FTC, Antitrust Division to Conduct Public Hearings on Single-Firm Conduct

This posting was written by Jeffrey May, editor of CCH Trade Regulation Reporter.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division will hold joint public hearings on the implications of single-firm conduct under the antitrust laws on January 30, 2007, in Berkeley, California, and on February 13, 2007, in Chicago.

The January session will be hosted by the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology and the Competition Policy Center at the University of California, Berkeley, while the February session will be hosted by the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business.

The hearings will examine whether and when specific types of single-firm conduct may violate Section 2 of the Sherman Act by harming competition and consumer welfare and when such conduct is procompetitive and lawful. The panels will provide an opportunity for business executives to express their views on Section 2 issues, including areas where the companies perceive that single-firm conduct has harmed consumers and areas where legitimate procompetitive behavior may have been chilled.

For additional information about the hearings, visit the FTC or Antitrust Division web sites or contact via e-mail Patricia Schultheiss at the FTC (section2hearings2@ftc.gov) or Gail Kursh, Deputy Chief, Legal Policy Section, at the Antitrust Division (singlefirmconduct@usdoj.gov).