Our Curious Amalgam

The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) may have been a familiar forum to parties in international trade to address disputes over intellectual property rights. But can the ITC also be an alternative adjudication body for private antitrust litigation? The Honorable F. Scott Kieff, Professor of Law at the George Washington Law School and former USITC commissioner speaks with Anora Wang and Christina Ma on the ITC’s design, the agency’s Section 337 docket, and ITC proceedings involving antitrust. Listen to this episode to learn about the ITC as an agency and its relevance to competition. With special guest: F. Scott Kieff, Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School Related Links: 1. F. Scott Kieff, Private Antitrust at the U.S. International Trade Commission, 14 J. Comp. L. & Econ. 46 (2018) 2. F. Scott Kieff, "A Soup to Nuts Overview of a Job Search: A Common Sense Primer for Law Students" (2009) Hosted by: Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter and Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

There is a growing interest in understanding the “ownership interests hypothesis,” i.e., whether investors holding interests in competing firms will soften firms’ incentives to compete and generate anticompetitive effects. But what do the data show? Isabel Tecu, principal at Charles River Associates and co-author of a leading study on common ownership focusing on the airlines industry, discusses her observations and insights with Anora Wang and Christina Ma. Listen to this episode to learn about the knowns and unknowns from the empirical evidence as well as implications for competition policy. With special guest: Isabel Tecu, Principal, Charles River Associates Related Links: 1. José Azar, Martin C. Schmalz & Isabel Tecu, Anticompetitive Effects of Common Ownership (Working Paper, 2014) 2. Isabel Tecu, "Anticompetitive Effects of Common Ownership" at Seven Years, Antitrust Magazine, Volume 36, Issue 1 (Fall 2021) Hosted by: Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter and Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

The FTC’s General Counsel (GC) is the agency’s chief legal officer and adviser that provides counsel on various issues of law and policy and represents the agency in court. What are some of the most regular and important issues at the FTC’s GC office? Prof. Alden Abbott, former FTC GC and current Senior Research Fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, speaks with John Roberti and Anora Wang on issues including the Administrative Procedure Act, which can be critical especially when the agency expands or restricts its authorities. Listen to this episode to better understand the FTC’s GC role. With special guest: Alden Abbott, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University Related Links: Alden Abbott, FTC Competition Regulation: A Cost-Benefit Appraisal (June 28, 2021) Hosted by: John Roberti, Cohen & Gresser and Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter

The Section Lunch at the Antitrust Law Section’s Annual Spring Meeting in March 2022 featured a panel discussion with four trailblazing women leaders who have served as current or former competition agency chiefs in their countries. By popular demand, we are dedicating an episode of Our Curious Amalgam to each of these inspiring panelists. In this episode, hosts Alicia Downey and Jaclyn Phillips ask Cani Fernández, President of the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission, to talk about Spain's competition regime, newsworthy accomplishments of the Commission under her leadership, and her own professional journey. With special guest: Cani Fernández, President of the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission Related Link: Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission Hosted by: Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC and Jaclyn Phillips, White & Case LLP

Amidst the current momentum for antitrust reform, are U.S. lawmakers and enforcers thinking about the role of innovation in the right way? Aurelien Portuese, Director of the Schumpeter Project on Competition Policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, joins Sergei Zaslavsky and Sarah Zhang to discuss the concept of dynamic efficiency and how antitrust should feature innovation as a central concern. Listen to this episode if you want to learn more about the importance of innovation to competition policy, the relationship between innovation and market power, and whether contemplated antitrust reforms sufficiently take innovation into account. With special guest: Aurelien Portuese, Director of the Schumpeter Project, ITIF Related Link: Aurelien Portuese biography  Hosted by: Sergei Zaslavsky and Sarah Zhang

The Section Lunch at the Antitrust Law Section’s Annual Spring Meeting in March 2022 featured a panel discussion with four trailblazing women leaders who have served as current or former competition agency chiefs in their countries. By popular demand, we are dedicating an episode of Our Curious Amalgam to each of these inspiring panelists. In this episode, hosts Alicia Downey and Elyse Dorsey ask former Israeli Competition Authority Director-General Michal Halperin to talk about Israel’s competition regime, newsworthy accomplishments of the Competition Authority under her leadership, and her own professional journey. With special guest: Michal Halperin, Senior Fellow, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government, Harvard Kennedy School Related Link: Israeli Competition Authority Hosted by: Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC and Elyse Dorsey, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

The Section Lunch at the Antitrust Law Section’s Annual Spring Meeting in March 2022 featured a panel discussion with four trailblazing women leaders who have served as current or former competition agency chiefs in their countries. By popular demand, we are dedicating an episode of Our Curious Amalgam to each of these inspiring panelists. In this episode, hosts Alicia Downey and Anant Raut ask Rahat Kaunain Hassan, Chairperson of the Competition Commission of Pakistan, to talk about Pakistan's competition regime, some of the Commission's most newsworthy accomplishments under her leadership, and her own professional journey. With special guest: Rahat Kaunain Hassan, Chairperson, Competition Commission of Pakistan Related Links: Competition Commission of Pakistan Website The Sugar Cartel Order dated 13 August 2021  The RPM Order in the Home Appliances Market dated 11 March 2022 (Haier/DEL Order) CCP’s in-house documentary in celebration of Women’s Day 2021, highlighting the experiences of CCP’s female officers "Remedy" - poem by Rahat Kounain Hassan Hosted by: Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC and Anant Raut

The Section Lunch at the Antitrust Law Section’s Annual Spring Meeting in March 2022 featured a panel discussion with four trailblazing women leaders who have served as current or former competition agency chiefs in their countries. By popular demand, we are dedicating an episode of Our Curious Amalgam to each of these inspiring panelists. In this episode, hosts Alicia Downey and Anora Wang ask former COFECE Chair Alejandra Palacios to talk about Mexico’s competition regime, newsworthy accomplishments of COFECE under her leadership, and her own professional journey. With special guest: Alejandra Palacios, Senior Fellow at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California (USC) Related Links: COFECE - Federal Economic Competition Commission A converging competition agenda for the prosperity of Mexico and the United States Hosted by: Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC and Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter

Under the U.S. Supreme Court case FTC v. Actavis (2013), antitrust analysis of “reverse settlements” of IP litigations between makers of branded small molecule drugs and generics requires an analysis under the rule of reason. Are there distinct challenges presented by settlements between branded biologics and biosimilars? Sean Sheridan and Archan Ruparel, principals at Charles River Associates, speak with Anora Wang and Christina Ma on the complexities of negotiating patent settlements involving biosimilars. Listen to this episode to learn about pharmaceutical entry, price erosion, and more. With special guests: Sean Sheridan, Principal, Charles River Associates and Archan Ruparel, Principal, Charles River Associates Related Link: Sean Sheridan and Archan Ruparel, FDA Biosimilar Approval Foreshadows IP Litigation Issues (September 15, 2021) Hosted by: Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter and Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s current leadership has a vision for changing various aspects of antitrust laws through rulemaking. But can the FTC’s rulemaking withstand administrative law challenges in federal court? Richard Pierce, renowned administrative law scholar and professor at The George Washington University, walks through the FTC's proposals and potential administrative law challenges with Anora Wang and Christina Ma. Listen to this episode to learn about the legal bases, limitations, and challenges to FTC rulemaking. With special guest: Richard J. Pierce Jr., Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School Related Links: Richard J. Pierce Jr, Can the Federal Trade Commission Use Rulemaking to Change Antitrust Law? (2021) Richard J. Pierce Jr, Important Changes at the Intersection of Antitrust and Administrative Law (2022) Hosted by: Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter and Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz