Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog

Private Enforcement of Competition Law: New Directions

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Private Enforcement of Competition Law: New Directions

The GW Competition Law Center hosts this conference with the goal of promoting discussion among policymakers, practitioners, and academics -- from the United States and abroad -- about new policy initiatives relating to private enforcement, emerging experience, and new research initiatives.

Friday and Saturday,
February 27 and 28, 2009

Jacob Burns Moot Court Room
The George Washington University Law School
Lerner Hall, first floor
2000 H Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20006

For more information or to RSVP, please contact:
Leslie J. Duche
Senior Secretary, GW Law
lduche@law.gwu.edu
202.994.7170

Schedule

Friday, February 27

9:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Coffee and Registration

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Panel 1: New Directions on Private Enforcement in Europe

Lead Presentations:
Eddy De Smijter, European Commission
Christopher Cook, Cleary Gottlieb (BE)
Ali Nikpay, Office of Fair Trading (UK)
Barry Rodger, University of Strathclyde (UK)

Discussants:
The Hon. Douglas Ginsburg, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Hannah Buxbaum, Indiana University

12:15-1:30 p.m.
Luncheon Keynote

Michael Hausfeld, Hausfeld LLP

1:45 - 3:30 p.m.
Panel 2: Lessons from the “Old World” – the U.S. Experience

Lead Presentations:
Edward Cavanagh, St. John’s University
Harry First, New York University
Robert Lande, University of Baltimore

Discussants:
Spencer Waller, Loyola University (Chicago)
Stephen Calkins, Wayne State University

3:30 - 4:45 p.m.
Coffee break

3:45 - 5:15 p.m.
Panel 3: Class Actions and Their Alternatives

Lead Presentations
David Rosenberg, Harvard University
Roger Van Den Bergh, Erasmus University (NL)

Discussants:
Michael Abramowicz, George Washington University Law School
Eric Cramer, Berger & Montague

Saturday, February 28

9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Panel 4: Building Private Enforcement Capacity – Institutional Considerations

Lead Presentations:
Salil Mehra, Temple University
David Gerber, Chicago-Kent University

Discussants:
William Kovacic, Federal Trade Commission
Edward Iacobucci, Toronto University (CA)
Francisco Marcos, IE Law School/Tribunal de Defensa de la Competencia (ES)

10:30 - 10:45 a.m.
Coffee break

10:45 - 11:45 a.m.
Panel 5: Empirical Assessment of Private Enforcement

Lead Presentation:
Daniel Sokol, University of Florida

Discussants:
Philip Nelson, Economists Incorporated
Jonathan Baker, American University

12:00 - 12:30 p.m.
Wrap-up: Future Directions for Assessing Private Competition Policy

Lead facilitators:
Andrew Gavil, Howard University
Edward Swaine, George Washington University Law School

Competition Policy and Regulation in Media Markets

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

CALL FOR PAPERS
     
         TILBURG LAW AND ECONOMICS CENTER (TILEC)
     
                     Tilburg University
                      (The Netherlands)
     
            Thursday 4 June and Friday 5 June 2009
     
     
     The Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC) will organise 
     a workshop on Competition Policy and Regulation in Media 
     Markets at Tilburg University (The Netherlands) on Thursday 
     4 June and Friday 5 June 2009. The goal of the conference 
     is to bring together academics working on media-related 
     issues and to foster interdisciplinary interaction between 
     economists and lawyers. The aim is to have economic and 
     legal contributions of the highest quality, but effort in 
     presenting it to a mixed audience is expected. Economists 
     are expected to bring in reasons to regulate/not regulate/ 
     how to regulate according to economic theory, lawyers to 
     bring in knowledge of the current regulation, of court 
     decisions and of the legal feasibility of regulation 
     proposals. Each presenter will be assigned a discussant. 
     Theoretical, empirical and policy-oriented articles are 
     welcome. 
     
