Brands, Competition, and the Law October 19, 2012

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Brands, Competition, and the Law

An Interdisciplinary Conference Sponsored by the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and the Centre for Law, Economics and Society (CLES) at University College London

October 19, 2012

Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 10^th Floor
Powers Rogers & Smith Ceremonial Courtroom, 25 E. Pearson, Chicago, IL 60611

 

This program has been approved for 5.0 Hours of Illinois Continuing Legal Education Credit

 

To Register visit www.luc.edu/antitrust/event-payment

 

Brands matter. In modern times, brands and brand management have become a central feature of the modern economy and a staple of business theory and business practice. Coca-Cola, Nike, Google,
Disney, Apple, Microsoft, BMW, Marlboro, IBM, Kellogg’s, Louis-Vuitton, and Virgin are all large companies, but they are also brands that present powerful, valuable tools for business. Business is fully aware of that power and value.

Contrary to the law’s conception of trademarks, brands are used to indicate far more than source and/or quality. Indeed those functions are far down on the list of what most businesses want
for their brands. Brands allow businesses to reach consumers directly with messages regarding emotion, identity, and self-worth such that consumers are no longer buying a product but buying a brand. Businesses pursue that strategy to move beyond price, product, place, and position and create the idea that a consumer should buy a branded good or service at a higher price than the consumer might otherwise pay.

Branding explicitly contemplates reducing or eliminating price competition as the brand personality cannot be duplicated. In addition, this practice can be understood as a product differentiation tactic
which allows a branded good to turn a commodity into a special category that sees higher margins compared to the others in that market space. In other words, brands have important effects on competition and the marketplace.

The aim of this conference is to reflect on the legal, business, and economic understanding of brands by explaining what brands are,  how they function, and the role brands play in business competition. The conference will also delve into specific issues raised by branding in the 21st century business competition, such as the challenges raised by online business and the increasing role of private labels in distribution.

List of Participants

Deven Desai, Associate Professor, Thomas Jefferson Law School

Kirsten Edwards-Warren, Director of Economics, Office of Fair Trading, UK

Phil Evans, FIPRA International

Warren Grimes, Professor, Southwestern Law School

Greg Gundlach, Distinguished Professor of Marketing, University of North Florida Business School

James Langenfeld, Navigent Consulting

Ioannis Lianos, Reader in Competition Law and Economics, University College London

Deborah Majorus, General Counsel, Proctor & Gamble

Mark McKenna, Professor Law, Notre Dame Law School

John D. Mittelstaedt, Chair, Department of Management and Marketing, University of Wyoming College of Business

John Noble, Director, British Brands Group

Barak Orbach, Professor Law, University of Arizona James E. Rodgeres College of Law

Joan Phillips, Professor, Quinlan School of Business and Director of Integrated Marketing Program, Loyola University Chicago

Matthew Sag, Associate Professor and Associate Director, Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies, Loyola University Chicago School of Law

Eliot Schreiber, COO Cloverleaf Innovation

Spencer Weber Waller, Professor and Director, Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies, Loyola University Chicago School of Law

 

Tentative Program

 

9:00          Registration and Continental Breakfast

 

9:30         Welcome- Spencer Weber Waller, Loyola University Chicago

 

9:40          Brands and Price Theory Chair, Ioannis Lianos, UCL

                 Brands and EU Competition Law: More Sword
Than Shield

                 James Langenfeld, Navigent Consulting

                 Kirsten Edwards-Warren, Office of Fair Trading, UK

                 Phil Evans, FIPRA International

 

11:00        Coffee Break

 

11:15        Brands and Business Theory

Chair, Joan Phillips, Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago

                 John Noble, BBG

                 Individuals, Markets and Business Competitiveness

                 Greg Gundlach, UNF

                 A Marketing Perspective on Brands in Antitrust

                 Eliot Schreiber, Cloverleaf Innovation, Commentator

 

12:30        Buffet Lunch

 

1:00          Brands and Competition Law

Chair, Spencer Weber Waller, Loyola University Chicago School of Law

Antitrust’s Brand Blindness

                 Deborah Majorus, Proctor & Gamble

 

                 Barak Orbach, Arizona

                 Branding Preferences and Antitrust Premises

Warren Grimes, Southwestern

 

2:30          Brands and IP Law

Chair, Matthew Sag, Loyola University Chicago School of Law

                 Deven Desai, Thomas Jefferson Law School

                 Networks, Information, and Brands

                 Mark McKenna, Notre Dame Law School

                 Brand Mercantilism

                 John D. Mittelstaedt, University of Wyoming

Trademark Dilution and the Management of Brands

 

3:45          Closing Remarks and Reception

 

Registration Fees and Information

 

For Those Seeking Illinois Continuing Legal Education Credit

Free          Current LUC Faculty, Staff, Students, and Members of the Institute Advisory Board

$  75         Government and Public Interest Attorneys

$130         Loyola University Chicago School of Law Alumni

$155         All Others

 

Attendance
without ICLE Credit

Free          LUC Students, Staff, Professors, and Members of the Institute Advisory Board

$50          All Others

 

To Register: Please www.luc.edu/antitrust/event-payment.

For additional information please contact Professor
Spencer Waller at swalle1@luc.edu
or Ms. Chris Nemes at cnemes@luc.edu.