Posted by Hanno Kaiser
on Friday, April 6th 2007 at 5:03 pm under European Union, Antitrust.
German courts may soon have to entertain a lawsuit by Circus Boralli against the Berlin Zoo for abuse of dominance based on predatory cuteness. The perpetrator is polar bear cub Knut:
The venerable Circus Boralli complains that Knut is dominating the relevant market for “for-profit exhibition of baby animal cuteness.” Two years ago, pre-Knut, Boralli had about 40,000 visitors according to
Der Spiegel. Today, as a result of Knut’s predation, Boralli only attracts much smaller crowds. Observers question the validity of Boralli’s claims, because recent entrants into the “for-profit exhibition of baby animal cuteness” market have significantly increased the number of competitors. There is, for example, baby rhino Layla:
Tapirs are, as always, highly competitive:
On the subject of tapirs, make sure to view
Mark Frauenfelder’s recent contribution. He may have to serve as an expert witness on market definition. Lastly, of course, the completely irresistible baby elephant.
Stay tuned for more on this evolving story. (And remember that
no excuse is too lame to post pictures of cuddly animals. Some would even be tempted to make up an entire story just for that.)
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April 6th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Nothing will ever be cuter than butterstick (http://wonkette.com/politics/butterstick/). The Panda Cam was awesome.