Global Competition Review

Acquisitions of patent applications should not receive blanket antitrust protections under the First Amendment, the Federal Trade Commission has argued as Amgen seeks to fend off allegations that it cornered the market for its blockbuster Enbrel arthritis drug.

A West Virginia federal court has rejected a motion to dismiss claims that Rippa Machinery and a group of its dealerships conspired to fix prices for cheaper construction excavators. The court found that a reseller adequately alleged the defendants sought to increase prices and gain monopoly power. Also in Tipline, the Federal Trade Commission tees up its case over Zillow and Re...

A select group of national enforcers are especially influential in steering deals towards Brussels or back for domestic review, with several smaller jurisdictions barely engaging with the bloc’s merger referral regime, according to data analysed by GCR.

Vandemoortele has emerged from an in-depth UK probe into its acquisition of frozen baked goods rival Délifrance seven weeks ahead of schedule, after the country’s competition watchdog accepted its offer to divest a production site. The parties’ early acceptance of competitive harm meant remedies discussions could be expedited, the enforcer said. Also in The Briefing, Apple is to...

Delta and Aeromexico have defeated the US Department of Transportation’s bid to end their joint venture. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled on Thursday that the transportation regulator “abruptly departed” from its past methods for evaluating whether to grant airlines antitrust immunity. Also in Tipline, Compass is accused of causing an “existential surge” in...