Markets Wired

Petition to reopen and modify order: The Commission has received a petition from Nine West Group, Inc. to reopen and modify a prior FTC order. As detailed in the petition, a copy of which can be found on the FTC’s Web site and as a link to this press release, Nine West has requested that the Commission reopen and modify a decision and order dated April 11, 2000, to allow the company to take actions to maintain resale prices, other than unilaterally terminating a retailer without prior notice.

As part of the 2000 order, Nine West was prohibited from fixing, controlling, or maintaining the retail price of women’s footwear, as well as from coercing or pressuring any dealers to maintain, adopt, or adhere to any resale price. According to the petition, the June, 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Leegin Creative Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. 127 S. Ct. 2705 (2007) “constituted a dramatic change in antitrust law and requires that the order now be reexamined.” Nine West’s petition also states that “considerations of fairness and the public interest likewise necessitate” that the order be modified, and that the Leegin ruling has put it at an unfair competitive disadvantage because it is prohibited from entering into minimum resale price maintenance agreements now available to its competitors.

The Commission is accepting comments on the petition for 30 days, until December 6, 2007, after which it will decide whether to approve it. Comments should be sent to: FTC Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20580. (FTC File No. 981-0386; the staff contact is Roberta S. Baruch, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2861; see press release dated March 6, 2000.)

Commission approval of final consent order: Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved a final consent order in the matter concerning Merck KGaA and Mylan Laboratories, Inc. The vote approving the final consent order was 5-0. (FTC File No. 061-0257; the staff contact is Kari A. Wallace, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-3085; see press release dated September 27, 2007.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.