Koren Wong-Ervin is a recognized thought leader and has testified before Congress on domestic and international antitrust issues. She has more than sixteen years of experience, including representing defendants and plaintiffs in high-stakes litigations and representing technology companies in domestic and foreign investigations. Koren previously served at the Federal Trade Commission as Counsel for Intellectual Property and International Antitrust and as an Attorney Advisor to Commissioner Joshua Wright.
Koren's scholarship has been cited by courts and the Department of Justice. She has authored over sixty articles, including on vertical mergers and restraints, acquisitions of potential competitors, consummated mergers, multisided platforms, the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property, incremental innovations or “product hopping,” optimal penalties, extraterritoriality, methodologies for calculating patent infringement damages, and international due process and convergence. Koren has also trained approximately 500 foreign judges and competition enforcers on antitrust law and economics, and spoken at over 150 domestic and international events.
Professional Activities
- ABA Antitrust Law Section, numerous leadership positions (2009-Present)
- Co-Chair, Competition/Consumer Protection Policy and North American Comments Task Force (2019-Present)
- Member, Due Process Task Force (2018-2019)
- Member, International Task Force (2016-2019)
- Co-Chair, Antitrust in Asia Conference (2015-2016)
- Vice Chair, Intellectual Property Committee (2012-2015)
- Editorial Board, ANTITRUST LAW DEVELOPMENTS 7TH (two-volume treatise) (2009-2012)
- USG Non-Government Advisor, International Competition Network (2017-Present)
- Committee Member, Business at OECD (2017-Present)
- Contributing Editor, The Sedona Conference’s Framework for Analysis of Standard-Essential Patents and FRAND Licensing and Royalty Issues (2014-Present)
- Advisory Board Member, Fordham University School of Law Competition Law Institute (2019-Present)
- Co-Editor, LEXIS-NEXIS Antitrust Report Publication (2020-Present)
Experience
Litigation
• Represented Qualcomm in the $1 billion Apple v. Qualcomm antitrust litigation involving allegations of unlawful tying, refusals to license, and exclusive dealing.
• Represented a major standard-essential patent holder in a multistate antitrust class action alleging unlawful tying, refusals to license, and exclusive dealing.
• Represented a major standard-essential patent holder in connection with its intervention in the UK Supreme Court appeals in Unwired Planet v. Huawei and Conversant v. Huawei & ZTE, addressing issues such as global versus country-by-country licensing and the meaning of the “nondiscriminatory” prong of the FRAND commitment.
• Represented plaintiff-classes in the Sirius XM multistate antitrust class action and in numerous price-fixing cases.
• Represented 3M in the landmark LePage’s v. 3M bundled-rebates appeals and follow-on class actions.
• Represented Visa in the then-largest antitrust class action in U.S. history, In re Visa Check/MasterMoney.
Investigations
• Representing Google in various investigations of its business practices in the United States and other jurisdictions.
• Represented a major chipset maker in investigations and subsequent court appeals in cases brought by the European Commission involving loyalty-discounts and predatory pricing allegations.
• Represented a major standard-essential patent holder in the Korean court appeals of an investigation brought by the Korea Fair Trade Commission involving allegations of unlawful tying and bundling and refusals to deal.
• Represented Google in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s online-search investigation.
Transactional
• Defended Qualcomm against Broadcom’s hostile takeover attempt.
• Represented technology companies in a number of merger investigations before the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.
