Insights

New York – September 14, 2023: Eric S. Aronson, a widely respected trial lawyer with broad experience in trial and appellate courts across the nation, has joined Crowell & Moring as a partner in the firm’s Litigation Group in New York.

Washington – January 11, 2023: Crowell & Moring has published Litigation Forecast 2023: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year. The 11th-annual Litigation Forecast focuses on trends in litigation that are playing out in specific jurisdictions around the globe. 

On February 16, 2023 the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) hosted a virtual public forum on the agency’s proposed rule that would ban virtually all non-compete agreements between employers and employees, previously reported on here. The forum, which included a discussion by a panel of six individuals who have experience with or have been affected by non-compete agreements, as well as an open public comment opportunity, reflected surprisingly mixed views on whether the FTC’s proposed rule should be adopted.

On January 11, 2022, District Judge James Boasberg (D.D.C) largely denied Facebook’smotion to dismiss an amended complaint filed by the FTC. The FTC sued Facebook in December 2020 under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act, which authorizes the FTC to seek an injunction against an entity that “is violating” or “is about to violate” any provision of law enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC alleges that Facebook has acted unlawfully to maintain its monopoly in an alleged Personal Social Networking market in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which is alleged to constitute an unfair method of competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act. In June 2021, Judge Boasberg granted Facebook’s initial motion to dismiss, but allowed the FTC to file an amended complaint, and the FTC did so in August 2021. 

House Antitrust Subcommittee leaders David Cicilline and Ken Buck unveiled last Friday five antitrust reform bills that would target the largest technology platforms, as well as the need to increase federal enforcement agency budgets.  The effort follows the Subcommittee’s extensive Fall 2020 report and earlier proposed legislation by Senator Amy Klobuchar that would expand the federal antitrust laws’ coverage of exclusionary conduct and unlawful mergers. 

Please join the Unilateral Conduct Committee and the Intellectual Property Committee for a webinar, "Enforcement actions and Qualcomm: What do they mean for patent owners and patent licensing?", on Feb. 28 at noon Eastern.