Hearing But Not Listening: Comparative Competition Law and the DOJ Monopoly Report

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Spencer Waller of Chicago Loyola Law School has some critical thoughts on the DOJ report "Competition and Monopoly: Single-Firm Conduct Under Section 2 of the Sherman Act" in his short article Hearing But Not Listening: Comparative Competition Law and the DOJ Monopoly Report.

ABSTRACT: The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) monopoly report is enormously disappointing for a number of reasons. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) was wise to participate in this important project, but equally wise to distance itself from the final work product. The final report represents a serious effort, but reads in too many places like a justification for a record of inaction by the DOJ and an attempt to lock in future administrations to a similar course.

I suspect that the report will achieve neither of these goals and hope that the DOJ’s Antitrust Division of the next administration rejoins the FTC in bringing both innovative and traditional monopolization investigations and cases where appropriate.