*Includes matters handled prior to joining Axinn
Honors
- GCR Corporate Counsel of the Year Award, Nominee (2020)
- Concurrences Writing Awards, Nominee (2020)
- Concurrences Writing Awards Winner (2019)
- Concurrences Writing Awards, Nominee (2018)
- Concurrences Writing Awards, Nominee (2017)
- Concurrences Writing Awards, Nominee (2016)
- GCR Academic Excellence Award, Winner (2016)
- GCR Women in Antitrust (2016)
Thought Leadership
- Balancing Incentives to Innovate in Upstream Wireless Technology Markets with Exit Concerns in Midstream Component Product Markets, Douglas H. Ginsburg – An Antitrust Professor on the Bench Liber Amicorum Volume II, December 9, 2020
- Acquisitions of Potential Competitors: The U.S. Approach and Calls for Reform, August 19, 2020
- Assessing the New DOJ, FTC Vertical Merger Guidelines, Law360, July 6, 2020
- GCR Interview: Nascent Acquisitions, Global Competition Review, June 12, 2020
- AmEx: Beyond Transaction Platforms and Section 1, Competition Policy International, May 14, 2020
- Challenging Consummated Mergers Under Section 2, Competition Policy International, May 3, 2020
- Assessing Monopoly Power or Dominance in Platform Markets, American Bar Association, April 15, 2020
- The Risks of Radicalism: Exacerbating Harms from Type I Errors, Competition Policy International, April 9, 2020
“U.S. Vertical Merger Guidelines: Recommendations and Thoughts on EDM and Merger Specificity,” Competition Policy International (Jan. 22, 2020)
Co-authored with Andrew Heimert, “Extraterritoriality: Approaches Around the World and Model Analysis,” forthcoming Concurrences Book Honoring Eleanor Fox (Jan. 13, 2020)
Co-authored with Jorge Padilla & Douglas H. Ginsburg, “Antitrust Analysis Involving Intellectual Property and Standards: Implications from Economics,” Harv. J.L. & Tech. (Fall 2019), Winner 2019 Concurrences Antitrust Writing Awards
Co-authored with Georgios Effraimidis, “Recommendations Following the FTC’s October 2018 Hearings on IP and Innovation,” Competition Policy International (Oct. 31, 2018)
Co-authored with Evan Hicks and Ariel Slonim, “Tying and Bundling Involving Standard-Essential Patents,” 24 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 1091 (2017)
Co-authored with Douglas H. Ginsburg, “The Department of Justice’s Long-Awaited and Much Needed Course-Correction on FRAND-Assured Standard-Essential Patents,” Competition Policy International (Nov. 19, 2017)
Co-authored with Kirti Gupta, Joseph Coniglio & Dylan Naegele, “IP LeadershIP Brussels: Highlights and Economic Analysis,” Competition Policy International (Nov. 15, 2017)
Co-authored with Anne Layne-Farrar, “Methodologies for Calculating FRAND Damages: An Economic and Comparative Analysis of the Case Law from China, the European Union, India, and the United States,” 8 Jindal Global L. Rev. 127 (2017)
Co-authored with Douglas H. Ginsburg, Bruce H. Kobayashi, & Joshua D. Wright, “FRAND in India,” Complications and Quandaries in the ICT Sector: Competition Issues and Standard Essential Patents (Fall 2017)
“Righting the Course: What the DOJ Should Do About the IEEE Business Review Letter,” Competition Policy International (Aug. 2017)
Co-authored with James C. Cooper & Joshua D. Wright, “Occupational Licensing Hinders the American Dream,” RealClear Policy (July 10, 2017)
Co-authored with Douglas H. Ginsburg & Joshua D. Wright, comments on foreign draft laws and guidelines available at https://gai.gmu.edu/competition-advocacy-program/ (Aug. 2015-May 2017)
“Problematic Aspects of the Japan Fair Trade Commission’s Proposed Distribution Guidelines,” Competition Policy International (May 2017)
“International Competition Policy Expert Group: Report and Recommendations,” Competition Policy International (May 2017)
“Troubling Aspects of the European Commission’s Standard-Essential Patents Roadmap,” Competition Policy International (May 2017)
“Problems In Proposed Changes To Vietnam’s Competition Law,” Law360 (May 10, 2017)
“An Update on the Most Recent Version of China’s Anti-Monopoly Guidelines on the Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights,” Competition Policy International (May 2017)
“Protecting Intellectual Property Rights Abroad: Due Process, Public Interest Factors, and Extra-Jurisdictional Remedies,” Competition Policy International (Apr. 2017)
