Newsonomics: The Guardian is trying to swing Google’s pendulum back to publishers

NiemanLab, here.

Brussels to probe online search listings

FT, here.

"Brussels will this year launch a probe into online platforms such as Amazon and Google examining the way they list search results and how they use customer data...The investigation will look at the role of paid for links and advertisements in search results, along with the ability of individuals and businesses to move from platform to platform"

Apple rejette les applis pour Apple Watch qui donnent l'heure

Numerama, ici. 

Microsoft Will Allow Easy Ports Of Android Apps To Windows 10

AndroidPolice, here. 

Open, Dominate, Close

FairSearch, here and here.

Data is at the heart of search. but who has access to it?

A. Gal, here. 

Google’s Looming Battle Over Search

G. Manne, here.

Business ecosystems come of age

Deloitte, here. 

Facebook Is Shutting Down Its API For Giving Your Friends’ Data To Apps

TechCrunch, here.

No Mistake About it: The Important Role of Antitrust in the Era of Big Data

A. Grunes, M. Stucke, here. 

Oracle under antitrust probe in South Korea

The Korea Herald, here. 

Artificial Intelligence & Collusion: When Computers Inhibit Competition

A. Ezrachi, M. Stucke, here. 

Leistungsschutzrecht: VG Media will angeblich 6 Prozent des Google-Umsatzes in Deutschland

Heise.de, hier.

Online Vertical Restraints Special Project Report

ACCC, here. 

Across Platform Parity Agreements (APPAs): CMA Private Motor Insurance Market Investigation

A. Crisholm, Presentation here (download).

Facebooks Datenauswertung: Verstecken kann sich niemand mehr

FAZ, hier. 

Uber lanza desde España el servicio de comida en casa en 10 minutos

ElMundo, aquì. 

Guardian and FT among news publishers across Europe taking €150m 'handout' from Google

Pressgazette.co.uk, here.

Rate parity: The (US) battle to determine how you buy hotel rooms

ChicagoTribune, here

The Sticky Case of Sticky Data: An Examination of the Rationale, Legality, and Implementation of a Right to Data Portability Under European Competition Law

P. Moura, here. 

Google announces Patent Purchase Promotion, an experimental marketplace for outbidding patent trolls

VentureBeat, here. 

Invention as a combinatorial process: evidence from US patents

H.Youn, D. Strumsky, L. Bettencourt, J. Lobo, here. 

HOTREC General Assembly’s statement on the decisions taken on 21 April 2015 on the commitments of Booking.com

Hotrec, here. 

Google slams Australian piracy site-blocking legislation

ZDNet, here.

Intellectual Property and Competition in the Pharmaceutical Industry

AGCM, Conference presentations available here. 

Shaken, not stirred. Competition Law Enforcement and Standard Essential Patents.

A. Italiener, here. 

What's Next For Comcast? After Failed TWC Merger, Cable Giant Faces Regulated, Cord-Cutting Future

IBTimes, here.

See also AAI's statement here. 

Europe Looks to Tame Web’s Economic Risks

WSJ, here (via Google search).

Xiaomi is copying its China playbook to win over India’s smartphone market

QZ.com, here. 

The Basics Of Open Patent Licensing

TechCrunch, here. 

What Signals From Twitter Does Google Care About?

SearchEngineLand, here. 

Microsoft Office reaches 100 million downloads on iOS and Android

TheVerge, here. 

Allianz gegen Piraterie-Websites an kartellrechtlichen Bedenken gescheitert

Heise.de, hier.

Homo economicus and Homo sapiens: The CMA experience of behavioural economics

D. Currie, here.

(Terrific read - and compulsory for the students attending my upcoming Fall Antitrust Course)

It’s John Deere’s tractor, folks. You’re just driving it

Wired.com, here. 

EC sends Statement of Objections to Gazprom - Factsheet

Here.

Some further background here (almost 3-year-old paper, but still as fresh as a daisy). 

