Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog

Nw blog on EC Competition Law

http://www.professorgeradin.blogs.com/

Welcome to the blogosphere, Profs. Geradin and Petit, and thanks for letting me know of your venture!

IBM-Compuware litigation raises tying and copyright issues

Article can be linked to here.

New Microsoft Bundling Woes in the EU?

"Microsoft could face a new antitrust challenge in the EU over the bundling of accounting software with an upcoming version of its Office productivity suite," according to Scarlett Pruitt and Simon Taylor of the IDG News Service.

Meanwhile, there seems to be little hope of settlement in the ongoing Microsoft case in the EU.

SOme links on Verizon/MCI merger

We should expect some interesting activity at the DoJ and the FTC scrutinizing the Verizon/MCI and SBC/AT&T Mergers.  Here are some initial links:

Some factual background

Commentary on effect on prices

Commentary on effect on consumers

Antitrust Enforcement Conferences-Feb 24 and Mar 17

The Lighthouse Seminar Group will be hosting two conferences on antitrust enforcement, one in Austin on Feb 24 and one in Houston on Mar 17.  More information can be found here. 

Interesting SSRN Working Papers

Here are some links to interesting antitrust related titles on SSRN:

Barak Y. Orbach, Antitrust and Pricing in the Motion Picture Industry

Harry First & Tadashi Shiraishi,  Concentrated Power: The Paradox of Antitrust in Japan

Jonathan Baker, Competition Policy as Political Bargain

Mediation in antitrust dispute between Bengals/NFL and Hamilton County

The Associated Press reports that the dispute over the antitrust challenge to the attempt by the Bengals and NFL to force construction of a new stadium and to impose a favorable lease. 

Immunity for America West

America West has been granted unprecedented antitrust immunity by the Department of Transportation in its joint venture with Jordanian Airlines.  The joint venture invovles code sharing between the low cost carrier and the established carrier.