Canada has the oldest antitrust authority in the world and they always seem to be pacesetters in competition policy. Our Canadian collection, organized by Mark Katz, highlights recent activities/controversies that are sure to spill over to the rest of the world. Our second collection includes three articles that follow-up on previous reports, including the question of whether keyword advertising truly harms the consumer, the Italian authority being reversed on the Pfizer case, and the FTC’s report on K-Dur that encourages complaints regardless of the likelihood of winning.
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Canada Update
Competition Law Guidance Under Commissioner Aitken: A Survey
During her tenure, the Commissioner introduced a number of new or updated policy documents to offer guidance to consumers, businesses, and their advisors. Kevin Ackhurst (Norton Rose)
The Constitutionality of Administrative Monetary Penalties Under the Competition Act: Is Rowan a Full Answer?
Some AMPs are so large that they arguably amount to penal sanctions. John A. Campion & Antonio Di Domenico (Fasken Martineau)
Canadian Competition Tribunal Orders Divestiture in Waste Merger: Some Lessons Learned
The Commissioner’s application raised a number of legal issues, including the threshold and analysis for establishing that a merger has prevented future competition…Richard Elliott (Davies Ward)
The Canadian Sir Process: A Progress Report
There has now been sufficient experience with Canada’s new SIR process to offer a few conclusions about the efficacy of its operation. Mark Katz & Erika Douglas (Davies Ward)
A Short Note on Plea Agreements in Canadian Antitrust Cases
Plea practices in Canada are relatively straightforward but have important implications for both crown and defense. Graham Reynolds, Q.C. (Osler)
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Of Special Interest
The Role of Keyword Advertising in Competition Among Rival Brands
Courts and regulators should recognize the very important contribution that informative comparative advertising makes to competition. David S. Evans (Univ. of Chicago) & Elisa Mariscal (CIDE & ITAM)
“From Astra-Zeneca to Pfizer” Stage II: The Italian Administrative Court Reverses the Monopolization Claim Established by the Autorit Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato
The judgment of the Administrative Court looks extremely interesting and potentially (r)evolutionary…Stefano Grassani (Pavia e Ansaldo)
Generic Drugmakers Will Challenge Patents Even When They Have a 97% Chance of Losing: The FTC Report that K-Dur Ignored
Courts should at least think a while before imposing rules that could limit the ability of parties to weed out those cases by settlement. Kelly Smith & Jonathan Gleklen (Arnold & Porter)