18 May SMARTPHONE ANTITRUST EXPERT WITNESS TESTIMONY, CONSULTING AND REPORTS
From a smartphone antitrust expert witness testimony provider’s perspective, mobile devices have become indispensable tools deeply embedded into modern life, making the competitive dynamics in this industry critically important. As major operating systems and manufacturers like Apple, Google, and Samsung have faced growing antitrust scrutiny, smartphone antitrust expert witness leaders are growingly serving as providers for law firms.
- Mobile ecosystems, phone carriers, etc. – Thinking about how one might go about properly defining the relevant antitrust markets, such as whether smartphone operating systems and hardware should be assessed as separate markets or a single integrated ecosystem. Geographic market scope is also evaluated.
- App store policies and competitive effects
– The allegedly restrictive policies and steep commissions charged by offerings like Apple’s App Store and Google Play have drawn allegations of anticompetitive conduct. The best smartphone antitrust expert witness firms examine purported impacts on app developers, consumer choice, and rivalry between mobile ecosystems. - Wireless carrier partnerships and exclusivity – Smartphone makers frequently partner with major wireless carriers, sometimes with contractual exclusivity requirements. Consultants assess whether these arrangements unlawfully raise switching costs and foreclose competition from rival OEMs.
- Interoperability barriers and lock-in effects – There are concerns that inadequate interoperability between different smartphone ecosystems, such as inability to seamlessly transfer data, amplifies consumer lock-in and raises switching costs. A smartphone antitrust expert witness models these effects.
- Bundling and technical tying allegations – Across both hardware and software, tying allegations frequently arise around bundling smartphone components or mandating preinstallation of proprietary apps/services. Authorities evaluate foreclosure impacts.
- Mobile browser and search engine requirements – Antitrust cases have challenged requirements that mobile device makers pre-install certain browsers and set default search engines, potentially inhibiting consumer choice. A smartphone antitrust expert witness quantifies effects on steering behavior.
- Smartphone acquisitions and patent tactics – Consultants evaluate whether certain mergers and acquisitions enhance market power, while also examining claims around potential patent weaponization or excessive royalty demands creating anticompetitive tax on rivals.
The ubiquity of smartphones in digital economies and alleged walled garden ecosystems have made this sector a top priority for antitrust regulators and enforcement actions. A renowned smartphone antitrust expert witness can provide analysis of competitive effects at the intersection of hardware, software and related services.
