The Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) recent settlement of the Synopsys/Ansys merger and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s (“DOJ”) settlement of the Keysight/Spirent merger are signs that, under the new Trump administration, the agencies are interested in putting merger remedies, which had essentially been a non-starter during the Biden administration, back on the table. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, who issued a statement in connection with
Read More Merger Remedies are Back in Play under Trump 2.0
Settled Yet Uncertain: Final Approval of NCAA NIL Settlement Opens Doors to More Antitrust Challenges
On June 6, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken approved a proposed settlement agreement [VZ1] between the National Collegiate Athletics Association (“NCAA”), the Power Five Conferences and student athletes, effectively paving the way for name, likeness, and image (“NIL”) compensation for student athletes.[1] The approval comes nearly five years after student athletes filed the class action lawsuit for alleged violations of the Sherman Act related
Read More Settled Yet Uncertain: Final Approval of NCAA NIL Settlement Opens Doors to More Antitrust ChallengesIntroducing Blog of Reason: Wiggin and Dana’s Antitrust and Consumer Protection Blog
Wiggin and Dana’s Antitrust and Technology Disputes Practice Group is excited to launch Blog of Reason, named for the so-called “rule of reason” under U.S. antitrust law. As followers of antitrust law know, a “rule of reason” analysis is expansive, searching, and nuanced. Blog of Reason aspires to be the same. But our blog’s coverage will be broader than its namesake legal framework, offering
Read More Introducing Blog of Reason: Wiggin and Dana’s Antitrust and Consumer Protection BlogImportant Announcement Regarding the FTC’s Revised Negative Option Rule
As we previously reported, on October 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), after receiving thousands of public comments, released the final version of its Negative Option Rule. The Rule is now scheduled to go into effect on July 14, 2025.[1] Any company with automatic renewal subscriptions or memberships will be impacted by the Rule.
The Rule, also known as the “Click-to-Cancel” Rule, will regulate
Read More Important Announcement Regarding the FTC’s Revised Negative Option RuleFederal Judge Allows FTC’s Robinson-Patman Act Suit Against Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits to Continue Beyond Motion to Dismiss Stage
The Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) first Robinson-Patman Act (“RPA”) suit in decades has survived a motion to dismiss. The Honorable Fred W. Slaughter in the United States District Court for the Central District of California ruled on the papers that the FTC’s Complaint against Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits, LLC (“Southern”) “sufficiently alleges” a claim that Southern has engaged in price discrimination that injures competition among its customers, a secondary-line discrimination claim, as detailed below.[1]
As we summarized in a prior advisory (available here), two years ago, during the Biden administration’s tenure, the FTC announced its intention to ramp up enforcement of the RPA, a Great Depression era anti-price discrimination law, after decades of non-enforcement. The RPA forbids a seller of goods from engaging in price discrimination between two or more different purchasers. The rationale for the RPA was that preventing such price discrimination would enable smaller companies to compete with larger businesses.Read More Federal Judge Allows FTC’s Robinson-Patman Act Suit Against Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits to Continue Beyond Motion to Dismiss Stage
Antitrust Insights: A Conversation with Robert M. Langer
On April 24, 2025, Senior Counsel Robert M. Langer will participate in a webinar hosted by the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section. Bob will share insights on key legal precedents, multistate enforcement, and the role of state attorneys general. Participants will gain valuable perspectives on past and current trends shaping competition law.
A Senior Counsel at Wiggin and Dana, Bob Langer has represented clients
Read More Antitrust Insights: A Conversation with Robert M. LangerThe FTC Releases New “Junk Fee” Rule
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has announced its narrowed “Junk Fee” Rule that targets pricing practices in the short-term lodging and live-event ticketing industries.[1] The Rule results from the FTC’s efforts over the past year to ban so-called “bait-and-switch” pricing tactics to ensure that, “consumers searching for hotels or vacation rentals or seats at a show or sporting event will no longer be surprised
Read More The FTC Releases New “Junk Fee” RuleTrump 2.0 — Back to the Future?
After winning the presidency, Donald Trump will look to bring his own antitrust enforcement priorities to his second administration. During his first term, Donald Trump’s Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Department of Justice (“DOJ”) engaged in relatively robust enforcement of the antitrust laws, including suing to block the proposed merger of AT&T/Time Warner, as well as bringing cases against Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) for
Read More Trump 2.0 — Back to the Future?The FTC Has Significantly Expanded the Scope of Its Negative Option Rule
On October 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released its Negative Option Rule. A “negative option” is an arrangement where goods or services are provided based on a consumer’s silence, a failure to take some affirmative action to reject or cancel. The most recognized type of negative option program is a subscription service with automatic renewal features.
The Rule, also known as the “Click-to-Cancel”
Read More The FTC Has Significantly Expanded the Scope of Its Negative Option RuleFTC Finalizes Dramatic Changes to HSR Premerger Filing
On October 10, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced its final rules with respect to Premerger Notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 (as amended) (“HSR”). The final rules formalize what will be the largest change to premerger notification requirements since at least 2000. The final rules follow from the draft rules that the FTC published in June 2023.[1] The new
Read More FTC Finalizes Dramatic Changes to HSR Premerger Filing