The Broader Implications of Merger Remedies in High Technology Markets
CPI Antitrust Chronicle 14(1), 2014
7 Pages Posted: 18 Dec 2014
Date Written: December 16, 2014
Abstract
Merger remedies are an area of increasing complexity around the world. They are also an area of increased focus by competition authorities both with regard to process (particularly coordination) and substance. Mergers in high technology (high tech) markets remain an area in which there seems to be unsettled law and policy in a number of jurisdictions and where remedies for the same behavior may lead to different outcomes. This essay examines what makes high tech mergers distinct relative to other mergers. It then examines the distinctive remedies (or lack thereof) that agencies may undertake to address competitive concerns in high tech markets. A number of cases suggest that competition authorities should undertake a more nuanced view of how high tech markets work in their merger remedies and, by implication, dominance cases — especially considering the dynamics of the particular case before them.
Keywords: antitrust, mergers, remedies, competition law, dominance, monopolization, technology, innovation, high tech
JEL Classification: K21, L40, O38
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation