Friday, April 24, 2015

Intellectual Property and Competition in the Pharmaceutical Industry

AGCM, Conference presentations available here

Shaken, not stirred. Competition Law Enforcement and Standard Essential Patents.

A. Italiener, here

What's Next For Comcast? After Failed TWC Merger, Cable Giant Faces Regulated, Cord-Cutting Future

IBTimes, here.

See also AAI's statement here

Europe Looks to Tame Web’s Economic Risks

WSJ, here (via Google search).


Xiaomi is copying its China playbook to win over India’s smartphone market

QZ.com, here

The Basics Of Open Patent Licensing

TechCrunch, here

What Signals From Twitter Does Google Care About?

SearchEngineLand, here

Microsoft Office reaches 100 million downloads on iOS and Android

TheVerge, here

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

The Search for Harm

GooglePolicyBlog, here.

Android has helped create more choice and innovation on mobile than ever before

Googlepolicyblog, here

EU Commission sends Statement of Objections to Google on comparison shopping service; opens separate formal investigation on Android

Press Release, here.
Commissioner Vestager's statement here.
Minutes of the meeting of the Commission here (on Android: "She pointed out that Google had led development of the Android mobile operating system since 2005, and the majority of smartphone and tablet manufacturers used this system, having concluded agreements with Google to obtain the right to install Google's applications on their devices. She explained that the Commission's in-depth investigation would focus on whether, by doing so, Google had breached EU antitrust rules by hindering the development and market access of rival mobile operating systems, applications and services to the detriment of consumers and developers of innovative services and products").

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Europe to accuse Google of illegally abusing its dominance

FT.com, here.

"Ms Vestager on Wednesday will also launch a separate formal investigation into Google’s Android operating system for smartphones.
The Commission probe will examine whether Google imposes uncompetitive terms on handset makers that ultimately favour its own lucrative apps such as YouTube. Google rejects any allegations of wrongdoing and says Android is an open platform distributed free."

2nd Circ. Wary Of Anti-Competitive Intent In Namenda Plan

Law360.com, here

Eau de Fracking? Companies Try to Trademark Scents

WSJ.com, here

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Inside the U.S. Antitrust Probe of Google

WSJ, here.
Excerpts from FTC Google Report, here.

Competition World: A global survey of recent competition and antitrust law developments with practical relevance

NortonRoseFulbright, here

E-Books: Bundesregierung tritt für gesenkte Mehrwertsteuer ein

Heise.de, hier

The Net Neutrality Order: It’s Worse Than We Thought

NERA, here

Textbook cartels versus the real deal: Should we be surprised if some cartels do not lead to damage?

F. Maier-Rigaud, C. Milde, M. Helm, here

"We know that plain packaging works"

WHO, here

Banana cartel: GC ruling confirmed

CJEU, case C-286/13 P, here

The Theory of Two-Sided Markets: An Economic Bubble?

D. Auer, N. Petit, here

Antitrust in Two-Sided Markets: The Pros and Cons

Konkurrensverket, Seminar Recap and Presentations here

A Legal and Empirical Study of 3D Printing Online Platforms and an Analysis of User Behaviour

D. Mendis and D. Secchi for the UK IPO, here

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Prediction: Apple Will Not Renew Google As Safari Default Search Engine

SearchEngineLand, here

Internet of Things - Grand Challenge Workshop: Summary of key findings

Deloitte, here

All Your Marketing Data Belongs To Google & Facebook — Will You Keep It There?

MarketingLand, here

How Much For a Song?: The Antitrust Decrees that Govern the Market for Music

US Senate Hearing, Written Testimonies here

Google and the right to be forgotten

H. Kranenborg, here

Kulturpolitische Forderungen für das Urheberrecht im digitalen Umfeld

Bundesregierung.de, Positionspapier hier.