As rate parity falters, what OTAs and hotels may do next

Tnooz.com, here. 

MLE's Report from the 63rd ABA Antitrust Law Spring Meeting

Here. 

Booking.com: "engagements particulièrement étendus"

Autorité de la concurrence, ici. Décision ici.
Comunicato stampa AGCM qui. 

Competition policy in the EU: Outlook and recent developments in antitrust

M. Vestager, here.

Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Inequality

J. Baker, S. Salop, here. 

Theories of Self-Preferencing Under Article 102 TFEU: A Reply to Bo Vesterdorf

N. Petit, here. 

Zur Zulässigkeit elektronischer Leseplätze in Bibliotheken

Bundesgerichtshof, Nr. 64/2015, hier.

What did GOOGLE do SO WRONG to get a slapping from the EU?

TheRegister, here. 

Google apologises to newspapers over 'nonsense' traffic stats in EU response

Theguardian.com, here. 

Google’s Antitrust Defense: Trust Us, We Know What’s Best

Skift.com, here. 

The EU Reg Is Coming; What Will It Look Like?

Privacyassociation.org, here. 

The Search for Harm

GooglePolicyBlog, here.

Android has helped create more choice and innovation on mobile than ever before

Googlepolicyblog, here. 

EU Commission sends Statement of Objections to Google on comparison shopping service; opens separate formal investigation on Android

Press Release, here.
Commissioner Vestager's statement here.
Minutes of the meeting of the Commission here (on Android: "She pointed out that Google had led development of the Android mobile operating system since 2005, and the majority of smartphone and tablet manufacturers used this system, having concluded agreements with Google to obtain the right to install Google's applications on their devices. She explained that the Commission's in-depth investigation would focus on whether, by doing so, Google had breached EU antitrust rules by hindering the development and market access of rival mobile operating systems, applications and services to the detriment of consumers and developers of innovative services and products").

Europe to accuse Google of illegally abusing its dominance

FT.com, here.

"Ms Vestager on Wednesday will also launch a separate formal investigation into Google’s Android operating system for smartphones.
The Commission probe will examine whether Google imposes uncompetitive terms on handset makers that ultimately favour its own lucrative apps such as YouTube. Google rejects any allegations of wrongdoing and says Android is an open platform distributed free."

2nd Circ. Wary Of Anti-Competitive Intent In Namenda Plan

Law360.com, here. 

Eau de Fracking? Companies Try to Trademark Scents

WSJ.com, here. 

Debunking the Myth of a Data Barrier to Entry for Online Services

G. Manne, B. Sperry, here. 

Assicurazioni: due multe per 29 milioni di euro a Unipolsai e Generali per intesa anti-concorrenziale

AGCM, I744 here. 

Competition policy for the Digital Single Market: Focus on e-commerce

M. Vestager, here. 

Supreme Court Asked to Clarify the Reach of U.S. Antitrust Laws to Foreign Conduct

Natlawreview.com, here. 

Commissioner Vestager announces proposal for e-commerce sector inquiry

Press Release, here.
Only around 15% of European citizens "bought online from a seller based in another EU Member State. This indicates that significant cross-border barriers to e-commerce still exist within the EU. For example, technical barriers, such as geo-blocking, may prevent consumers from accessing certain websites on the basis of their residence or credit-card details".

Want Privacy? Then Dump Facebook Account, EU Court Told

BloombergBusiness, here.

Erstes Leistungsschutzrecht-Exempel: Verlag rächt sich mit Abmahnung an Medienagentur

t3n, hier.

The FCC’s Net Neutrality Order Protects Internet Freedom by Restoring the Law

S. Turner and M. Wood, here. 

What Is Original?

NPR, here. 

The FTC’s internal memo on Google teaches companies a terrible lesson

WashingtonPost, here. 

Independent review of the sharing economy

UK Government response, here. 

