Antitrust Laws and Competitive Strategies: Understanding Illegal Agreements and Mergers, Slides of Law

Download Antitrust Laws and Competitive Strategies: Understanding Illegal Agreements and Mergers and more Slides Law in PDF only on Docsity! Antitrust: Law and, Gompetitive “Strategy, Patt v~ Quote of the Day “Is there not a causal connection between the development of these huge, indomitable trusts and the horrible crimes now under investigation? …Is it not irony to speak of the equality of opportunity in a country cursed with bigness?” Louis D. Brandeis, Supreme Court Justice docsity.com Illegal Horizontal Agreements • Market Division – Any effort by a group of competitors to divide its market is a per se violation of §1 of the Sherman Act. • Price Fixing and Bid Rigging – When competitors agree on the prices at which they will buy or sell, their price-fixing is a per se violation of §1 of the Sherman Act. Bid-rigging is also a per se violation. • Refusals to Deal – A refusal to deal violates the Sherman Act if it harms competition. docsity.com Illegal Vertical Agreements • Reciprocal Dealing Agreements: – When a buyer refuses to purchase goods from a supplier unless the supplier also purchases items from the buyer. • Price Discrimination – It is illegal to charge different prices to different purchasers if: • the items are the same, and • the price discrimination lessens competition. – However, it is legal to charge a lower price to a particular buyer, if: • the costs of serving this buyer are lower, or • the seller is simply meeting competition. docsity.com Mergers and Joint Ventures • The Clayton Act prohibits mergers that are anticompetitive. • Horizontal Mergers – A horizontal merger involves companies that compete in the same market. • Vertical Mergers – A vertical merger involves companies at different stages of the production process. docsity.com