Collusive Practices Inside a Business Network: The Case of Information Exchange
Business networks are systems of business cooperation integrating several firms that have at the same time cooperation and competition relationships, what makes them a relevant phenomenon for Competition Law. This paper analyses whether some agreements between network members may infringe Art. 101.1 TFEU, taking as an example one of the most important features of business networks – the information exchanges inside them. To this aim, it delimits the different kinds information exchanges taking place in horizontal or vertical networks, identifies the most relevant cases for Competition Law, and proposes an adequate assessment methodology that takes into account the existence and features of the network. The paper therefore concludes that competition law rules cannot be automatically applied when the cooperating companies belong to a business network, and that an accurate competitive analysis in these cases has to consider also the existence, aims, interests, and organizational and functional needs of the network
ECONOMIC EVIDENCE ON THE EXISTENCE OF COLLUSION: RECONCILING ANTITRUST LAW WITH OLIGOPOLY THEORY
herein are not purported to represent those of the U.S. Department of Justice. 1 E.g., Williamson Oil Co. v. Philip Morris USA, 346 F.3d 1287 (11th Cir. 2003) (summary judgment for defendants affirmed); In re High Fructose Corn Syrup Antitrust Litig., 295 F.3d 651 (7th Cir. 2002) (summary judgment for defendants reversed), cert. denied 123 S. Ct. 1251, and cert. denied, 123 S. Ct. 1253, and cert. denied, 123 S. Ct. 1254 (2003); Blomkest Fertilizer, Inc. v. Potash of Sask., 203 F.3d 1028 (8th Cir. 2000) (summary judgment for defendants affirmed by 6–5 en banc vote); In re Brand Name Prescription Drugs Antitrust Litig., 186 F.3d 781 (7th Cir. 1999) (judgment for defendants as a matter of law affirmed); In re Baby Food Antitrust Litig., 166 F.3d 112 (3d Cir. 1999) (summary judgment for defendants affirmed); City of Tuscaloosa v. Harcros Chems., Inc., 158 F.3d 548 (11th Cir. 1998) (summary judgment for defendants reversed). 2 Roger D. Blair, Lessons from City of Tuscaloosa, ANTITRUST, Summer 1996, at 43; Roger D. Blair & Jill Boylston Herndon, Ambiguous is Still Ambiguous, ANTITRUST, Spring 2003, at 48 (Blair & Herndon III); Roger D. Blair & Jill Boylston Herndon, Inferring Collusion from Economic Evidence, ANTITRUST, Summer 2001, at 17 (Blair & Herndon II); Roger D. Blair & Jill Boylston Herndon, The Implications of Daubert for Economic Evidence in Antitrust Cases, 57 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 801 (2000) (Blair & Herndon I); Andrew I. Gavil, Defining Reliable Forensic Economics in the Post-Daubert/Kumho Tire Era: Case Studies from Antitrust, 57 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 831 (2000) (Gavil II); Andrew I. Gavil, After Daubert: Discerning the Increasingly Fine Line between the Admissibility and Sufficiency of Expert Testimony in Antitrust Litigation, 65 ANTITRUST L.J. 663 (1997) (Gavil I); Herbert Hovenkamp, Economic Experts in Antitrust Cases, in 3 MODERN SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE ch. 23 (David L. Faigman et al. eds., 2d ed. 2002); Robert F. Lanzillotti, Coming to Terms with Daubert in Sherman Act Complaints: A Suggested Economic Approach, 77 NEB. L. REV. 83 (1998); Robert F. Lanzillotti & James T. McClave, Comment: Meeting the “Ambiguity” Test under Daubert, ANTITRUST, Spring 2003, at 44; Robert A. Milne & Jack E. Pace III, Conspiratologists at the Gate: The Scope of Expert Testimony on the Subject of Conspiracy in a Sherman Act Case, ANTITRUST, Spring 2003, at 36. The Daubert line of cases consists principally of Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999); General Electric Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136 (1997); and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993). 3 Expert economic testimony on the existence of unlawful agreements has been employed even longer. Forthcoming in 71 ANTITRUST LAW JOURNAL March 22, 2004
Research requirements to reduce maintenance costs of civil helicopters
The maintenance problems faced by the operators of civil helicopters that result in high costs are documented. Existing technology that can be applied to reduce maintenance costs and research that should be carried out were identified. Good design practice and application of existing technology were described as having a significant impact on reducing maintenance costs immediately. The research and development that have potential for long range reduction of maintenance costs are presented.