FTC Staff Report: Google Purposely Demoted Competing Shopping Sites

MarketingLand, here.

Inside the U.S. Antitrust Probe of Google

WSJ, here.
Excerpts from FTC Google Report, here.

Competition World: A global survey of recent competition and antitrust law developments with practical relevance

NortonRoseFulbright, here. 

E-Books: Bundesregierung tritt für gesenkte Mehrwertsteuer ein

Heise.de, hier. 

The Net Neutrality Order: It’s Worse Than We Thought

NERA, here

Textbook cartels versus the real deal: Should we be surprised if some cartels do not lead to damage?

F. Maier-Rigaud, C. Milde, M. Helm, here. 

"We know that plain packaging works"

WHO, here. 

Banana cartel: GC ruling confirmed

CJEU, case C-286/13 P, here. 

The Theory of Two-Sided Markets: An Economic Bubble?

D. Auer, N. Petit, here. 

Antitrust in Two-Sided Markets: The Pros and Cons

Konkurrensverket, Seminar Recap and Presentations here

A Legal and Empirical Study of 3D Printing Online Platforms and an Analysis of User Behaviour

D. Mendis and D. Secchi for the UK IPO, here. 

The Private Motor Insurance Market Investigation Order 2015

CMA, here. 

Survey on merchants' costs of processing cash and card payments

EC, here. 

Delivering Packages (on the Internet)

R. Picker, here. 

Microsoft Is Developing Software That Converts Android Phones To Windows 10

TechCrunch, here.

ResearchKit : Apple impose la transparence aux chercheurs

Numerama.com, ici.

German Startup Campaigns For Personal Data API Law

TechCrunch, here. 

Android taxonomies

B. Evans, here. 

Apple joins the Open Compute Project

Business Insider, here.

La CNMC recurre el Decreto de la Comunidad de Madrid que regula los apartamentos y viviendas de uso turístico

CNMC.es, aquí

Ed Miliband targets energy firms with proposed price-cut powers for Ofgem

TheGuardian, here.

Uber beschwert sich bei der EU-Kommission über Deutschland

Heise.de, hier.

ICANN, copyright infringement, and “the public interest”

WashingtonPost, here. 

Reforming data protection in Europe and beyond: a critical assessment of the second wave of global privacy laws

O. Tene, here. 

Prediction: Apple Will Not Renew Google As Safari Default Search Engine

SearchEngineLand, here. 

Internet of Things - Grand Challenge Workshop: Summary of key findings

Deloitte, here. 

All Your Marketing Data Belongs To Google & Facebook — Will You Keep It There?

MarketingLand, here. 

How Much For a Song?: The Antitrust Decrees that Govern the Market for Music

US Senate Hearing, Written Testimonies here. 

Google and the right to be forgotten

H. Kranenborg, here. 

Kulturpolitische Forderungen für das Urheberrecht im digitalen Umfeld

Bundesregierung.de, Positionspapier hier.

"Google sollte seine Nutzer bezahlen"

Sueddeutsche.de, hier. 

Why Congress Needs to Pass the Innovation Act This Time

Hbr.org, here. 

How Do You Google? New Eye Tracking Study Reveals Huge Changes

Forbes.com, here. 

Datenschlussverkauf in Brüssel

R. Gutjahr, hier. 

Why do we care about Xiaomi?

B. Evans, here.

Google's Grand Experiment: Like Uber for Wireless

K. Werbach, here. 

Takeaways From the FTC/DOJ Workshop on Health Care Competition

Foley & Lardner, here.

Google’s Android Investigated in Russia

FairSearch, here.

Google : les Etats s’inquiètent, Bruxelles enquête, les concurrents ripostent

LesEchos.fr, ici.

The smartphone is the defining technology of the age

TheEconomist, here.

350 years of the scientific journal: celebrating the anniversary of Philosophical Transactions

theGuardian, here.

