Same Plant, Different Soil: Japan\u27s New Merger Guidelines Symposium on Competition Law and Policy in Developing Countries

Japan\u27s New Merger Guidelines ( New Merger Guidelines ), issued by the Japan Fair Trade Commission ( JFTC ) in May 2004, mark a turning point for antitrust in Japan. It is likely that Japan\u27s New Merger Guidelines will be seen as a model for legal transplants in the future. Despite the similarities between Japan\u27s New Merger Guidelines and the U.S. Horizontal Merger Guidelines ( U.S. Merger Guidelines ), Japan\u27s New Merger Guidelines are unlikely to be a success in the same way that the U.S. Merger Guidelines have been a success since their adoption by the American competition agencies. Although Japan is far from a developing nation or a transitional economy, Japan\u27s experience importing critical features of the U.S. Merger Guidelines canprovide useful lessons. For developing countries also undertaking major revisions to their competition laws, Japan\u27s experience may show that the text of a legal transplant is only one important consideration. Additionally, the context of competition law and the subtext of changes to the existing norms of economic regulation may be just as important to importing antitrust law into developing nations or transitional economies

The iPod Tax: Why the Digital Copyright System of American Law Professors\u27 Dreams Failed in Japan

A number of prominent American law professors have endorsed the notion of a tax on digital recording and music file-sharing-call it an iPod tax --with the proceeds to be paid into a general fund. A clearinghouse representing rights-holders would monitor which works were downloaded and how often and then divvy up the iPod tax revenues to the individual rights-holders. Japan has run a very similar system since the early days of digital recording in 1993. This Article focuses on how Japanese experts decided that regulatory failures merited killing an extension of their existing system, including a proposed iPod tax. In particular, the Article draws on the Japanese debate to propose a friendly amendment that would structure an American clearinghouse as a user-owned cooperative and thus reduce the chances of repeating Japan\u27s mistakes

Same Plant, Different Soil: Japan\u27s New Merger Guidelines Symposium on Competition Law and Policy in Developing Countries

Japan\u27s New Merger Guidelines ( New Merger Guidelines ), issued by the Japan Fair Trade Commission ( JFTC ) in May 2004, mark a turning point for antitrust in Japan. It is likely that Japan\u27s New Merger Guidelines will be seen as a model for legal transplants in the future. Despite the similarities between Japan\u27s New Merger Guidelines and the U.S. Horizontal Merger Guidelines ( U.S. Merger Guidelines ), Japan\u27s New Merger Guidelines are unlikely to be a success in the same way that the U.S. Merger Guidelines have been a success since their adoption by the American competition agencies. Although Japan is far from a developing nation or a transitional economy, Japan\u27s experience importing critical features of the U.S. Merger Guidelines canprovide useful lessons. For developing countries also undertaking major revisions to their competition laws, Japan\u27s experience may show that the text of a legal transplant is only one important consideration. Additionally, the context of competition law and the subtext of changes to the existing norms of economic regulation may be just as important to importing antitrust law into developing nations or transitional economies

Antitrust by Other Means: Haley on Form and Function

To understand how Haley’s work remains relevant, it is worth noting three important aspects of what his research did. First, he managed to articulate a conception of comparative antitrust law during a time when antitrust was often cast as a largely American show. Second, he demonstrated the importance of institutions and legal infrastructure to antitrust law, and how antitrust might function with remedies other than our own. Finally, he explicated the role of politics and political theory in providing a basis for antitrust within a society