     
     TOPICS:
     
     A non-exclusive list of topics of interest is:
     
     The goal of public intervention: efficiency vs. pluralism; 
     The impact of convergence and digitalization; Network 
     neutrality; The New Audiovisual Media Services Directive in 
     the EU; The EU Regulatory Framework for Electronic 
     Communications; Market structure and political outcomes; 
     Media mergers and pluralism; Media bias: measurement and 
     determinants; Scope for public ownership and public 
     intervention; Financing of public service broadcasting; 
     Regulation of advertising and media content; Media as two-
     sided markets; Piracy, peer-to-peer, copyright; Exclusive 
     contracts; Vertical integration between distribution and 
     content provision; Price discrimination, dynamic pricing, 
     versioning, and bundling; Privacy, anonymity, security,
     digital rights management, trust. 
     
     
     INVITED SPEAKERS:
     
     Economics: Simon Anderson (University of Virginia), Joel 
     Waldfogel (University of Pennsylvania)
     
     Law: Nico van Eijk (University of Amsterdam), Rachael 
     Craufurd Smith (Edingburg Law School) 
     
     
     SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE:
     
     Elena Argentesi (University of Bologna), Eric van Damme 
     (Tilburg University), Nico van Eijk (University of 
     Amsterdam), Lapo Filistrucchi (Tilburg University), Thomas 
     Gibbons (University of Manchester), Ilse van der Haar 
     (Tilburg University), Pierre Larouche (Tilburg University), 
     Massimo Motta (University of Bologna)
  
   
     SUBMISSIONS/REGISTRATION:
     
     The deadline for submission is March 29, 2009. Articles 
     should be submitted in PDF to:
     
     Email:       MAILTO:TILEC-Media@uvt.nl
     
     Long abstract are accepted but full papers are preferred. 
     In case you have any question(s), please contact the local 
     organisation committee (see below). Authors of selected 
     papers will be notified by April 6, 2009. TILEC will cover 
     the accommodation and travel expenses of conference 
     participants who present or discuss an accepted paper. 
     Presenters might be asked to discuss a paper.  
     
     
     LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE/CONTACT PERSONS:
     
     CONTACT:       Lapo Filistrucchi 
                    Tilburg University
     Email:         MAILTO:L.Filistrucchi@uvt.nl 
     
     CONTACT:       Ilse van der Haar 
                    Tilburg University
     Email:         MAILTO:ilse.vanderhaar@uvt.nl
     

Schizophrenia in the Commission's Article 82 Guidance Paper: Formalism Alongside Increased Recourse to Economic Analysis

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

James Killick (White & Case) and Assimakis Komninos (White & Case and University College London) provide some insgihts into Schizophrenia in the Commission's Article 82 Guidance Paper: Formalism Alongside Increased Recourse to Economic Analysis.

ABSTRACT: The publication by the European Commission of its long-awaited Guidance Paper on exclusionary abuses under Article 82 EC was the most important policy development of the second half of 2008. It is certainly positive that the Commission eventually did proceed to publish something. Following the DG-COMP Discussion Paper in December 2005, there were fears that the Commission might not continue with the whole exercise.

The Guidance Paper’s ambitions are scaled back compared to the approach when reform of Article 82 EC was first raised in the 2005 Discussion Paper. It relies less on economic and legal jargon, and is, accordingly, a more accessible document. However, as explored in more detail below, there is an intellectual incoherence at the heart of the Guidance Paper: the formalism of the past coexists with a more economics-based analysis. This contradiction prevents the Paper from successfully modernizing the enforcement of Article 82 EC and taking the debate forwards.

Congratulations to the Centre of Competition Policy at the University of East Anglia

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Congratulations are in order to the Centre of Competition Policy at the University of East Anglia, which is now £4.3million (US$6.2 million) richer to investigation competition issues.  The Centre is a hotbed for some of the most innovative work in competition policy anywhere in the world.  See here for articles from Centre members from 2009 and here for 2008.

