Antitrust Law
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Description
Antitrust law in the United States has developed over a period of more than 100 years. The basic statutes are written in broad, general language. Their meaning has been developed by the courts, applying this broad language to a wide variety of business practices. The oldest federal antitrust statute is the Sherman Act, enacted in 1890. Its main substantive provisions are Sections 1 and 2. Section 1 prohibits contracts, combinations, or conspiracies ‘in restraint of trade’. Section 2 prohibits monopolization or attempts to monopolize. Early court interpretations of the rather vague statutory provisions of the Sherman Act led many to believe that the Sherman Act required further amendment if it were to be effective. The result was the passage in 1914 of the other two basic antitrust statutes, the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The former contains provisions dealing with a number of specific business practices about which Congress was concerned, the most important being a provision dealing with mergers (Section 7) The latter established a regulatory agency, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which was given broad power to prevent ‘unfair methods of competition’.
Source Publication
Fundamentals of American Law
Source Editors/Authors
Alan B. Morrison
Publication Date
1996
Recommended Citation
First, Harry, "Antitrust Law" (1996). Faculty Chapters. 621.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/621
