Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, WORTH NOTING—Other Antitrust and Trade Regulation developments, (Aug 11, 2016)

A periodic roundup of other items of interest to the Antitrust and Trade Regulation community:

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: The European Commission (EC) has cleared the proposed acquisition of Valspar Corp. by Sherwin-Williams Co. The two U.S. companies manufacture and sell paints and coatings globally, according to the EC, but the proposed deal would not raise competition concerns because the overlaps between the companies’ activities in decorative and industrial coatings are very limited in the European Economic Area. The EC also concluded that various strong players will remain active in these markets after the merger. It is unclear whether the FTC will take any action to block the proposed transaction in the United States. According to Valspar, the Commission sent the companies a request for additional information and documentary material in May 2016.

ADVERTISING NEWS: The FTC has closed its investigation into whether Mega Sign, Inc. violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by overstating the extent to which the company’s light-emitting diode or LED signs were made in the United States. Although the signs were assembled in the United States using some U.S. components, the FTC found that key sign parts were imported. The Commission decided not to pursue the investigation any further after Mega Sign took steps to avoid deceiving consumers, including the removal of unqualified "Made in USA" claims from affected advertising materials, and the replacement of those claims with qualified claims like "Manufactured in the USA with Domestic and Imported Components." Mega Sign also provided updated information to its third-party retailers, the FTC noted.

ADVERTISING NEWS: The FTC and U.S. Department of Agriculture will be hosting a roundtable in Washington, D.C. on October 20, to discuss how consumers perceive "organic" claims for non-agricultural products, like cosmetics. The roundtable will specifically explore how to convey organic claims non-deceptively, following a joint study that found that qualifications could make a significant difference in how consumers perceive an organic claim. According to a report released by FTC staff, the study found that respondents were roughly split between those who believe that organic claims have the same meaning for non-food products and food products, and those who believe they have different meanings. In addition, roughly 35 percent of respondents believed that organic claims for shampoos or mattresses imply that the product meets some government standard.

ANTITRUST NEWS: The Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia has filed charges against Apple Inc., alleging that the iPhone maker coordinated a price fixing conspiracy among Russian resellers of Apple’s iPhone6s and iPhone 6s Plus. A group of 16 retailers have fixed and maintained the prices for these iPhones, according to the FAS, and there were similarities in the resellers’ prices for other Apple smartphones. Apple purportedly led the price fixing conspiracy in the Russian market and set the so-called "recommended" prices as obligatory.

Companies: Apple Inc.; Mega Sign, Inc.; Valspar Corp.; Sherwin-Williams Co.

News: AcquisitionsMergers Advertising Antitrust