"Google sollte seine Nutzer bezahlen"

Sueddeutsche.de, hier

Why Congress Needs to Pass the Innovation Act This Time

Hbr.org, here

How Do You Google? New Eye Tracking Study Reveals Huge Changes

Forbes.com, here

Datenschlussverkauf in Brüssel

R. Gutjahr, hier

Tuesday, March 03, 2015

Twenty Years Down the Road: A Q&A With Paul Goldstein, Author of Copyright’s Highway

Sociallyawareblog, here

O2 parent Telefonica trials brand-sponsored data plans

MarketingMagazine.co.uk, here.

Bundeskartellamt untersagt Wettbewerbsverbote für Mieter in Factory Outlet Center

Bundeskartellamt, hier

Will Google someday rank web pages based on how accurate they are? A new paper suggests they might.

Searchengineland.com, here.

Agrar-Großhändler unter Kartellverdacht

FAZ.net, hier

Die Sektoruntersuchung des Bundeskartellamts zur Nachfragemacht im Lebensmitteleinzelhandel – Ein Kommentar aus ökonomischer Perspektive

J. Haucap, U. Heimeshoff, S. Thorwarth, C. Wey, hier

Leaked documents: European data protection reform is badly broken

EDRi, here

Waze can be preinstalled on your next Android phone: Why does Google need to stick two different mapping apps on your device?

TheNextWeb, here. See also here

Sunday, March 01, 2015

Abänderungsanträge sollen EU-Urheberrecht einbetonieren: Nächste Runde im Streit um Reda-Report

Netzpolitik, hier,

Time for Supreme Court to revisit baseball's antitrust exemption

MercuryNews, here.

Erneute Anhörung im Rechtsausschuss zum Leistungsschutzrecht

Internet-Law, hier.

Google, Our Patron Saint of the Closed Web

SealedAbstract, here.

White House Proposes Broad Consumer Data Privacy Bill

NYTimes, here.

Why the iPhone confounds disruption theorists

J. Gans, here.


Henderson, Rebecca, and Kim Clark (1990), “Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms,” 35 (1), 81-112,  here.

Commissioner Wright Rightly Calls the Question on Section 5 Guidance

TruthOnTheMarket, here.

Android App Performance Report

AVG, here.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Pichai On Google's Vision, Mobile Revenue, Apple and China

Forbes, here.

UK government to improve protection for businesses against groundless IP threats

Press Release, here. UK government response here.

Antitrust, Capture, Federalism and the North Carolina Dental Case

H. Hovenkamp, here.

The Emergence of De-facto Standards

S. den Uijl, here.

Connecting Antitrust Standards to the Internet of Things

G. Wrobel, here

Google just paid $25 million to buy the entire '.app' web domain

BusinessInsider, here

Keystones to foster inclusive Knowledge Societies - Access to information and knowledge, Freedom of Expression, Privacy, and Ethics on a Global Internet

UNESCO, Draft Study here

Das Showkartell

Zeit.de, hier

Joshua Wright on Net Neutrality (not a big fan)

Video  here.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Why Everyone Was Wrong About Net Neutrality

T. Wu, here.

FCC Passes Strict Net Neutrality Regulations On 3-2 Vote

TechCrunch, here.

"Modern regulatory approach" "Legally sustainable rules".

Press Release, here. Chairman Wheeler Statement, here.

Dissenting Statements here and here.



ACCC v Pfizer Australia

Federal Court of Australia, here

Intellectual Property and Competition

H. Hovenkamp, here

Google's Quiet Dominance Over The 'Ad Tech' Industry

A. Grunes, here

Mehr Mobilitätsanbieter in Deutschland: Chancen für Verbraucher

J. Haucap, Präsentation hier

Google Starts Testing Mobile App Ads In The Google Play Store

TechCrunch, here

CMA seeks information on online reviews and endorsements

Google Play’s Rapid Rise in Germany

Appannie.com, here

La CNMC impone sanciones a varios operadores de productos petrolíferos

CNMC, aquì

Why the Print Catalog Is Back in Style

HBR, here.

"instead of sending every customer his brand’s largest book, he looks for frequent website visitors and asks, 'Can I only send her 50 pages, or 20, as a reminder of, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go to the website’?”