Competition Law under New Administrations– Convergence or Divergence? Views from both sides of the Atlantic

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Competition Law under New Administrations– Convergence or Divergence? Views from both sides of the Atlantic

Monday 27th April 2009, 10 St James's Square, London SW1

Agenda

Chairman: Richard Whish Professor of Law, Centre of European Law, King’s College

08.15 Registration and coffee
08.50 Chairman's introduction and welcome
09.00 Implementing Competition Policy in Challenging Times – A View from the Enforcers
Moderated by Professor Richard Whish

• Financial sector focus – the approach to State aid in Europe and the US
• Merger control in an economic crisis
• Single firm conduct

John Fingleton Chief Executive, Office of Fair Trading
Philip Lowe Director General, DG Competition, European Commission
William E. Kovacic Chairman, Federal Trade Commission
10.15 Coffee break
10.40 Article 82 and Abuse of Market Dominance – EC vs. US Enforcement Priorities Moderated by Thomas Vinje, Partner, Clifford Chance LLP, Brussels    

• Are there fundamental differences in law and enforcement policies between the EC and the US on single firm conduct?          
• Assessment of dominance          
• Approach to balancing pro- and anti-competitive effects
• Tying
• Pricing
• Refusals to reply
• Will the Obama Administration adhere to the Bush-era DoJ report on single firm conduct?
• Financial sector focus – the approach to State aid in Europe and the US
• Will there be more coherence between the DoJ and the FTC and greater transatlantic coherence? Panellists: William E. Kovacic Chairman, Federal Trade Commission

Luc Peeperkorn Senior Administrator, DG Competition, European Commission, Brussels
William J. Baer Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP, Washington DC
Jon Orszag Senior Managing Director, Compass Lexecon LLC Washington DC
Christian Duvernoy Partner, WilmerHale LLP, Brussels
12.20 Q & A and discussion
12.50 Lunch
13.50 Merger Control Moderated by Rachel Brandenburger, Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP 

• Will there be more intervention under the new US administration?
• Will the FTC and DoJ’s approaches be similar?
• How is the economic crisis influencing the approach to mergers on both sides of the Atlantic at the US Federal and EU Commission levels?
• What influence are US states and EU states having in these troubled times?
• What sorts of merger activity are we seeing and can we expect to see?
• What role is political influence and intervention playing in the US and EU?
• Is there a need for, or evidence of, accelerated review timetables and creative remedies?
• Are there differences in the US and EU approach to vertical mergers?
• What is the scope and effect of third-party challenges to mergers?

Panellists: Philip Lowe Director General, DG Competition, European Commission
William Blumenthal Partner, Clifford Chance LLP, Former General Counsel, Federal Trade Commission
William J. Baer Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP, Washington DC
Antoine Winckler Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Cristina Caffara Vice President, CRA International
Debra Valentine Global Head of Legal, RioTinto Group
15.20 Coffee break
15.40 Antitrust Litigation - A Model for Europe? Moderated by John Pheasant, Partner, Hogan & Hartson LLP

• Developments in the UK: cases in the High Court and the Competition Appeal Tribunal
• Opt-in class actions: the prospects for new procedural rules
• A comparative view of France and Germany    
• Jurisdiction and Rome II: forum shopping and applicable law reviewed    
• Funding competition law damages claims
• Access to documents in the competition authorities' files
• Leniency, criminal sanctions and claims for damages: procedural issues and the rights of individuals and companies
• A plaintiffs’ bar in Europe? Is it necessary?
• A view from consumer representatives

Panellists: William J. Kolasky Partner, WilmerHale LLP, Washington DC
Stephen Kon Partner, SJ Berwin LLP, London
Jon Lawrence Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, London
Ingo Brinker Partner, Gleiss Lutz, Munich
Michel Debroux Partner, Hogan & Hartson LLP, Paris
Deborah Prince Head of Legal, Which?, London
17.15 Q & A and discussion
17.30 Close of conference and drinks reception