...Antitrust Practices and Market Power Antitrust Practices and Market Power Content Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..Page 2 Case for Antitrust Behavior……………………………….……….…..…………….Page 2 Antitrust and Market Power…………..……………………………………………...Page 3 Benefit of Monopoly………………………………………………………….……...Page 4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….......Page 4 References………………………………………………………………………........Page 5 Antitrust Practices and Market Power Introduction First of all, what is antitrust? It was first introduced and advanced by the neoclassical economists. We also call the antitrust law as the "competition laws". The main purpose of developing the antitrust law is to ensure fair competition in an open market economy, thus protect the consumers and maximize social welfare. Case for Antitrust Behavior I consider the case of Microsoft as the perfect antitrust law case of the antitrust police. On May 18 1998, United States of Department of Justice initiated the lawsuit towards Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft was accused of becoming a monopoly and engaging in abusive practices contrary to the Sherman Antitrust Act 1890 sections 1 and 2. The accuser alleged that Microsoft was being monopolistic because its product Windows requires bundling IE, Intel, and MSO which are all it’s own products. In other words, people that wants to use Microsoft Windows has to buy all the sub-products in order to make the whole system run normally. The settle...
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...Antitrust Practices and Market Power | DeVry University | Eva Wise | Antitrust Policy consists of laws and government actions designed to prevent monopoly and promote competition. On June 23, 2011, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission initiated an antitrust probe into Google, the world’s largest search engine. FTC’s investigation entailed a broad probe into Google’s business practices and weather it was abusing its search power to drive traffic to its own properties over rival sites and services. After a nearly twenty month high-profile investigation, the federal government announced on January 3, 2013, that its dropping an “exhaustive” probe into Google as it found no evidence the company was abusing its search power. Google was investigated under violating the Sherman antitrust act. “The definitive antitrust statute, passed by Congress in 1890, that prohibits monopolies or unreasonable combinations of companies to restrict or in any way control interstate commerce. Specifically outlawed is two or more persons engaging in monopolistic practices, such as price fixing, although it does not outlaw price-fixing per se. It was amended in 1914 by the Clayton Act, which outlaws interlocking directorates and deals with acquisitions that aim to restrain or eliminate competition. (Your Dictionary Law)” “For example, one element of a duty-to-deal claim under the Sherman Act is proving that Google’s treatment of rival websites harms consumers; even the cleverest economist would be...
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...Dentsply International and Market Power Ashley Davis DeVry University Dentsply International and Market Power The Congress passed antitrust laws in effort to protect competition in the market, as well as consumers whom are the ultimate recipients in the market (Novak, 2007). The case that will be discussed in this paper will be a company that was found guilty of violating section 2 of the Sherman Act, which focuses on people that are trying to monopolize the market for their own benefit, or someone that is trying to get complete control within an area of the economy. With the Sherman Antitrust Act in place, monopolization is very illegal and the act tries to prevent it from happening and protect competitors in the market (Novak, 2007). Dentsply International is a company that makes dental products, but their main product sold is false teeth. The company sells product in over 100 countries, so it is a very large company. The company sells its products to dealers, who then sell the false teeth and other products to dental labs. These labs then distribute the product to dentists with the supplies they need. If you don't include false teeth, the company supplies buyers with millions of dollars of products and dominated the artificial teeth market since they had close to 80 percent of the market share at the time they were being sued (Novak, 2007). Dentsply told their dealers that they had tell sell their supplies and deal primarily with them. When the Dentsply did that...
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...Antitrust law is the law of competition, and it is perhaps the least understood law of all. This article provides an overview and explanation of the essential principals of antitrust law, along with comments on certain recurring themes and recent developments in the voluminous case law by which the courts have struggled to give meaning and practical effect to the principal antitrust statutes. What Is Antitrust Law? Broadly speaking, antitrust laws seek to promote fair competition on the merits and to protect consumers and wronged competitor businesses from anti-competitive business practices — practices undertaken in effort to undermine competitive commercial behavior in a given market or line of commerce. The antitrust laws therefore forbid the wrongful acquisition or preservation of monopoly power, the abuse of monopoly power in order to establish a new monopoly, and concerted restraints of trade (i.e., business practices undertaken by two or more firms that improperly stifle or suppress “competition on the merits” in a given market). They also govern proposed mergers and acquisitions that are sufficiently large to constitute a threat to competition, and they address commercial practices that pose an arguable danger to competition on the merits in a properly defined antitrust market. The Principal Antitrust Offenses. Antitrust law is the law of competition. It is concerned with wrongs committed against competition on the merits in a given line of commerce or market. It is...
