WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today announced that the latest in a series of joint public hearings designed to examine the implications of single-firm conduct under the antitrust laws will take place on Jan. 30, 2007, in Berkeley, Calif. and on Feb. 13, 2007, in Chicago. These hearings have been examining whether and when specific types of single-firm conduct may violate Section 2 of the Sherman Act (which prohibits monopolization and attempted monopolization) by harming competition and consumer welfare and when they are procompetitive and lawful. The January and February sessions will be hosted by the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology and the Competition Policy Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and by the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business, respectively.
The January and February 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. These panels also will provide an opportunity for company executives to identify areas where they believe additional agency antitrust guidance would be useful.
The agencies encourage companies that are interested in participating in these hearings to contact Jim Taronji, Attorney, FTC, at 202-326-2420 or jtaronji@ftc.gov. Information about the specific times, locations, and panelists for these hearings, as well as information about other future hearings, will be made available at a later date.
Further information about these hearings will be posted on the Antitrust Division’s Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/hearings/single_firm/sfchearing.htm and on the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov/os/sectiontwohearings/index.htm. Individuals seeking more information on the hearings should contact Gail Kursh, Deputy Chief, Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, at singlefirmconduct@usdoj.gov, or Patricia Schultheiss, FTC, at section2hearings2@ftc.gov.
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