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Antitrust Laws. Sherman Act Clayton Act FTC Act. Sherman Act (1890). Section 1 Every contract, combination…., or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce….is declared to be illegal. Section 2
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Antitrust Laws Sherman Act Clayton Act FTC Act
Sherman Act (1890) • Section 1 • Every contract, combination…., or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce….is declared to be illegal. • Section 2 • Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire…to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several states….shall be deemed guilty of a felony…..
Clayton Act (1914, 1936, 1950) • Section 2: Price Discrimination (Robinson-Patman1936) • It shall be unlawful for any person….to discriminate in price between different purchasers of commodities of like grade and quality... • Section 3: Exclusive Dealing • It shall be unlawful for any person…to make [a] sale…or fix a price….on the condition…that the purchaser… shall not use or deal in the goods…of a competitor… • Section 7: Mergers (Celler-Kefauver 1950) • No Corporation…shall acquire the …stock or…assets of another corporation…. • where the effect of such acts “may be to substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly.”
FTC Act (1914) • Establishes the five-member Federal Trade Commission as an enforcement agency • Unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, are declared unlawful. • Exempt from FTC: Banks, regulated common carriers (trucks, railroads,etc.), air carriers subject to FAA Act, certain meat packers and stockyards.
General Exemptions • Congress has granted exemptions from antitrust to labor unions, export cartels, agricultural cooperatives, regulated industries, and some joint research and development ventures. • Professional Baseball was granted immunity by the Supreme Court in 1921 and other professional sports are treated leniently under antitrust.
Enforcement • Department of Justice • Sherman and Clayton Acts • Criminal penalties & Civil “equity relief” • Federal Trade Commission • FTC and Clayton Acts • Civil only, “cease and desist” orders • Private Suits • “Private Persons” harmed by violations of the Sherman and Clayton Acts may sue offenders for “threefold” (or “treble”) damages
Analysis of Antitrust Cases Using the FTC/DOJ Horizontal Merger Guidelines 1992