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...Antitrust September 17, 2009 Tonight’s Agenda Role Call Review of Last Week, Current Events Antitrust Case Study: DeBeers Wrap Up Review of Last Week “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and division, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” -- Adam Smith “Perfectly Competitive Market” Consumers well-served. Receive goods at lowest price possible. Society able to choose among competing good with maximum efficiency. Firms that do not produce what consumers want at a fair price are quickly eliminated. Highly restrictive model applying stringent standards. Antitrust Perfect competition model is essentially static. Real world markets are extremely dynamic. Perfect competition model is unsuitable as a benchmark. Antitrust Laws Promote a competitive economy by prohibiting actions that restrain, or are likely to restrain, competition and by restricting the forms of market structure that are allowable. Limit the activities of firms that have legally obtained monopoly power. Intended to provide a general statutory framework to give the Justice Department, the FTC, and the courts wide discretion in interpreting and applying them. The Development of Antitrust Laws Trust was a device for pyramiding control over several operating companies. The Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)...
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...Journal Topic: Monopoly and Antitrust The market power of either buyers or sellers, harms buyers who may have the opportunity to buy at competitive prices. It also reduces the production, which causes a deadweight loss. Excessive market power also raises issues of equity and justice, because if a company has too much monopoly power, it makes profit at the expense of consumers. A monopoly is a situation in which there is a single supplier or seller of a good or service for which there are no close substitutes. Economists and others have long known that unregulated monopolies tend to damage the economy by (1) charging higher prices, (2) providing inferior goods and services and (3) suppressing innovation, as compared with a competitive situation (i.e., the existence of numerous, competing suppliers of the good or service).[1] In theory, the Government or State could collect the excess profits that the company obtained through taxes and then redistribute it among the buyers of the product. However, this redistribution is usually not feasible. It is difficult to ascertain what proportion of the profits of an enterprise is attributable to monopoly power and it is even more difficult to locate all buyers and reimburse them an amount proportional to their purchases. How can society, then, limit the market power and prevent the anti-competitively use of it? In the case of a natural monopoly, i.e. an electricity/power company, the solution is...
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...collectively known as the Antitrust Laws. Antitrust laws were put in place to make business’s compete fairly. These fall into four main areas: agreements between competitors, contractual arrangements between sellers and buyers, the pursuit or maintenance of monopoly power, and mergers. The four major pieces of legislation collectively known as the Antitrust Laws are; the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Celler-Kefauver Act of 1950. The Sherman Antitrust Act has two categories that are targeted; ○ to restrain or prevent trade among states or foreign nations ○ prohibit against monopolies. ○ Only the United States Department of Justice has the power to prosecute individuals who are suspected of violating this act, (unless the individual state has the power granted by its own antitrust legislation.) The Federal Trade Commission Act ○ created the Federal Trade Commission ○ gave the Commission the power to enforce United States Antitrust legislation. The Clayton Antitrust Act ○ passed to prohibit mergers and acquisitions when those would substantially lessen competition. ○ enabled state attorney generals the ability to prosecute and enforce federal antitrust laws. ○ outlawed price discrimination, regulated stock acquisitions, and tying contracts ○ The Robinson - Pitman Act amended the Clayton Antitrust Act by banning discriminatory business practices. Celler-Kefauver...
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...Small Business & Antitrust Laws Andrew Paul Danecki DeVry University Small Business & Antitrust Laws It may seem like in the United States that the free-market is a bit cutthroat and everyone is out for their own best interests. The U.S. is best described to have a mostly capitalist economy, and there are a handful of laws to allow growing businesses to have a fair chance to compete against other companies of the similar market. Antitrust laws, protection against monopoly, and laws pertaining to certain mergers are just to name a few. These laws are important, and extremely effective at protecting the small and growing businesses. It was not perfect at first, of course, but has adapted to cover a handful of loopholes. When you think of a monopoly, what normally comes to mind? That good, old classic board game made by Hasbro. That’s what I think of when that word comes in mind. And just like in the game, you try to dominate the board and be the only player left. The same goes for that word in the market world, which actually is illegal since the Sherman Antitrust Law was enacted in 1890. A monopoly is when a single company has solid control over the market with a particular product or service. Congress passed this first antitrust law as a “comprehensive charter of economic liberty aimed at preserving free and unfettered competition as the rule of trade” (The Antitrust Laws, n.d.). The last two laws were passed shortly later, and all three of these laws...
