On May 5, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a proposed rule that drastically limits the effectiveness of arbitration clauses in consumer financial product agreements. Specifically, the proposed rule bans providers of “consumer financial products” from including arbitration clauses in their contracts that prohibit consumers from filing or participating in class actions. The proposed rule also sets out specific language regarding the right
Read More CFPB Proposes Rule Banning Class Action ProhibitionsAdvisory
Third Circuit Affirms FTC’s Ability to Bring Cybersecurity Enforcement Actions
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On August 24th, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its decision in Federal Trade Commission v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp., affirming a 2014 district court ruling that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has the authority to regulate cybersecurity lapses. The Third Circuit also held that Wyndham – the global hospitality giant — had fair notice that its cybersecurity practices could…
Read More Third Circuit Affirms FTC’s Ability to Bring Cybersecurity Enforcement ActionsCompetition News, June 2015
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Unilateral Price Policies in the Contact Lens Industry: Can Manufacturers Be Forced to Sell to Every Retailer?
It is a cardinal rule of antitrust that – absent very limited exceptions – parties can do business, or refuse to do business, with whomever they choose. The Supreme Court solidified that premise in United States v. Colgate & Co., 250 U.S. 300, 307 (1919), and has…
Read More Competition News, June 2015FTC Announces New Premerger-Notification and Interlocking-Directorate Thresholds
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced its annual adjustment of the thresholds for premerger notification filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR), as well its adjustment for the thresholds for prohibitions on certain interlocking directorates under Section 8 of the Clayton Act.
The new HSR thresholds will be effective thirty days after publication in the Federal Register. Publication is expected sometime during the week of…
Read More FTC Announces New Premerger-Notification and Interlocking-Directorate ThresholdsFCC Gives Companies Six Months to Seek Retroactive Waiver of Fax Ad Rule
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In a long-awaited decision, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) announced on October 30th that fax advertisements must include a detailed notice that describes the recipient’s right to opt out of receiving future fax ads—even if the recipient consented to receive the fax. But, in an unusual concession, the agency also announced that it would retroactively waive the opt-out notice requirement for companies that had petitioned…
Read More FCC Gives Companies Six Months to Seek Retroactive Waiver of Fax Ad RuleFTC Publishes Revised Guides for Advertising Allowances and Other Merchandising Payments
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Recently, for the first time in 24 years, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published revisions to its guidelines on advertising allowances and other promotional payments and services, widely known as the Fred Meyer Guides (“Guides”). Originally published in 1969, the Guides explain Sections 2(d) and 2(e) of the Robinson-Patman Act, which require a seller that pays for or provides promotional allowances to customers to do…
Read More FTC Publishes Revised Guides for Advertising Allowances and Other Merchandising PaymentsNew Guidance on Providing Financial Services to Medical Marijuana Businesses
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Connecticut recently awarded licenses to four medical marijuana producers, marking the beginning of Connecticut’s legal medical marijuana industry. Although medical marijuana businesses are licensed and heavily regulated by the State of Connecticut,[1] they have had difficulty securing basic financial services due to ambiguities in federal policy. Financial institutions are wary of servicing such clients owing to the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and…
Read More New Guidance on Providing Financial Services to Medical Marijuana BusinessesSupreme Court Limits Removal of State Attorney General Actions to Federal Court
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Connecticut recently awarded licenses to four medical marijuana producers, marking the beginning of Connecticut’s legal medical marijuana industry. Although medical marijuana businesses are licensed and heavily regulated by the State of Connecticut,[1] they have had difficulty securing basic financial services due to ambiguities in federal policy. Financial institutions are wary of servicing such clients owing to the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and…
Read More Supreme Court Limits Removal of State Attorney General Actions to Federal CourtFederal Trade Commission Expands Requirements for Reporting Pharmaceutical Patent License Transactions
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Upcoming revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”) will result in numerous additional pharmaceutical licensing transactions becoming subject to filing requirements under the HSR Act. On November 6, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) released the final version of amendments to be made to the HSR Act. The amendments will impact the analysis of whether parties to…
Read More Federal Trade Commission Expands Requirements for Reporting Pharmaceutical Patent License TransactionsThe FTC’s Revised Green Guides
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On October 1, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued final revisions to its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides or Guidance). The FTC will publish the more than 300-page Green Guides in the Federal Register at 16 C.F.R. Part 260; you may review the text of the Guidance here and at the FTC’s website. Though the Guidance does not…
Read More The FTC’s Revised Green Guides