Recent Antitrust Precedents: Government Enforcement, Two-Sided Markets, and Private Label Mergers

Join this exciting panel of experienced antitrust practitioners as they discuss the latest hot topics in antitrust law including recent government enforcement and developments in private actions. Other topics to be discussed include the standard for summary judgment in antitrust law, and recent precedent on two-sided markets and private label mergers. Finally, the program will also provide practical and successful strategies for antitrust counsel looking to improve their practice.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify what is driving recent enforcement activity from the US DOJ and FTC, including: (a) vertical mergers (AT&T/Time Warner and Aetna/CVS), (b)  private-label mergers, (c) "no-poaching" agreements among competing employers, (d) licensing of standard essential patents (SEPs) on 'FRAND' terms and relationships between SEP holders and implementers of SEPs, and (e) geographic market definition in health care mergers
2. Gain an understanding of antitrust issues that are currently presenting challenging issues for courts and enforcement agencies, including two-sided markets at issue in Ohio v. American Express and the direct-purchaser doctrine at issue in Apple v. Pepper
3. Summarize courts' handling of parallel conduct and evaluation of 'plus factors' in conspiracy cases, and examine their treatment of the Matsushita standard for summary judgment and whether it is being rigorously applied consistently with the criteria established in the Supreme Court's Matsushita decision
4. Explore why cross-border matters often raise knotty legal privilege issues
5. Gain a sense for where antitrust enforcement appears to be headed