US Competition Law and Policy

Subject 732-731 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points:
Level: Graduate/Postgraduate
Dates & Locations: For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: 24 - 26 contact hours per subject.
Total Time Commitment: The time commitment for this subject depends on the candidates background and experience.
Prerequisites: N.A.
Corequisites: N.A.
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements: N.A.
Subject Overview:

Objectives:

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

  • Have a reasonable knowledge of the main United States antitrust cases and policies, with an emphasis on the economic principles that are applied
  • Have a good understanding of the legal and economic modes of analysis that have been used by US courts in antitrust cases
  • Have some understanding of the rules of civil procedure and evidence as they pertain to US antitrust cases, including rules that relate to economic evidence
  • Be able to draw comparisons between, and elicit insights into, Australian competition law from the US experience and approach.

Syllabus:

Using US antitrust cases as the primary vehicle for learning, this subject will cover:

  • Horizontal restraints: Price fixing and related conduct; information exchange and related oligopolistic conduct, group boycotts and related conduct
  • Vertical restraints, including intra-brand restraints (e.g. resale price maintenance and exclusive dealing) and interbrand restraints
  • Monopoly, including market definition, predatory pricing, refusal to deal and other monopolising conduct
  • Mergers, including the basic paradigm; the approach taken under the DOJ merger guidelines, recent cases and conglomerate and vertical mergers.

The syllabus will cover early foundational cases (e.g. Alcoa and Du Pont in the case of market definition; Aspen Skiing and Trinko in the case of refusal to deal; Philadelphia Bank in the case of mergers) as well as more recent cases (e.g. Microsoft in the case of monopolising conduct; Staples and Oracle in the case of mergers; Leegin in the case of RPM; Twombly in the case of price fixing).
Assessment:
  • Class participation (10%)
  • Open-book examination (in class) (50%)
  • Reflective paper (40%) (13 August)
Prescribed Texts: Core subject materials will be provided free of charge to all students. Some subjects require further texts to be purchased. Please visit the subject homepage on the Melbourne Law Masters website by following the link at the bottom of this subject entry.
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills: Please see the Subject Objectives for this information.
Links to further information: 732-731US Competition Law and PolicyMelbourne Law Masters, postgraduate law, post-graduate law, graduate law2009P

Objectives:

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

  • Have a reasonable knowledge of the main United States antitrust cases and policies, with an emphasis on the economic principles that are applied
  • Have a good understanding of the legal and economic modes of analysis that have been used by US courts in antitrust cases
  • Have some understanding of the rules of civil procedure and evidence as they pertain to US antitrust cases, including rules that relate to economic evidence
  • Be able to draw comparisons between, and elicit insights into, Australian competition law from the US experience and approach.

Syllabus:

Using US antitrust cases as the primary vehicle for learning, this subject will cover:

  • Horizontal restraints: Price fixing and related conduct; information exchange and related oligopolistic conduct, group boycotts and related conduct
  • Vertical restraints, including intra-brand restraints (e.g. resale price maintenance and exclusive dealing) and interbrand restraints
  • Monopoly, including market definition, predatory pricing, refusal to deal and other monopolising conduct
  • Mergers, including the basic paradigm; the approach taken under the DOJ merger guidelines, recent cases and conglomerate and vertical mergers.

The syllabus will cover early foundational cases (e.g. Alcoa and Du Pont in the case of market definition; Aspen Skiing and Trinko in the case of refusal to deal; Philadelphia Bank in the case of mergers) as well as more recent cases (e.g. Microsoft in the case of monopolising conduct; Staples and Oracle in the case of mergers; Leegin in the case of RPM; Twombly in the case of price fixing).

  • Class participation (10%)
  • Open-book examination (in class) (50%)
  • Reflective paper (40%) (13 August)
N.A. N.A.24 - 26 contact hours per subject.Core subject materials will be provided free of charge to all students. Some subjects require further texts to be purchased. Please visit the subject homepage on the Melbourne Law Masters website by following the link at the bottom of this subject entry.Please see the Subject Objectives for this information.The time commitment for this subject depends on the candidates background and experience.N.A.Please see the subject homepage on the Melbourne Law Masters website for up to date timetable information.LawLawYNNNParkvillePARKVILLEFor the latest information on this subject, please visit: http://www.masters.law.unimelb.edu.au/subject/732731732-7312

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