Standards, common platforms allowing products to work together, are ubiquitous in our economy. But imagine that a company:(1) has a patent needed to use a standard, (2) promises to license the patent on reasonable terms, and then (3) says it was just kidding as it seeks to block the product or...

Big Tech is in the news. At the center of our political and economic dialogue is the effect that Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have on our lives and what, if anything, governments should do about it. In this short piece, I explain how Big Tech has come under scrutiny, the antitrust...

Drug prices are in the news. “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli increased the price of Daraprim, a treatment for fatal parasitic infections, by 5000%. Mylan found itself on the hot seat for raising the price of the anaphylaxis-treating EpiPen 15 times in 7 years, resulting in a 400% increase to...

Change is in the air and it is coming to antitrust and competition policy in the United States. The unexpected election of President-elect Donald J. Trump opened wide the speculation or mystery about what he and his advisors are planning concerning his administration's antitrust policy. During...

Rising drug prices are in the news. By increasing price, drug companies have placed vital, even life-saving, medicines out of the reach of consumers. In a recent development, brand firms have prevented generics even from entering the market. The ruse for this strategy involves risk-management...

As CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Martin Shkreli made worldwide headlines by obtaining marketing rights to pyrimethamine (Daraprim) and quickly increasing the price 5000 percent, from $13.50 to $750 per pill. In addition to increasing price, Turing initiated another less widely appreciated move...

In FTC v. Actavis, the Supreme Court held that a brand payment to a generic to delay entering the market could have "significant anticompetitive effects" and violate the antitrust laws. In a narrow, formalistic ruling, the court in In re Lamictal held that such payments were limited to cash. On...

The Supreme Court's decision in FTC v. Actavis has justly received widespread attention for its antitrust analysis of settlements by which brand-name drug companies pay generics to delay entering the market. Much of the attention has focused on the application of the Court's standard and the...