The Competitive Edge

Moving On Up: Non-compete and no-poach restrictions in employment contracts in the government's sights, and Special Counsels Amelia McKellar and Kaushalya Mataraaratchi explain how long-standing exceptions to the competition law could be put on gardening leave. Plus subscription traps and Amazon's Iliad flow, Taylor Swift and Ticketmaster, Treasury on AI and the ACL, ASIC and ANZ, and a new Commissioner at the ACCC … All this and M People with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.  

Breaking News:  

• ACCC announces decisions on two of the eight remaining old school mergers on its register, waving through Cuscal's acquisition of payment facilitation supplier Indue Limited but opposing MicroStar Logistics' acquisition of the assets of keg pooling service provider Konvoy Holdings.  

 Links:  

• M People with "Moving On Up" and Loleatta Holloway with "Love Sensation" and "Ride on Time" 
• The Final Countdown on the ACCC's public informal merger clearance register 
• MN-01019: Ampol's proposed acquisition of retail sites from EG Australia
• FTC and Amazon settle for $US2.5bn over Prime subscriptions 
• FTC takes Ticketmaster to court over resales and price and ticket limits 
• ASIC press release and press conference on ANZ agreed penalties 
• Treasury's Final Report in its review of AI and the ACL 
• G+T on Treasury's consultation on non-competes 
• ABC on the rebel R360 league and eligibility for internationals  
• Treasury and ACCC announce the new ACCC Commissioner 
• Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team 

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Kieran Pender from the Human Rights Law Centre joins us to talk about whistleblowers -- how they're protected, how they engage with regulators, the changes that could be coming, and how businesses can encourage accountability in their own culture and processes. Plus the new merger notification waiver form; firings, re-hirings and re-firings in the US antitrust agencies; Google wins, loses or draws on penalties; the ACCC's purple patch in cartel enforcement and the last informal merger reviews race for the finish line. All this and morels with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein of The Competitive Edge podcast.

Breaking News:

• All three judgments and 750,000 words of the Epic Games and class action cases against Apple and Google are now available: Epic v Apple, Epic v Google and all the class action action. Justice Beach has indicated he may be up for additional reasons or judgments on the non-section 46 issues so we may yet break the million-word mark.

Links:

• G+T's analysis of the draft Waiver Notification form
• CJ John Roberts stays the Appeal Court's stay of the stay
• Young MacGyver pilot
• The District Court's penalty decision in US v Google
• ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb's address to the Competition and Consumer Workshop
• New cartel enforcement actions in cranes and cauliflower
• Commitments and understandings in the Delta and BlueScope appeals
• Fisk S02E06 - "Snitches get Riches" on ABC iView
• The last days of chez public informal merger review
• Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team
• Email us at [email protected]

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Partner Geoff Petersen joins us fresh from the ACCC/AER Regulatory Conference with the latest on regulating infrastructure, the energy transition, competition and innovation.   Plus the Government's Economic Reform Roundtable; a second leasehold on the ACCC's acquisitions register earns a new frequently asked question; more casualties at the US antitrust agencies; and what even is a notification waiver?   All this and Sudanese cinema with  co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein of The Competitive Edge podcast.   [Links]  Breaking news:  

• Treasury has released its draft Notification Waiver form for consultation. G+T's analysis compares the draft form to the short-form notification form.  
• Allegedly former FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter is back at work for now after the DC Circuit Court of Appeals found 2-1 that the administration had no likelihood of success.  

 Links:  

• The first episode of "Conference 27" on YouTube  
• Khartoum Offside on Kanopy 
• G+T on Lease Agreements on the Acquisitions Register 
• We've all been saying "Passiona" wrong 
• Former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roger Alford on the DOJ and the HP-Juniper merger 
• Product placement in the Top Gun movies 
• G+T on safeguarding our energy supply 
• Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team 
• Email us at [email protected]  

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Productivity Commissioner Stephen King joins us to talk about regulation and innovation, data and AI, the lost decade of productivity growth, and the baptist and bootlegger issue. Plus Epic wins the first round against Apple and Google, mavericks and icepeople at the ACCC/AER Regulatory Conference, the first acquisition is notified under the new merger regime, and the long haul to the High Court for NSW Ports and the Port of Newcastle. All this and the Rock Bottom Remainders with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.