Amazon Opens Store on Alibaba’s Tmall for Chinese Shoppers

Bloomberg, 

Bottlenecks, Modules and Dynamic Architectural Capabilities

C. Baldwin, here. 

Google Compare For Auto Insurance Launches in California

SearchEngineLand, here. 

Antitrust, Winter, 2015

R. Picker, Consolidated Slides here (a very large ppt file).

Comparison of the Parliament and Council text on the General Data Protection Regulation

EDRI, here.

Livre numérique : l'Europe siffle la fin de la TVA réduite, en France

ZDNet.fr, ici. 

The incredible consolidating travel industry

USA Today, here. 

Verletzungen der Netzneutralität sind in Deutschland schon jetzt die Regel

Netzpolitik.org, hier. 

How Game Historians Are Keeping Your Favorite Bits From Being Lost Forever

TechCrunch, here.

California Supreme Court Takes Up 'Pay for Delay' Settlements

TheRecorder, here. 

50 Legal Scholars to South African Government, re: Flexible Copyright Exceptions

Letter, here.

Co-operating to Compete: The New Agriculture Antitrust Guidelines

A. Italiener, here.

Penalty Fair?

Inngot for the UK IPO, here.

The Battle Is For The Customer Interface

TechCrunch, here. 

Twenty Years Down the Road: A Q&A With Paul Goldstein, Author of Copyright’s Highway

Sociallyawareblog, here. 

O2 parent Telefonica trials brand-sponsored data plans

MarketingMagazine.co.uk, here.. 

Bundeskartellamt untersagt Wettbewerbsverbote für Mieter in Factory Outlet Center

Bundeskartellamt, hier. 

Will Google someday rank web pages based on how accurate they are? A new paper suggests they might.

Searchengineland.com, here.

Agrar-Großhändler unter Kartellverdacht

FAZ.net, hier. 

Die Sektoruntersuchung des Bundeskartellamts zur Nachfragemacht im Lebensmitteleinzelhandel – Ein Kommentar aus ökonomischer Perspektive

J. Haucap, U. Heimeshoff, S. Thorwarth, C. Wey, hier. 

Leaked documents: European data protection reform is badly broken

EDRi, here. 

Waze can be preinstalled on your next Android phone: Why does Google need to stick two different mapping apps on your device?

TheNextWeb, here. See also here. 

Three Regulatory Principles to Promote Innovation

M. Ohlhausen, here.

Excellent: Android Ecosystem is Low-Margin, Fragmenting - Open source working exactly as it should

G. Moody, here.

Deutsche Bahn einigt sich im Kartellstreit mit drei Airlines

Finanzen.net, hier. 

Data Monopolists Like Google Are Threatening the Economy

K. Radinsky, here.

Microsoft exec: Android is vulnerable and Windows 10 will help us steal its users

VentureBeat, here. 

Abänderungsanträge sollen EU-Urheberrecht einbetonieren: Nächste Runde im Streit um Reda-Report

Netzpolitik, hier,

Time for Supreme Court to revisit baseball's antitrust exemption

MercuryNews, here.

Erneute Anhörung im Rechtsausschuss zum Leistungsschutzrecht

Internet-Law, hier.

Google, Our Patron Saint of the Closed Web

SealedAbstract, here.

White House Proposes Broad Consumer Data Privacy Bill

NYTimes, here.

Why the iPhone confounds disruption theorists

J. Gans, here.

Henderson, Rebecca, and Kim Clark (1990), “Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms,” 35 (1), 81-112,  here.

Commissioner Wright Rightly Calls the Question on Section 5 Guidance

TruthOnTheMarket, here.

Android App Performance Report

AVG, here.

Pichai On Google's Vision, Mobile Revenue, Apple and China

Forbes, here.

UK government to improve protection for businesses against groundless IP threats

Press Release, here. UK government response here.

