April 16, 2007
Antitrust Modernization Commission Issues Report
From a Wilson Sonsini memo: After three years of research and deliberation, the Antitrust Modernization Commission issued its report on April 2nd. This highly anticipated report recognizes that, for the most part, the antitrust laws are working well. The report proposes no changes to the substantive statutory provisions of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, Sections 3 and 7 of the Clayton Act, and Section 5 of the FTC Act.
However, significant recommendations were made, including the repeal of the Robinson-Patman Act, the reform of indirect purchaser litigation, the repeal of existing judicial rules forbidding claim reduction and contribution by alleged joint tortfeasors, the reform of merger clearance and the process for issuing “second requests” under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, and narrowing the number and scope of antitrust exemptions and immunities. Given that the complete set of recommendations is extensive, this Client Alert provides a brief overview of some of the most significant proposed changes.
We have posted additional memos on this development in our “Antitrust” Practice Area.