Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—N.D. Cal.: April date set for remedy hearing in U.S. suit against Bazaarvoice, (Jan 24, 2014)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

The federal district court in San Francisco will hold a hearing on April 2, 2014, to address the remedy for Bazaarvoice, Inc.’s anticompetitive acquisition of rival PowerReviews, Inc. The court also set deadlines for the Justice Department’s Proposed Final Judgment and for Bazaarvoice’s response (U.S. v. Bazaarvoice Inc., January 22, 2014, Orrick, W.).

Earlier this month, the court ruled that Bazaarvoice’s June 2012 acquisition of PowerReviews violated Sec. 7 of the Clayton Act. The acquisition was found to have significantly increased concentration in the already highly-concentrated market for online ratings and reviews platforms (R&R), which provide an interface for consumers to rate a product online.

In anticipation of the April hearing, the Justice Department has been ordered to file a Proposed Final Judgment, and a brief in support of its Proposed Final Judgment, by February 12, 2014. Bazaarvoice was ordered to file its opposition brief no later than March 5, 2014. Then, the government will have an additional week to file its reply.

To supplement the record for the Final Judgment, Bazaarvoice has been asked to provide any additional information. Bazaarvoice must produce information about its customers and former PowerReviews customers. In addition, it has been asked to provide information on patents, as well as integration of PowerReviews features or functionality into any Bazaarvoice platform.

The case is No. 13-cv-00133-WHO.

Attorneys: Michael Domenic Bonanno, US Department of Justice. Bahram Seyedin-Noor (Alto Litigation, PC) and Daniel Paul Weick (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati) for Bazaarvoice, Inc.

Companies: Bazaarvoice, Inc.

Cases: Antitrust AntitrustDivisionNews CaliforniaNews