Co-authored with Douglas H. Ginsburg, Anne Layne-Farrar, Scott Robins, & Ariel Slonim, “A Comparative and Economic Analysis of the U.S. FTC’s Complaint and the Korea FTC’s Decision Against Qualcomm,” Competition Policy International (Apr. 2017)
Co-authored with Jorge Padilla, “Portfolio Licensing at the End-User Device Level: Analyzing Refusals to License FRAND-Assured Standard-Essential Patents at the Component Level,” 62 Antitrust Bull. (2017)
Co-authored with Joshua D. Wright, “Intellectual Property and Standard Setting,” 17 Federalist Society R. 52 (2016)
Co-authored with Anne Layne-Farrar, “Standard-Essential Patents and Market Power,” World Competition Day (2016)
Co-authored with Joshua D. Wright, Bruce H. Kobayashi, & Douglas H. Ginsburg, “Extra-Jurisdictional Remedies Involving Patent Licensing,” Competition Policy International (Dec. 2016)
Co-authored with Douglas H. Ginsburg, Ariel Slonim, Bruce H. Kobayashi, & Joshua D. Wright, “Monetary Penalties in China and Japan,” ABA Section of Antitrust Law Cartel & Criminal Practice Committee Newsletter (ABA Section of Antitrust Law) (Fall 2016)
Co-authored with Joshua D. Wright, Douglas H. Ginsburg, & Bruce H. Kobayashi, “Comments on the U.S. Antitrust Agencies’ Proposed Updated IP Guidelines,” Competition Policy International (Sept. 2016)
Co-authored with Douglas H. Ginsburg, Bruce H. Kobayashi, & Joshua D. Wright, “‘Excessive Royalty’ Prohibitions and the Dangers of Punishing Vigorous Competition and Harming Incentives to Innovate,” Competition Policy International Antitrust Chronicle (Mar. 2016)
“An Update On China’s Anti-Monopoly Law Guidelines On IP,” Law360 (Dec. 15, 2015)
Co-authored with Douglas H. Ginsburg & Joshua D. Wright, “Product Hopping and the Limits of Antitrust: The Danger of Micromanaging Innovation,” Competition Policy International Antitrust Chronicle Vol. 12 No. 1 (Dec. 14, 2015)
Co-authored with Douglas H. Ginsburg & Joshua D. Wright, “The Troubling Use of Antitrust to Regulate FRAND Licensing,” Competition Policy International Antitrust Chronicle Vol. 10 No. 1 (Oct. 2015)
Testimony at Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need Workgroup Meeting (Aug. 19, 2015)
Co-authored with Anne Layne-Farrar, “An Analysis of the Federal Circuit’s Decision in Ericsson v. D-Link,” Competition Policy International Antitrust Chronicle Vol. 3 No. 1 (Mar. 2015)
Co-authored with James C. Cooper, Douglas H. Ginsburg, Bruce H. Kobayashi, & Joshua D. Wright, “Problems with the European Commission’s Platform Survey and Lessons Learned from the Economics of Multi-Sided Platforms and Privacy,” Competition Policy International (Jan. 2015)
Co-authored with Anne Layne-Farrar, “Methodologies for Calculating FRAND Royalty Rates and Damages: An Analysis of Existing Case Law” Parts 1-3, Law360 (Oct. 8-10, 2014)
“Procedural Fairness and the Importance of Focusing Solely on Competition Factors in Competition Analysis,” International Antitrust Bulletin (ABA Section of Antitrust Law) (Aug. 2014)
“FRAND Ambush?,” Law360 (July 10, 2014)
“Standard-Essential Patents: The International Landscape,” Public Domain (ABA Section of Antitrust Law) (Spring 2014)
Co-authored with Molly Askin & Anne Newton McFadden, “Seven Months In: The U.S. Antitrust Agencies’ Joint Model Waiver of Confidentiality,” International Antitrust Bulletin (ABA Section of Antitrust Law) (May 2014)
“Does Aspen Skiing Apply to Intellectual Property Rights?” Intellectual Property Committee Newsletter (ABA Section of Antitrust Law) (June 2013)
Events
- Virtual Fireside Chat with FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips: The House Judiciary Antitrust Staff Report
- Acquisitions of Potential Competitors: The US Approach and Calls for Reform
- Back to the Future: In Need of a New Antitrust Framework?
- Chatham House Rules Federalist Society Virtual Program
- FCLI Virtual Conference on International Antitrust Law & Policy
- International Competition Network 2020 Virtual Annual Conference
- Concurrences Law and Economics Webinar
- Antitrust Policy in the 21st Century: Is There a Need for Reform?
- Federalist Society Roundtable on Nascent Acquisitions
- A Lesser Hurdle? Exploring Section 2 as Applied to Consummated Mergers
Education
- JD, magna cum laude – University of California, Hastings College of Law (1999)
- BS, magna cum laude – Santa Clara University (1996)
Admissions
- District of Columbia
- California