Morgan Lewis on Competition
March 2004

In this Issue:

• Articles & Speaking Engagements
• We Have a Flag on the Play: Clarett v. National Football League:
  The District Court for the Southern District of New York recently ruled that the National Football League’s (NFL) rule limiting eligibility to players three seasons removed from their high school graduation violates Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Maurice Clarett, a star freshman football player attending The Ohio State University, who is now in his sophomore year, had brought the suit claiming that the only bar to his participation in the NFL was its eligibility rule.
• Timing is Everything: Statute of Limitations Bars Criminal Price-Fixing Case:
  A divided Fifth Circuit in United States v. Therm-All, Inc., ___ F.3d ____, 2003-2 Trade Cas. (CCH) 74,220 (5th Cir., Dec. 3, 2003), reversing the judgment below, held that the trial court in a criminal price-fixing case involving fiberglass insulation had erred in denying motions for judgments of acquittal, because the government had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a conspiracy had existed during the applicable five-year statute of limitations period.
• Trinko v. Verizon Communications: The Supreme Court Extols the Benefits of Monopoly and Raises the Bar for Plaintiffs:
  The Supreme Court recently revisited the issue of when Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which bans monopolization, requires a firm to do business with a competitor. The current Court apparently considers such situations to be very rare.
• Third Annual Miles W. Kirkpatrick Antitrust Lecture Scheduled for March 30, 2004
• FTC Establishes Requirements for Filing Certain Patent Settlements with FTC and DOJ:
  Pursuant to the new Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, the FTC published a notice on January 7, 2004, setting out requirements under the new Act for filing certain types of patent settlement agreements with the FTC and the DOJ.
• Dr. Gerrit Schohe Joins Morgan Lewis Antitrust Practice
• European Competition Symposium Honors Joseph P. Griffin
• Upcoming Events at the ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting

For the full story, please view the PDF.