Exam 21: Regulating the Competitive Environment

Under U.S. antitrust law, certain mergers and joint venture agreements must be brought before whom before they are concluded?

In recent years, Japan has brought its stance on mergers more into line with international practices by revising its Antimonopoly Act to require:

The European Commission is even less flexible with respect to know-how transfer agreements than it is to patent licenses.

The court that hears appeals from the EU's antitrust enforcement agency and referrals from the courts of the EU member states on competition issues is the:

The European Union's enforcement agency in antitrust matters, which is analogous to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department, is the:

The European Court of Justice has shown little reluctance to find competition conspiracies between a European subsidiary and its American parent.

Du e t o th e fac t tha t foreig n competitio n la w violation s offe r few , i f any , damag e awards , ther e i s ver y littl e private litigation.

The Tetra Laval BV v. Commission of the European Communities case applied correctly the "leveraging" theory in the rejection of the merger of Tetra Laval and Sidel that would horizontally and vertically dominate the plastic bottle plugs industry.

Prohibitions against agreements that restrict competition in the United States by the Justice Department are reviewed in the context of determining such an arrangement would enhance or inhibit a competitive market place.

Which U.S. Act prohibits mergers and acquisitions when the effect may be substantially to lessen competition or to tend to create a monopoly?

Weigh the relative benefits and short-comings of the EU preapproval model and the U.S. litigation model as exemplified by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

EU competition law applies only to agreements and transactions that:

Under Chinese law, a merger or acquisition qualifies for review if:

Under the European Commission's block exemption, the parties whose agreements fall under certain exempted categories only have to seek de minimis approval for their transactions to be considered exempt under competition law.

Which of the following Acts created a review process under which mergers, joint venture agreements, and similar transactions must be brought before the Department of Justice for review before they are concluded?

The U.S. antitrust laws apply to the conduct of U.S. firms outside the territorial boundaries of the United States.

Antitrust laws have been enacted in all of the WTO members after World War II.

Knowledgeable that Canada, Germany, and the UK have enacted blocking legislation, craft a treaty on this issue. How might the different interests of these countries and partnerships (or lack thereof) with them affect any treaty? Students may also wish to read Laker Airways v. Sabena, Belgian World Airlines , 731 F.2d 909 (D.C. Cir. 1984) for further background).

The European Union's competition law exemption system functions very much like the American antitrust law rule of reason.

Conside r i n wha t way s th e historie s o f th e U.S. , Japan , an d Europ e ma y explai n thei r respectiv e law s regarding marke t competitio n.