Producers of Power Rangers Fan Video Might Be In For Copyright Fight

Deadline.com, here

Vision for a digital single market

L. Neville-Rolfe, here

Net Neutrality Meets Regulatory Economics 101

J. Wright, here.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Tobacco Plain Packaging Discussion Lights Up Again At WTO

IP-watch, here.

Some thoughts on data-driven business models

R. Ehrenberg, Presentation here

The Invention of the Software Patent

R. Picker, here

Limitations and Exceptions as Key Elements of the Legal Framework for Copyright in the European Union – Opinion on the Judgment of the CJEU in Case C-201/13 Deckmyn

J. Griffiths et al., here

North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission

US Supreme Court, here.

Higher Regional Court dismisses appeal in German cement cartel case

Carteldamageclaims.com, here

Chip firms put security center stage for the internet of things

GigaOm, here

Holy See: Creative approach to intellectual property necessary for health care

Vatican Radio, here

The Patent Guide: A handbook for analysing and interpreting patent data

UK  Intellectual Property Office, here.


Sensory and Sensibility - Will Copyright Awake Your Senses?

E. Rosati, Presentation here

Removing Barriers to Literacy: How the Marrakesh VIP Treaty Can Change Lives

WIPO, here

Unentgeldliche TV-Mitschnitte im Schulunterricht und an Universitäten

Petitionsausschuss des deutschen Bundestages, hier

The Advisory Council to Google on the Right to be Forgotten

Here

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Spotify exec: We collect an ‘enormous amount of data on what people are listening to, where, and in what context’

VentureBeat, here.

Why Apple would benefit from building electric car tech

GigaOm, here.

DOJ Is Right About Apple e-Books

WSJ, here (and below).
The Journal mischaracterizes the trial court’s ruling in the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Apple and five e-book publishers (“All Along the Apple Watchtower,” Review & Outlook, Feb. 17). Specifically, you say that the court found that “allowing consumers to read e-books on the iPad was an antitrust conspiracy.” Not so. The case was about agreements on a vital dimension of competition, namely price. It has long been a universally accepted proposition in both law and economics that agreements among competitors to set and regulate prices are anticompetitive. Thus, the court correctly found the agreements illegal. It is no justification that the agreements were intended to wrest control over the pricing of e-books from Amazon, the dominant player in e-book retailing.
Legitimate competition erodes a dominant firm’s position by offering consumers better prices or products. Here consumers received a worse deal. Indeed, the court found that the agreements led to an almost immediate 18% increase in the average price of e-books—hardly a boon to consumer welfare.
You are on more solid ground as regards the activities of the special master appointed to oversee Apple’s compliance with the verdict. (The publishers settled with DOJ before trial.) Even losing antitrust defendants deserve fairness and a reasonable post-verdict opportunity to show good faith efforts to comply with a court order. As you describe, there is ample evidence that this special master has overreached by placing burdens on Apple that are unnecessary to assuring adherence to the final judgment. As you urge, the Second Circuit should sack the special master or at least rein in his powers.
Theodore A. Gebhard

From social media service to advertising network

ICRI/CIR, in close cooperation with iMinds-SMIT, here

An annotated guide to Facebook's privacy settings (that you've never read)

The Star and D. Fraser, here

Google, Facebook und Co.: Kartellrechtler sorgen sich um Nutzerdaten

Heise.de, hier

Tobacco industry waged ‘David and Goliath’ campaign against EU

Independent.co.uk, here.
Report (The revision of the 2014 European tobacco products directive: an analysis of the tobacco industry’ s attempts to ‘break the health silo’here.  

Competition and consumer protection in the cyberspace marketplace

J. Joseph, P. M. Rao, here

Monday, February 23, 2015

Accor a saisi l’Autorité de la concurrence contre Booking.com

LesEchos.fr, ici.

