The DOJ continued to aggressively pursue and remedy criminal antitrust conduct in 2013. Its efforts included:

The DOJ noted that 2013 was the third time since 2009 that the DOJ collected fines in excess of $1 billion, and has obtained more than $4 billion in fines since then. Additionally, in 2013 the DOJ obtained a record prison sentence for a Sherman Act violation, sending an individual involved in a coastal shipping conspiracy to prison for five years. The DOJ also obtained a 14-year prison sentence for an individual involved in kickbacks at Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund sites for antitrust violations and other criminal activity.

The DOJ also listed two criminal trials that ended in victories for the DOJ, including trials for:

For more information on the real estate foreclosure auctions cartel, see DOJ Public Foreclosure Auction Cartels Investigation Chart.

Finally, the DOJ listed its continuing investigations into cartel activities, including:

For more information on the auto parts cartel, see DOJ Auto Parts Cartel Investigation Chart. For more information on the municipal bonds cartel, see DOJ Municipal Bonds Bid-rigging Investigation Chart.

The DOJ announced that in 2013, it challenged, restructured or saw abandonment of 13 of the 1,326 premerger notifications filed under the HSR Act and successfully litigated a challenge to one consummated merger. The DOJ also applauded its enforcement efforts under Section 7 of the Clayton Act in various industries, including:

The DOJ merger and civil non-merger enforcement actions in 2013 included actions against:

For summaries of each of the DOJ's merger enforcement actions listed above, see What's Market, Federal Merger Enforcement Actions. For a 2013 year-in-review of merger enforcement across both the FTC and DOJ, see Article, The Year in Review: 2013 Federal Merger Enforcement.

In 2013, the DOJ focused on two particular areas of competition advocacy:

With respect to IP rights and competition law, the DOJ continued to work with standard-setting organizations to develop IP policies that promote competition, including policies regarding standard-essential patents (SEPs) subject to fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) commitments. Notably, the DOJ issued a joint policy statement with the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) on remedies for SEPs subject to voluntary FRAND commitments. The DOJ also worked with international IP agencies to promote competitive practices internationally. For more information on SEPs, see Practice Note, Antitrust Risks in Standard-setting Organizations and Article, Expert Q&A on Standard-essential Patents.

With respect to telecommunications markets, the DOJ worked with the FCC to encourage competitive communications markets, specifically regarding:

The DOJ cooperated with many international antitrust authorities in 2013 for various competition enforcement efforts, including:

Further, the FTC and DOJ issued a joint model confidentiality waiver for party and third-party companies to facilitate international cooperation for merger and civil non-merger matters (see Legal Update, FTC and DOJ Issue Updated Joint Model Waiver of Confidentiality).

The DOJ also participated in many meetings and conferences with international antitrust enforcers, including those representing:

The DOJ will continue to work with international antitrust authorities to build relationships with foreign countries in the interest of promoting sound antitrust policy.