Managing Principal Rebecca Kirk Fair et Principal Emmanuel Frot discuss vertical restraints (such as resale price maintenance; most-favored customer terms; exclusive contracts and conditional discounting; and tying and bundling) from the perspective of e-commerce businesses. In the article, “United States – E-commerce Economics: Market Power and Enforcement in Vertical Markets,” the authors first define ways in which e-commerce may differ from traditional commercial transactions. They then review the challenges that arise when using traditional competition models to evaluate vertical relationships and restraints in e-commerce. They conclude by exploring the application of these issues in the context of two recent cases: Apple e-Books and In re: Online Travel Company Hotel Booking Antitrust Litigation.
Associated People
Emmanuel Frot
Dr. Frot is an economist with specialized expertise in applying quantitative analyses to competition, litigation, regulatory, and business intelligence issues. He advises firms in a wide range of industries, providing economic and econometric expertise on matters related to mergers, market concentrations, cartel investigations, and damages.
Over the years, he has performed numerous economic and econometric analyses in Phase I and Phase II mergers before the French Competition Authority and the European Commission, including Veolia Transport/Transdev, Jardiland/InVivo, Castel/Patriarche, Fnac/Nature & Découvertes, d’aucy/Triskalia, Lactalis/Nuova Castelli, Lactalis/Leerdammer, CMA CGM / Bolloré Logistics, Canal+/OCS, and Suez/Veolia. He has led case teams and performed economic analyses in several prominent horizontal and vertical cartel cases, as well as estimated damages in antitrust litigation and intellectual property matters. He has also assisted companies in modeling and implementing changes to pricing behavior.
His reports have been presented to the European Commission, the French Competition Authority, the Court of Appeals, the Conseil d’État (France’s highest administrative court), the Tribunal of Commerce of Paris, and regulators in the telecommunications, energy, transportation, and gambling sectors. Dr. Frot has published a number of articles in peer-reviewed journals and regularly speaks at international competition law and policy conferences.