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Sessions on March 7 & 8 to Focus on Monopoly Power

The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division today announced that the latest in a series of joint public hearings designed to examine the implications of single-firm conduct under the antitrust laws will take place on March 7 & 8 in Washington, D.C. These hearings have been examining whether and when specific types of single-firm conduct may violate Section 2 of the Sherman Act (which prohibits monopolization and attempted monopolization) by harming competition and consumer welfare and when they are pro-competitive and lawful.

The panels on March 7 & 8 will explore different methods of evaluating monopoly power in single-firm conduct cases, including issues relating to market definition, the Cellophane fallacy, the use of direct evidence, single-firm markets, and technology markets. The sessions will be held at the FTC’s Conference Center at 601 New Jersey Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., Conference Room C.

Further information is provided below:

Mar. 7, 2007 Sessions

Session 1 (9:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M.):

Andrew I. Gavil is a Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law.

Richard J. Gilbert is a Professor of Economics and the Chair of the Berkeley Competition Policy Center, University of California, Berkeley, and a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice.

Michael L. Katz holds the Sarin Chair in Strategy and Leadership, Haas School of Business, and is also a Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, and a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice.

Philip B. Nelson is a Principal at Economists, Inc.

Joseph J. Simons is a Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and a former Director, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission.

Lawrence J. White is the Arthur E. Imperatore Professor of Economics, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, and a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice.

Session 2 (2:00 P.M.–4:30 P.M.):

Simon Bishop is a Partner and co-founder, RBB Economics.

Thomas G. Krattenmaker is Of Counsel, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Miguel de la Mano is a Member of the Chief Economist Team, Directorate General for Competition, European Commission.

Joe Sims is a Partner, Jones Day, and a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice.

Irwin M. Stelzer is the Director of Economic Policy Studies and a Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute.

Mar. 8, 2007 Session

Session 3 (9:30 A.M.–12:00 P.M.):

Andrew Chin is an Associate Professor, University of North Carolina School of Law.

Robert H. Lande is the Venable Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law.

Richard Schmalensee is the John C. Head III Dean and Professor of Economics and Management, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Alan H. Silberman is a Partner, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP.

Michael A. Williams is a Director at the ERS Group.

The public and press are invited to attend all of the hearings. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested parties may submit written comments to the FTC and the Antitrust Division.

Further information about these hearings will be posted on the FTC’s Web site, http://www.ftc.gov/os/sectiontwohearings/index.htm and the Antitrust Division’s Web site,
http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/hearings/single_firm/sfchearing.htm. Individuals seeking more information on the hearings should contact Patricia Schultheiss, FTC, at section2hearings@ftc.gov, or Gail Kursh, Deputy Chief, Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, at singlefirmconduct@usdoj.gov.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.


MEDIA CONTACT:

Mitchell J. Katz,
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2161

STAFF CONTACT:

Patricia Schultheiss,
202-326-2877

 
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