• G+T on the Epic cases against Apple and Google 
• Koala Airlines' spokesmarsupial on sitting and flying 
• The ACCC's new acquisitions register ft Kongsberg Defence and the Newcastle Aerotropolis  
• Defence images of Naval and Joint Strike Missiles 
• The Productivity Commission's Five Pillars of Productivity inquiry and interim reports  
• Commencement speeches from John F Kennedy and Kermit the Frog 
• The Rock Bottom Remainders at the Miami Book Fair 
• Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team 
• Email us at [email protected]

Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/

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Jennifer Fish, Economist at Charles River Associates, joins us to talk about the new merger approval process and its sharper focus on data and economic analysis, how lawyers can most effectively engage with economists, the state of hipster and hillbilly antitrust, and the representation of women in the profession. Plus the final filing fees and the near-final ACCC merger guidelines, the Final Report of the Digital Platform Services Inquiry, movie ticket surcharges and the final Fast and Furious film, the final stand of the final fired FTC Commissioner, and a surprise musical finale. All this and more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein 

• "When I'm Gone" by The Carter Family, Lulu and the Lampshades and Anna Kendrick 
• G+T on the ACCC’s analytical framework and the process for the new merger regime 
• G+T on the final filing fees and notification thresholds for the new merger regime 
• The ACCC's Digital Platform Services Inquiry 2020-25 
• The ACCC fines Dendy 1650 concession tickets for drip pricing 
• Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team 
• Email us at [email protected]  

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Partners Charles Coorey, Andrew Low and Liana Witt take us deeper into the new merger review process -- the filing fees, the forms and information requirements, and how to engage with the ACCC before and after notifying, with more wrinkles than Winnie the bulldog. Who gets to notify when there's a competitive bidding process? When can you claim confidentiality? How do the ACCC and FIRB work together? This is a recording of the second in our webinar series on Australia's new formal merger system which came into effect on a voluntary basis on 1 July and will be mandatory from 1 January 2026. This episode may qualify for 1 CPD point depending on your jurisdiction.

Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Partners Charles Coorey, Andrew Low and Liana Witt take us deeper into the new merger review process -- the filing fees, the forms and information requirements, and how to engage with the ACCC before and after notifying, with more wrinkles than Winnie the bulldog. Who gets to notify when there's a competitive bidding process? When can you claim confidentiality? How do the ACCC and FIRB work together? This is a recording of the second in our webinar series on Australia's new formal merger system which came into effect on a voluntary basis on 1 July and will be mandatory from 1 January 2026. This episode may qualify for 1 CPD point depending on your jurisdiction.

Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why should you start your legal career in Australia’s leading competition, consumer and market regulation practice? Recent clerks and now team members Amy van Dongen and Elena Khoury, partners Louise Klamka and Andrew Low, and some old friends who have moved on to great things join us in this special episode. Hear what they think about the people, the opportunities and the firm’s focus on innovation and social impact.

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• Students can also get in touch with us via [email protected]
• Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team
• Try our competition law-themed cryptic crossword, inspired but in no way endorsed by Justice Wigney

Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/

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Partner Charles Coorey and pro bono lawyer Jessie-Grace Stephenson read the fine print on consumer protection and product safety -- from quad bikes to button batteries and how businesses can support their vulnerable customers. Plus million-dollar (maybe) fees for complex mergers in the coming merger regime, Hungry Jack's and the existential terror of Garfield, toxophilites aquiver over price-fixing in archery supplies, and a Chatham House competition conference is compliantly discussed. All this and more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. 

• The British Film Institute on punctuation in movie titles 
• Variety on Thunderbolts* and *The New Avengers (spoilers) 
• G+T Partner Andrew Low on digital platform reform and regulation at the Competition Law Conference 
• The burping Garfield toy and Garfield's existential terror  
• The ACCC's enforcement outcomes against Hungry Jack's and Thermomix 
• Australia's original Burger King ft Humphrey B Bear 
• The price-fixing class-action complaint against big archery 
• Treasury's consultation on proposed fees for merger clearance  
• Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team 
• Email us at [email protected]  

Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special Counsel Amelia McKellar joins us to talk trends and developments in antitrust, artificial intelligence and digital regulation in Asia -- what's going on in key jurisdictions and what it all means for Australia. Plus our new-look ministry and what's next for competition and regulation, a win for the ACCC in the Qteq qase and new wrinkles in the Spotless and Ventia action, steak sauce in schools and roaming commissioners in the US. All this and Humphrey's Executor with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.

• Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team 
• Email us at [email protected]  

Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.