Resources Archive - Page 8 of 235 - International Center for Law & Economics

August 7, 2019

Governing the Patent Commons

Dirk Auer & Julian Morris

We suggest that antitrust authorities and courts should draw inspiration from acclaimed scholarship regarding both the evolution of cooperation and the management of common-pool resources.

Intellectual Property

July 30, 2019

Municipal Revenue Extraction Should Not Stand in the Way of Next Generation Broadband

Kristian Stout

Advanced broadband networks are hot topics, but little attention is paid to the critical investments in infrastructure necessary to make these networks a reality. The FCC’s proposed 621 Order is an important measure to help providers deploy high speed broadband across a fragmented municipal regulatory environment.

July 26, 2019

Who’s the Real Destroyer of Retail

Julian Morris & Kristian Stout

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin recently claimed that Amazon has “destroyed the retail industry across the United States” and should be investigated for antitrust violations. The claim doesn’t pass the laugh test. What’s more, the allegation might more rightly be leveled at Mnuchin himself.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 26, 2019

T-Mobile Sprints to the Finish Line: States Demand a Do-Over

Eric Fruits

T-Mobile/Sprint merger cleared with conditions, but some states keep pressing an unconvincing theory to block the merger. Why not view it as making a viable third national competitor which will benefit consumers across the country?

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 24, 2019

The Unconstitutionality of the FCC’s Leased Access Rules

Ben Sperry

Monday July 22, ICLE filed a regulatory comment arguing the leased access requirements enforced by the FCC are unconstitutional compelled speech that violate the First Amendment.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 24, 2019

Merger Lore: Dispelling the Myth of the Maverick

Eric Fruits

The idea of the maverick firm requires that the firm play a critical role in the market. The maverick must be the firm that outflanks coordinated action or acts as a bulwark against unilateral action. By this loosey goosey definition of maverick, a single firm can make the difference between success or failure of anticompetitive behavior by its competitors.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 22, 2019

The Unconstitutionality of the FCC's Leased Access Rules

Ben Sperry

ICLE submitted comments to the FCC on the First Amendment implications of the leased access rules. Associate Director, Legal Research Ben Sperry argued the changes in the video marketplace towards competition undercut the justification for subjecting regulation of cable operators' speech to only intermediate scrutiny.

Telecommunications

July 18, 2019

ICLE Comments on Implementation of Section 621(a)(1) of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984

Geoffrey A. Manne & Kristian Stout & Alec Stapp

In this ex parte letter, ICLE analyzes the law and economics of both the underlying statute and the FCC's proposed rulemaking that would affect the interpretation of cable franchise fees. For a variety of reasons set forth in the letter, we believe that the Commission is on firm legal and economic footing to adopt its proposed Order. Congress intentionally enacted the five percent revenue cap to prevent LFAs from relying on cable franchise fees as an unlimited general revenue source. In order to maintain the proper incentives for network buildout — which are ever more-critical as our economy increasingly relies on high-speed broadband networks — the Commission should adopt the proposed Order.

Telecommunications

July 15, 2019

The Third Circuit’s Oberdorf v. Amazon Opinion Offers a Good Approach to Reining in the Worst Abuses of Section 230

Gus Hurwitz

In a remarkable ruling issued earlier this month, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held in Oberdorf v. Amazon that, under Pennsylvania products liability law, Amazon could be found liable for a third party vendor’s sale of a defective product via Amazon Marketplace.

Data Security & Privacy