall to discuss key issues in African competition law. Listen to this episode to learn about some of the features that make the law on the African continent unique.

Related Links:

COMESA Competition Commission

South Africa: Babelegi excessive pricing case

South Africa: Dis-Chem excessive pricing case

South Africa: ENS newsflash on competition exemptions for banking and retail property sectors to support the Coronavirus fallout

South Africa: ENS newsflash on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the Competition Act

Namibian Competition Commission: update on Consumer Exploitation Complaints (May 2020)

Malawi CFTC: Excessive Pricing Of Bus Services Due To Covid 19 And Enforcement Of Bus Fare Tables (June 2020)

South Africa: Competition Commission’s Guidelines for the Assessment of Public Interest Provisions in Mergers

Kenya: Telkom-Airtel merger review decision

Nigeria: FCCP Act

Namibia: Draft Competition Bill

eSwatini: Draft Competition Bill

Malawi CFTC: Suspected Collusive Practices And Unconscionable Conduct By Independent Schools (May 2020)

South Africa: Competition Tribunal Confirms 14th Settlement In Maize Cartel Case

Mauritius: Fines of Rs 76 million recommended, on two suppliers of chemical fertilisers for illegal cartel conducts

International: ICN Guidance on Enhancing Cross-Border Leniency Cooperation

Nigeria: Businesses tighten as Commission plans to embark on raids

Hosted by:

John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy LLP and Matthew Hall, Partner, McGuireWoods London LLP

Our Curious Amalgam is having a party and you're invited! In this special one-year anniversary episode, host Alicia Downey speaks with guests Brian Henry, immediate past chair of the ABA Antitrust Law Section, and John Roberti, the regular co-host of OCA, about how they created a podcast from scratch, including the origin story of our curious name. Listen to this episode to hear about our curious co-hosts' favorite episodes over the past year.

Hosted by:

Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC

There has been substantial discussion of enhanced antitrust enforcement by what has been referred to as the “new” Brandeis School of Antitrust; but that implies that there was an original Brandeis School of Antitrust. What can we learn from this original school? Storied antitrust enforcer, academic and practitioner Tim Muris joins John Roberti and Christina Ma for a discussion of the last great effort to enhance antitrust enforcement and how it developed. Listen to this episode to learn more about the past and whether it may repeat itself.

Related Links: Timothy J. Muris and J. Howard Beales III, FTC Consumer Protection at 100: 1970s Redux or Protecting Markets To Protect Consumers, 83 George Washington Law Review 2157 

Timothy J. Muris and Jonathan E. Nuechterlein, Chicago and Its Discontents (with) (Forthcoming University of Chicago Law Review)

Timothy J. Muris , Will the FTC’s Success Continue?

Timothy J. Muris and Jonathan E. Nuechterlein, Antitrust in the Internet Era: The Legacy of United States v. A&P, 54 Rev. of Industrial Org. 651 (2019)

Hosted by:

Christina C. Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP

Agriculture sits at the center of the U.S. economy and has witnessed increased consolidation in the last several decades. How can antitrust law and merger policy protect competition in agriculture, from fair terms for seed purchasers to ensuring ample processors? Mark Tobey, former special counsel for agriculture at the U.S. Department of Justice, joins Tammy Zhu and John Roberti to discuss the past, present, and future of competition concerns in agriculture. Listen to this episode to learn how to analyze an agricultural merger and issues to spot when negotiating an agtech partnership.

Related Links: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/atr/legacy/2012/05/16/283291.pdf

Hosted by:

Tammy Zhu, Legal Counsel, Medallia, Inc. and John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy LLP

The European Commission's EU State aid investigations into the tax ruling practices of EU countries are highly controversial - none more so than its ruling, overturned in court, that Apple pay back multi-billion Euros to Ireland. What is EU State aid law and what are these cases about? Alfonso Lamadrid, Brussels-based lawyer with Garrigues, joins Christina Ma and Matthew Hall to discuss the background to the Apple/Ireland case, the findings in the case, why it was overturned and the implications of this. Listen to this episode to learn more about the critical area of EU State aid law and its application to tax rulings in the EU.

Related Links:

European Commission 2016 press release on Apple/Ireland State aid decision European Commission 2016 Apple/Ireland State aid decision European Commission 2020 statement (Commissioner Vestager) on General Court judgment overturning 2016 Apple/Ireland State aid decision General Court of the European Union 2020 press release on Apple/Ireland judgment General Court of the European Union 2020 Apple/Ireland judgment

Hosted by:

Christina Ma, Associate, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Matthew Hall, Partner, McGuireWoods London LLP

Although there is little question as to the need for affordable, accessible, and high-quality pharmaceuticals, there is immense disagreement as to how best to achieve that end. What are the key issues facing pharmaceutical antitrust enforcement today? Michael Kades, Director of Markets and Competition Policy for the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, joins Christina Ma and John Roberti to discuss the current state of pay-for-delay, the FTC's Daraprim case, FTC restitution before SCOTUS, and biologics. Listen to this episode for a quick primer on things to pass and things to come in pharmaceutical antitrust enforcement.

Related Links:

https://equitablegrowth.org/competitive-edge-underestimating-the-cost-of-underenforcing-u-s-antitrust-laws/ https://equitablegrowth.org/congress-adopts-historic-prescription-drug-pricing-reform/ https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/2020.01.27_daraprim_complaint_final_redacted.pdf https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/19-825/126165/20191219140044609_No.%2019-__%20PetitionForAWritOfCertiorari%20and%20Appendix%20FTC%20v.%20Credit%20Bureau%20Center.pdf

Hosted by:

Christina Ma, Associate, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy

Battles in the pharmaceutical antitrust world have been increasingly heated, and to a great extent rightly so, as people have devoted more attention to this space in the past decades. But as measured against the U.S. antitrust laws, what has changed or will change in the scrutiny of pharmaceutical companies’ conduct? Eric Grannon, a leading defense practitioner, joins Anora Wang and John Roberti to discuss three main areas—reverse payment, product hopping, and class certification—that get the most heat. Listen to this episode to learn what is about to come in the U.S. pharmaceutical antitrust wars.

Related Links:

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al. (FTC v. Actavis)

Hosted by:

John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP and Anora Wang, Winston & Strawn LLP