Exam 14: Business Competition: Antitrust

Setting maximum prices is a per se violation of the Sherman Act.

American Express had agreements with all of its merchants that prohibited them from steering their customers to use other cards.The reason merchants wanted to make recommendations on which card to use was because American Express charges that merchants pay to credit card companies for customer processing were higher than those for Visa and MasterCard.Merchants wanted to offer customers discounts for using Visa or MasterCard and some just wanted to post signs reading,"We prefer Visa." If they did so,American Express would not continue its services for them,something that caused the merchants to lose American Express cardholders as customers.Which of the following antitrust doctrines apply to American Express's policy?​

Which act contains prohibitions on monopolization?

The Noerr-Pennington doctrine is an antitrust exception that originates in the First Amendment.

In the U.S.v.Apple case,the court was deciding an issue that involved:​

Corporate officers are not liable for violations of the Sherman Act.

Action Outfitters is a national manufacturer and retailer of outdoor gear.When it agrees to sell its merchandise to a retailer,the retailer must also agree to purchase Action's outfits for clerks,its displays,its shopping bags,and its gift boxes.Action says that these items are part of its brand identification.A retail outlet has brought suit because it only wants the Action merchandise and does not want the outfits,displays,bags,or boxes.

Carl Wilton has just sold his Mexican restaurant to Jerry Felt.The restaurant is located in Costa Brava,a city of about 300,000 people.In their sales agreement,a clause provides that Carl will not open another restaurant in Costa Brava for a period of five years.The clause is:

Several art distributors have met and agreed to limit the number of Hummel figurines being imported into the United States.Is there any anticompetitive behavior involved in doing this?

Phillip Esten operates a mail store in which he offers various services such as packaging items for shipment,delivering items to overnight services,and a fax machine.Esten charges $4.00 for deliveries for one-time customers and $2.00 for deliveries for his account customers.Esten's prices:

Gardner-Denver is the United States' largest manufacturer of ratchet wrenches.Rogers,a former Gardner-Denver employee,formed D.E.Rogers and began selling ratchet wrench parts.From 1964 to 1971,the two competed with Rogers charging prices 30 percent below Gardner-Denver's.In August 1971,Gardner-Denver began a dual price system: Blue list - discounts for quantities of five or more (blue list parts were largely Rogers' parts); white list - non-Rogers' parts.The blue list was given only to Gardner-Denver sales reps.A price war followed with Rogers filing an antitrust suit.Are there any antitrust violations?

The failing company doctrine is an exception to horizontal merger restrictions.

Cicily Bridgeport and Collin Wilson own Northeastern Galleries and Upper West Galleries,respectively.For artists displaying paintings in their galleries,Cicily and Collin charge a 22% commission for any sales made.Cicily and Collin have always charged 22%,but there is a slump in sales.When Cicily meets Collin at a Met event,she suggests,"Collin,let's both go to 25%.What can they do if we both charge 25% and we can earn enough to make up for the market downturn." Cicily:

Several gypsum manufacturers have agreed (for union purposes)to limit the number of deliveries per day.They can meet the union demands by doing so.Are there any problems with the agreement?

Interlocking directorates tend to be efficient,effective,ethical,and legal.

The Clayton Act does not carry criminal penalties.

Resale price maintenance occurs when:

Requiring a franchisee to use trademark napkins is a per se antitrust violation.

X-ron Perfume is sold only in one major department store for each city.X-ron will deal only with one department store and will not sell to other stores.Are there any antitrust violations with this arrangement?

The Clayton Act provides for treble damage recovery for all antitrust violations.