[event] Herbert Hovenkamp: Tech Monopolies

Speaker: Herbert Hovenkamp is the James G. Dinan University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and the Wharton School. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2008 won the Justice Department’s John Sherman Award for his lifetime contributions to antitrust law. In 2012 he served on the ABA’s Committee to advise the President-elect on antitrust matters. His principal writing includes The Opening of American Law: Neoclassical Legal Thought, 1870-1970 (Oxford, 2015); Antitrust Law (formerly with Phillip E. Areeda and Donald F. Turner) (22 vols., Aspen 2008-2021); Principle of Antitrust (West 2d ed. 2021); Creation Without Restraint: Promoting Liberty and Rivalry in Innovation (Oxford, 2012, with Bohannan); The Making of Competition Policy (Oxford, 2012, with Crane); The Antitrust Enterprise: Principle and Execution (Harvard, 2006); Federal Antitrust Policy: The Law of Competition and Its Practice (West, 5th ed. 2015); IP and Antitrust (2 vols., Aspen, 2017, with Janis, Lemley, Leslie, and Carrier); and Enterprise and American Law, 1836-1937 (Harvard, 1991). He has also co-authored casebooks in antitrust, property law, and a free open source casebook on innovation and competition policy. He has consulted on numerous antitrust cases for various government entities and private plaintiffs. He has two sons.

Description: In an era defined by the dominance of tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, questions surrounding market power, consumer harm, and regulatory intervention are more urgent than ever. Join us for a timely and thought-provoking conversation with Herbert Hovenkamp, one of the world’s leading antitrust scholars, as he presents insights from his new book, Tech Monopoly. In this talk, Professor Hovenkamp will explore how antitrust law grapples with the complexities of digital markets, ranging from software and search engines to online retail and hardware. He will examine how features like two-sided markets, data aggregation, and platform effects challenge traditional competition analysis and enforcement. From foundational legal principles to pressing policy debates (such as whether Big Tech firms should be broken up and what remedies might actually benefit users) this event offers a clear and accessible entry point into one of today’s most contentious economic issues. Whether you are a legal scholar, economist, policymaker, a practitioner, or simply interested in the intersection of law and technology, this discussion will provide valuable tools for understanding and evaluating the current state of antitrust law in the digital age.

Format: Prof. Herbert Hovenkamp will give a 30-minute talk, followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel and a Q&A with the audience.