Antitrust, Capture, Federalism and the North Carolina Dental Case

H. Hovenkamp, here.

The Emergence of De-facto Standards

S. den Uijl, here.

Connecting Antitrust Standards to the Internet of Things

G. Wrobel, here. 

Google just paid $25 million to buy the entire '.app' web domain

BusinessInsider, here. 

Keystones to foster inclusive Knowledge Societies - Access to information and knowledge, Freedom of Expression, Privacy, and Ethics on a Global Internet

UNESCO, Draft Study here. 

Das Showkartell

Zeit.de, hier. 

Joshua Wright on Net Neutrality (not a big fan)

Video  here.

Why Everyone Was Wrong About Net Neutrality

T. Wu, here.

FCC Passes Strict Net Neutrality Regulations On 3-2 Vote

TechCrunch, here.

"Modern regulatory approach" "Legally sustainable rules".

Press Release, here. Chairman Wheeler Statement, here.

Dissenting Statements here and here.

ACCC v Pfizer Australia

Federal Court of Australia, here. 

Intellectual Property and Competition

H. Hovenkamp, here. 

Google's Quiet Dominance Over The 'Ad Tech' Industry

A. Grunes, here. 

Mehr Mobilitätsanbieter in Deutschland: Chancen für Verbraucher

J. Haucap, Präsentation hier. 

Google Starts Testing Mobile App Ads In The Google Play Store

TechCrunch, here. 

CMA seeks information on online reviews and endorsements

Here.

Google Play’s Rapid Rise in Germany

Appannie.com, here. 

La CNMC impone sanciones a varios operadores de productos petrolíferos

CNMC, aquì. 

Why the Print Catalog Is Back in Style

HBR, here.

"instead of sending every customer his brand’s largest book, he looks for frequent website visitors and asks, 'Can I only send her 50 pages, or 20, as a reminder of, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go to the website’?”

Producers of Power Rangers Fan Video Might Be In For Copyright Fight

Deadline.com, here. 

Vision for a digital single market

L. Neville-Rolfe, here. 

Net Neutrality Meets Regulatory Economics 101

J. Wright, here.

Tobacco Plain Packaging Discussion Lights Up Again At WTO

IP-watch, here.

Some thoughts on data-driven business models

R. Ehrenberg, Presentation here. 

The Invention of the Software Patent

R. Picker, here. 

Limitations and Exceptions as Key Elements of the Legal Framework for Copyright in the European Union – Opinion on the Judgment of the CJEU in Case C-201/13 Deckmyn

J. Griffiths et al., here. 

North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission

US Supreme Court, here.

Higher Regional Court dismisses appeal in German cement cartel case

Carteldamageclaims.com, here. 

Chip firms put security center stage for the internet of things

GigaOm, here. 

Holy See: Creative approach to intellectual property necessary for health care

Vatican Radio, here. 

The Patent Guide: A handbook for analysing and interpreting patent data

UK  Intellectual Property Office, here.

Sensory and Sensibility - Will Copyright Awake Your Senses?

E. Rosati, Presentation here. 

Removing Barriers to Literacy: How the Marrakesh VIP Treaty Can Change Lives

WIPO, here. 

Unentgeldliche TV-Mitschnitte im Schulunterricht und an Universitäten

Petitionsausschuss des deutschen Bundestages, hier. 

The Advisory Council to Google on the Right to be Forgotten

Here. 

Spotify exec: We collect an ‘enormous amount of data on what people are listening to, where, and in what context’

VentureBeat, here.

Why Apple would benefit from building electric car tech

GigaOm, here.

DOJ Is Right About Apple e-Books

WSJ, here (and below).

The Journal mischaracterizes the trial court’s ruling in the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Apple and five e-book publishers (“All Along the Apple Watchtower,” Review & Outlook, Feb. 17). Specifically, you say that the court found that “allowing consumers to read e-books on the iPad was an antitrust conspiracy.” Not so. The case was about agreements on a vital dimension of competition, namely price. It has long been a universally accepted proposition in both law and economics that agreements among competitors to set and regulate prices are anticompetitive. Thus, the court correctly found the agreements illegal. It is no justification that the agreements were intended to wrest control over the pricing of e-books from Amazon, the dominant player in e-book retailing.