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...Antitrust Laws & Their Effects Jamar Averyhart Dr. Law Trine University In order to have a free economy you must have a competitive market place. A market that is open and stimulates the economy. This gives consumers whether they are organizations or just regular citizens the opportunity to purchase consumer goods at a relatively low price. As opposed to other economies that are not open markets, and that have one firm dominating the market place. Which drives up the price of consumer goods and make them unreasonably high. This is where antitrust laws come into play ("The Antitrust Laws," 2015). What are antitrust laws? Antitrust laws keep organizations from creating monopolies in industries, or colluding to drive up the price of items. If two major firms i.e. Apple and Microsoft were to merge. They control a large majority of the marketplace in the computer industry. This merger would lead to a shift in the price of computer and computer technology. It would create unequal competition and drive many other firms out of business. With the resources and consumer base that both companies have they would be able to dictate the prices in the industry and not have to rely on consumer demand and market trends. The first ever antitrust law was passed in 1890 which was the Sherman Act ("The Antitrust Laws," 2015). The Sherman Act made it illegal to try to form a monopoly, have a monopoly, or plan to have one. ("The Antitrust Laws," 2015) With the Sherman Act violating any...
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...SECOND PART ANTITRUST: ECONOMICS, LAW AND POLITICS & REGULATION: LAW, ECONOMICS AND POLITICS Antitrust policy attempts to make companies act in a competitive manner by breaking up companies that are monopolies, prohibiting mergers that would increase market power, and finding and fining companies that collude to establish higher prices. The principal federal statutes are The Sherman Act, The Clayton Act (1914) and The Federal Trade Commission Act (1914). The Sherman Act pertains to the reality of monopoly and restraints of trade and to the process of obtaining or maintaining a monopoly. The Clayton Act goes further by addressing potentially anticompetitive actions. Contains terms such as may be and tent to. The Federal Trade Commission Act goes beyond by prohibiting unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts. Practices that come under the antivirus laws are classified as horizontal and vertical. A horizontal practice is one that involves activities in the same industry. Vertical practices are those involving firms in a supply arrangement or a channel of distribution. Antitrust Thought The Structural Approach is determined by conduct of market participants, which is largely determined by the structure of the market, such as the number of competitors and barriers to entry. The Chicago School views the objective of antitrust policy as economic efficiency and views competition as the best means of achieving efficiency. Vertical arrangements...
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...Antitrust Laws and Competitive Business Practices The fair, balanced and competitive application of U.S. laws as applied to business practices Introduction Several laws have been enacted to provide protection to businesses in our free-trade market. There are times when trading within the free market does not demonstrate the fair, balanced and ethical conduct deserved in competitive business. Trying to compete in a market where practices aren’t regulated deprives businesses the benefits of competition, resulting in higher prices for products and services which in turn affect the economy. Unfair trade practices have been around for as long as trade itself. Unfair practices were under scrutiny as early as 470 B.C. Grain was so vital to Greece’s population that trade laws were enacted. A percentage of grain was taken by the state therefore taxes were applied to anyone not importing directly to Athens. Death applied to anyone restricting imports (http://www.ancient.eu/article/115/). The latter was definitely extreme but regulations now cover a broader range of violations with less severe consequences. The federal government enforces three major antitrust laws. These laws address unfair practices that deprive businesses the benefits of interstate and international trade. Federal antitrust laws apply to virtually all industries and to every level of business, including manufacturing, transportation, distribution, and marketing. The Sherman Antitrust...