Kleine Apps, große Hoffnungen

FAZ, hier.
European App Economy 2015 here

Google To Comply with Privacy Measures Set Forth by Italy's DPA

Privacyassociation.org, here

"The subject of the film, Edward Snowden, could not be here tonight for some treason"

ArsTechnica, here

Reda Report explained

J. Reda, here

Weil Obtains Final Approval of Favorable Nationwide Class Action Settlement for Local Television Industry in Antitrust Lawsuit Against the SESAC Performance Rights Organization

Weil.com, here. Order here

Análisis de la Contratación Pública en España: Oportunidades de mejora desde el punto de vista de la Competencia

CNMC, aquì

Managing Tensions In Online Marketplaces

J. Jordan, here

LIBER Argues For Pan-European TDM Exception

Libereurope.eu, here

Model contracts for licensing interoperability information

P. Laurent and B. Jean for the European Commission DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology, here (pdf download).

Urheberrechtsreform: Alle gegen Julia

FAZ, hier

C4C Supports the Balanced Approach Taken by MEP Reda and Explains Why

Copyright4creativity.eu, here

Axelle Lemaire veut donner un statut aux données d'intérêt général

Nextinpact.com, ici.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

The Wealth of Nations

In Our Time, Podcast  here.

Haucap: "Facebook ist viel gefährlicher als Google"

Rp-online.de, hier.

Google wins dismissal of U.S. lawsuit over Android app limits

Reuters.com, here. Order here.

Footnote 9:  "At a higher level of abstraction, this means that those competitors who cannot access users are unable to improve their search algorithms, thereby impairing their ability to compete with Defendant on the merits of their respective search products... This is akin to the theory of Sherman Act § 2 monopoly maintenance described in Microsoft, 253 F.3d at 60-62, wherein Microsoft’s exclusive licensing terms prevented OEMs from promoting rival Internet browsers, thereby reducing rival browser usage and developer interest in those browsers, with the effect of maintaining developer focus on developing for Microsoft’s Windows operating system, which contributed to maintaining Microsoft’s monopoly over the market for operating systems" (emphasis added).

Friday, February 20, 2015

Yandex and Google: No Smoke Without Fire

I-Comp.org, here.

Why the European Commission will not star in the Spanish TV rights Telenovela

B. Van Rompuy and O. van Maren, here.

Les hôteliers rejettent les propositions de Booking

LesEchos.fr, ici.

Intel, Leveraging Rebates and the Goals of Article 102 TFEU

N. Petit, here

Market Opening: Regulation vs Competition?

A. Italiener, here

Russian competition watchdog opens case against Google

Reuters.com, here.

Cмотрите также ФАС возбудила дело против компании Google по иску "Яндекса", вот

Microsoft Is The New Google, Google Is The Old Microsoft

Forbes.com, here.

Cerf Warns Of A 'Lost Century' Caused By Bit Rot; Patents And Copyright Largely To Blame

TechDirt, here.

Expedia Acquisitions Signal Tougher Times Ahead for Hotels

Hotel-online.com, here.

Copia privata, la conferma del Consiglio di Stato

Punto-informatico.it, here.

Google tax, si punta a un accordo. Ma non "alla francese"

Corrierecomunicazioni.it, here.

Does Patent Licensing Mean Innovation?


R. Feldman, M. Lemley, here.

American Express Violated Antitrust Laws, Judge Rules

NYT, here.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Interest group success in the European Union: When (and why) does business lose?


A. Dür, P. Bernhagen, D. Marshall, here.

Open Data als Treibstoff für die digitale Wirtschaft

BMWI.de, hier.

Uber se reinventa frente a su prohibición con un servicio de comida a domicilio

ElMundo.es, aquí.

Used eBook Marketplace Tom Kabinet Launches eBookstore

The-digital-reader.com, here

Global Regulation of Data Flows in a Post-Snowden World

J. Brill, here

Never trust a corporation to do a library’s job

Medium.com, here

Authors’ Rights Under the ‘Next Great Copyright Act’

J. Ginsburg, here

The Internet isn't broken. Obama doesn't need to 'fix' it.

A. Pai, J. Wright, here

La tong de la discorde entre Havaianas et des chefs tribaux

Courrierinternational.com, ici

Le livre numérique en illimité déclaré hors la loi

LesEchos.fr, ici.