Legitimate competition erodes a dominant firm’s position by offering consumers better prices or products. Here consumers received a worse deal. Indeed, the court found that the agreements led to an almost immediate 18% increase in the average price of e-books—hardly a boon to consumer welfare.

You are on more solid ground as regards the activities of the special master appointed to oversee Apple’s compliance with the verdict. (The publishers settled with DOJ before trial.) Even losing antitrust defendants deserve fairness and a reasonable post-verdict opportunity to show good faith efforts to comply with a court order. As you describe, there is ample evidence that this special master has overreached by placing burdens on Apple that are unnecessary to assuring adherence to the final judgment. As you urge, the Second Circuit should sack the special master or at least rein in his powers.

Theodore A. Gebhard

From social media service to advertising network

ICRI/CIR, in close cooperation with iMinds-SMIT, here. 

An annotated guide to Facebook's privacy settings (that you've never read)

The Star and D. Fraser, here. 

Google, Facebook und Co.: Kartellrechtler sorgen sich um Nutzerdaten

Heise.de, hier

Tobacco industry waged ‘David and Goliath’ campaign against EU

Independent.co.uk, here.
Report (The revision of the 2014 European tobacco products directive: an analysis of the tobacco industry’ s attempts to ‘break the health silo’) here.  

Competition and consumer protection in the cyberspace marketplace

J. Joseph, P. M. Rao, here. 

Accor a saisi l’Autorité de la concurrence contre Booking.com

LesEchos.fr, ici.

Kleine Apps, große Hoffnungen

FAZ, hier.
European App Economy 2015 here. 

Google To Comply with Privacy Measures Set Forth by Italy's DPA

Privacyassociation.org, here. 

"The subject of the film, Edward Snowden, could not be here tonight for some treason"

ArsTechnica, here. 

Reda Report explained

J. Reda, here. 

Weil Obtains Final Approval of Favorable Nationwide Class Action Settlement for Local Television Industry in Antitrust Lawsuit Against the SESAC Performance Rights Organization

Weil.com, here. Order here. 

Análisis de la Contratación Pública en España: Oportunidades de mejora desde el punto de vista de la Competencia

CNMC, aquì. 

Managing Tensions In Online Marketplaces

J. Jordan, here. 

LIBER Argues For Pan-European TDM Exception

Libereurope.eu, here. 

Model contracts for licensing interoperability information

P. Laurent and B. Jean for the European Commission DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology, here (pdf download).

Urheberrechtsreform: Alle gegen Julia

FAZ, hier. 

C4C Supports the Balanced Approach Taken by MEP Reda and Explains Why

Copyright4creativity.eu, here. 

Axelle Lemaire veut donner un statut aux données d'intérêt général

Nextinpact.com, ici.

The Wealth of Nations

In Our Time, Podcast  here.

Haucap: "Facebook ist viel gefährlicher als Google"

Rp-online.de, hier.

Google wins dismissal of U.S. lawsuit over Android app limits

Reuters.com, here. Order here.

Footnote 9:  "At a higher level of abstraction, this means that those competitors who cannot access users are unable to improve their search algorithms, thereby impairing their ability to compete with Defendant on the merits of their respective search products... This is akin to the theory of Sherman Act § 2 monopoly maintenance described in Microsoft, 253 F.3d at 60-62, wherein Microsoft’s exclusive licensing terms prevented OEMs from promoting rival Internet browsers, thereby reducing rival browser usage and developer interest in those browsers, with the effect of maintaining developer focus on developing for Microsoft’s Windows operating system, which contributed to maintaining Microsoft’s monopoly over the market for operating systems" (emphasis added).