•A term paper is optional for the course and is due on May 1st, 2013 .•The term paper can be of any size ranging from five to eigh t pages depending on the case you are analyzing. It can be of any...

STUDENT NAME:
TOPIC: ANTI TRUST LAW
The word anti-trust is synonymous with anti monopoly, and they invoke images of a government and society fighting against capitalistic and monopoly elements that seek to ‘loot’ the economy and consumers. But in real life anti trust laws are not just anti monopoly , but their scope is much
oader. The drive against monopoly elements has a long history in USA. It is not just the existence of laws that sets USA apart but they are strictly enforced as well. The US has a elaborate government
anch that looks at potential monopoly creation and seeks to prevent changes in the market that are anti consumer.
The most important of all US laws in this field is the Sherman Antitrust Act, of 1890. It was enacted to fight the growing might of “business trusts” in US economy rampant in the late 19th century. It prohibits two kinds of conduct. one, ‘[e]very contract, combination, in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations.’ is deemed illegal. Two, it does not allow any efforts that ‘monopolize, . . . attempt[s] to monopolize, or . . . conspir[acies] … to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations’ . Any violation of the Act invokes civil and criminal penalties. Further acts gave more power against monopoly elements. in 1914. The first Act was the Federal Trade Commission Act, which created the Federal Trade Commission and was vested with the authority to enforce antitrust laws. The Clayton Antitrust Act was enacted to strengthen the Sherman Law and to consider more complexities in the field of anti trust changes. in line with newer market realities. It prohibited newer forms of conduct, that include ‘mergers and acquisitions where the effect may substantially lessen competition’. This law has been revised and updated many times (Robinson-Pitman Act of 1936, Hart-Scott-Rodin Act in 1976) to stay relevant and up to date in a business environment that is getting more complicated and globalised each day. Many states have their own anti trust laws, that ‘prohibit anticompetitive conduct affecting commerce within their states and to supplement enforcement of federal antitrust laws.’

The FTC is the main authority the covers and fights against a range of behaviours that restrict competition or are anti competitive. The Sherman Act is the guide for any FTC action, as it does not specifically lay out what conduct is illegal. This flexibility has suited the FTC that is open/ free to interpret evolving business activities that can be deemed anti competitive. The courts are free to interpret the Law and pass judgements on the merit of each case. The basic fundamental objective is to protect competition, and not the competitors....