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Publication Date

7-1999

Document Type

Survey Article

Abstract

In 1998 the Eleventh Circuit published eight antitrust opinions. Some of these cases turned on procedural issues; some were decided on the merits. As in previous years, defendants generally were successful, but not always. Each of these decisions is briefly summarized below.

Southern Card & Novelty, Inc. v. Lawson Mardon Label, Inc. concerned the legality of a "full-line forcing" arrangement. Defendant, Lawson Mardon Label, Inc. ("Lawson"), manufactured postcards, which it sold to distributors throughout North America for resale to retail outlets, which in turn sold them to consumers. Lawson manufactured "local view" postcards depicting nonlicensed local images (for example, in Florida, pictures of beaches or alligators). Lawson also manufactured postcards bearing copyrighted images of Walt Disney Company characters pursuant to what effectively was an exclusive license. There were at least six other postcard manufacturers that produced postcards specific to areas in Florida. Plaintiff, Southern Card & Novelty, Inc. ("Southern Card"), was a Daytona Beach, Florida based business that distributed postcards to retailers in central and northern Florida. Southern Card distributed postcards manufactured by Lawson as well as other postcard manufacturers.

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