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...MICROSOFT CORPORATION, ) One Microsoft Way ) Redmond, Washington, ) ) Defendant. ) ) ____________________________________ ) Civil Action No. _____ JURY TRIAL DEMANDED (Per Local Civil Rule 40.5, Related to Civil Action Nos. 98-1232 and 98-1233) COMPLAINT This action follows the determination of Microsoft Corporation’s (“Microsoft”) antitrust liability in United States v. Microsoft, Civil Action Nos. 98-1232 and 98-1233, unanimously affirmed by the Court of Appeals, where it was found that Microsoft’s illegal acts had “inflicted considerable harm on Netscape’s business.” Netscape Communications Corporation (“Netscape”) thus brings this action against Microsoft to prevent further injury to Netscape, to restore competition lost in the market for Web browsers, to foster competition in the market for operating systems, and to receive treble damages compensation for the harms inflicted upon it by Microsoft. Netscape seeks this relief under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, sections 28-4502, 4503, 4508, and 4510 of the District of Columbia Code, and under the common law, for harm resulting from Microsoft’s anticompetitive conduct in the markets for Intelcompatible personal computer (“PC”) operating systems and Web browsers worldwide. Plaintiff alleges as follows: Nature of The Action 1. In 1994, the year Netscape was founded, it released the final version of its initial Web browser product, Netscape Navigator 1.0. The release of Netscape Navigator is widely viewed as having...
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...Who Enforces the Antitrust Laws? The antitrust laws are enforced by both public and private parties. A. Government Enforcement The United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) share responsibility for investigation and litigation of cases under the Sherman Act; and, review potentially anticompetitive mergers under the Clayton Act. There is not a formal system by which the DOJ and the FTC divide enforcement responsibilities, the agencies devote resources to particular industries where they have investigated or litigated in the past. Typically the DOJ will review mergers in transportation industries, such as airlines or railroads, as well as the telecommunications industry. The FTC focuses its enforcement responsibility in the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and health care industries. State attorneys general have authority to enforce federal and state antitrust laws. States investigating a matter arising under the federal antitrust laws will jointly investigate with either the DOJ or the FTC, or may conduct a separate investigation. Individuals or businesses that violate antitrust laws are subject to civil penalties that vary by state per violation for individuals, and vary by state per violation for corporations. In addition, state attorneys general have authority to seek restitution on behalf of the citizens of their states as a result of violations of either the federal or state antitrust laws. Some states allow Attorneys...
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...Abstract The present paper is an analysis of the Antitrust law in Italy, and its relation with the conflict of interest. In this paper I have given a general introduction to the development of the Antitrust Law in the United States, and consequently in Europe and finally in Italy, and how it regulates the conflict of interest. It is mainly divided in three parts. The first part is an introduction, I have given a definition of what is a Trust, according to the Common Law, then I have explained how the corporate trusts were formed in America, and how and why the Antitrust Legislation was born, and how it has evolved. Therefore, I have discussed about the influence of the American Antitrust Law on the on the European Legislation covering this matter. In the second part, I have discussed about the Italian Antitrust Law, the monopoly of state and task of the Italian Competion Authority. In the third part, I have explained what is a conflict of interest and how the Italian Antitrust Law try to regulate it ( Frattini Law). At the conclusion I have mentioned some cases of conflict of interest in Italy, such as the one of the former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and how the former has not yet been solved. Keywords Trust, Antitrust Law Competition Authority Conflict of interest Frattini law Introduction Overview on the Antitrust Law in America and Europe The trust，definition Originally, a trust, in the Common law, is a relationship whereby property is held by one party for...
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...| ANTITRUST LAW | | Name -Manpreet Kaur [Date] | “The mission of the Antitrust Division is to promote economic competition through enforcing and providing guidance on antitrust laws and principles”. Antitrust laws have been developed to create the strong foundation of a free & open market of a vibrant economy. Market is so competitive now a days, there are so many options available for products & services, which is the result of antitrust laws. Antitrust is developed to help both consumers & business owners. “These laws promote vigorous competition and protect consumers from anticompetitive mergers and business practices” Antitrust laws are developed by the U.S. Government, also commonly known as "competition laws". Antitrust law was put in place by U.S. Government to protect consumers from being vulnerable to exploitery business practices. Government protects consumers by ensuring that the competition which exists in the market is fair, & would also ensure that enforcement leads to an open-market which is consumer friendly. ANTITRUST LAW-GOAL & HISTORY The goal set by government is to protect the end user, consumer, antitrust laws “is to protect economic freedom and opportunity by promoting free and fair competition in the marketplace”. Consider being in a market with one option, what it would offer to consumers, technically nothing, because there are no options. Antitrust law ensure that the “Competition in a free market benefits American...
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