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CPI Blog o’ blogs April 2012

By  |  April 26, 2012

 

April 2012, Volume 2, Number 4

Two stories dominated this month’s blog sphere. The DOJ’s case on eBooks is becoming a Medusa-like story — issues that just won’t be controlled but do inspire a lot of commentary. And over in the U.K., their competition authority restructuring is also creating heated debate, including the subject of dishonesty in cartels. But even with so much available content, we couldn’t resist a finale featuring that dream antitrust odd couple — Robert Bork and Al Franken.

 

The Justice Department Jumps into Amazon’s Pockets The DOJ has stepped into a business it doesn’t understand at all, and it is tilting the outcome against those who are trying to play by the rules. William Petrocelli (The Huffington Post)

 

Is Amazon Morally Wrong but Legally Right? The Justice Department may actually be doing consumers a favor. Husna Haq (The Christian Science Monitor)

 

How Apple Can Defeat the DOJ’s E-Book Antitrust Suit There is a more than plausible case that coordinated action to move to a plausibly-more-efficient business model was necessary and pro-competitive. Geoffrey Manne (Forbes)

 

Promoting Competition and Innovation Through Vigorous Enforcement of the Antitrust Laws On Behalf of Consumers The Antitrust Division isn’t afraid to litigate, and when it does, it wins. Sharis Pozen (DOJ)

 

What’s Apple’s Best Defense in e-Books Antitrust Case? Apple Inc.’s best defense against accusations it conspired to fix e-book prices may turn on its absence from meetings in Manhattan restaurants. Sara Forden (Washington Times)

Competition Needs Protection But what really matters to society is what the case means for the production and consumption of books. That might not be so dreadful. Eduardo Porter (New York Times)

The U.K. Cartel Offence: Farewell Dishonesty… Those concerned about miscarriages of justice apparently fear that British businessmen could unwittingly stumble into a cartel. Andreas Stephan (Competition Policy Blog)

BIS and the Cartel Offense: A Reasonable Attempt to Compensate for the Rejection of Dishonesty The removal of ‘dishonesty’ introduces the possibility that the criminal offence does not necessarily cover immoral behaviour. Peter Whelan (Competition Policy Blog)

What is the Wrongdoing in Cartels? A Response to Blog Posts by Stephan and WhelanThe key question then is what is the best way to define the scope of delinquency in cartel behaviour? Angus MacCulloch (Competition Policy Blog)

Interim Measures in the U.K.: Towards Better Protection For Complainants? The OFT’s 2006 foray into the world of interim measures was a somewhat chastening experience. Rosanna Connolly (Kluwer Competition Blog)

 

Antitrust and Google The principal basis for the investigations appears to be that if one does not understand practices in an industry, the practices must violate the law. Robert Bork (Chicago Tribune)

 

How Privacy Has Become an Antitrust Issue And you can’t impeach Google if it breaks its “Don’t be evil” campaign pledge. Al Franken (Huff Post)