Researching
Antitrust Law
Bill Schwesig
Reference Librarian and
Bibliographer for Common Law
Antitrust Laws
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Sherman Act 1890
Clayton Act 1914
Federal Trade Commission Act 1914
Robinson-Patman Act (Anti-Price Discrimination Act)
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1984
Antitrust Law
Sherman Act 1890
 Section 1 prohibited "[e]very contract, combination
in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in
restraint of trade or commerce …”
 Section 2 banned individuals from monopolizing or
trying to monopolize.
Clayton Act 1914
 Declared four practices illegal but not criminal:
1. Price discrimination
2. Tying and exclusive-dealing contracts
3. Corporate mergers
4. Interlocking directorates
Federal Trade Commission Act
 Created the Federal Trade Commission to enforce
the Sherman Act and Clayton Act.
Robinson-Patman Act 1936
 Anti-Price Discrimination Act
 Prohibited unfair discounts to chain stores
Hart-Scott-Rodino
 Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of
1976
 Provides for FTC and DOJ review of proposed
mergers and acquisitions.
 Divestiture often a condition of approval
Major Trust-Busting Cases
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Standard Oil Co.
American Tobacco Co.
AT&T – long distance service
IBM – vertical integration
Microsoft
Jurisdiction
 Criminal Prosecutions under the Sherman Act are filed
by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.
 Civil enforcement is by both the Dept of Justice Antitrust
Division and the Federal Trade Commission.
 The FTC deals with unfair and deceptive practices and
consumer fraud.
Antitrust Law
Primary Law and Enforcement
Primary Law
 Statutes
 Regulations
 State Laws
 Court Decisions
 Consent Decrees
 FTC Decisions
Enforcement
 DOJ Case Filings
 FTC Case Filings
 Business Reviews
 Guidelines
Antitrust Law on CCH Intelliconnect
 Areeda and Hovenkamp Treatise
 Strong on law and economics
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Federal Trade Reporter
Statutes, regulations, enforcement guidelines
Federal Enforcement Actions
US Antitrust Cases, CCH Trade Cases
Business Review Letters
FTC Complaints and Orders
Older enforcement actions are in print
Antitrust Law on LexisNexis
 USCS and CFR
 Treatises
 Antitrust Laws & Trade Regulation – Van Kalinowski
 Federal Antitrust Law – Earl Kintner
 Cases and Consent Decrees
 FTC Orders and Guidelines
 Emerging Issues
Antitrust Law on LexisNexis
Antitrust Law on Bloomberg BNA
 Antitrust & Trade Regulation Resource Center
 Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report
 Antitrust & Trade Regulation Daily
 BNA Corporate Portfolios: Antitrust
 Available on Bloomberg BNA and Bloomberg Law
 Alerts
Economic Analysis
 The Government must prove that challenged activities
restrain competition
 Rule of Reason or Per Se violation?
 Economic evidence is crucial
 What is the market? Local, state, national, global?
 How much concentration is too much?
 Vertical vs. Horizontal integration
Department of Justice
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Antitrust Division
Enforcement Actions filed since 1994
Criminal enforcement, statistics
Merger Reviews since 1994
Appellate Briefs
Economic Analysis Group Discussion Papers
Market Analysis Papers
www.justice.gov/atr/
Federal Trade Commission
 Dept of Economics
 Economic Reports - Long-term evaluations of past
enforcement actions
 Issue Papers, Working Papers
 Health Care Economics
 Competition Enforcement Database
 Congressional Testimony
 Advocacy Filings
www.ftc.gov
Questions?
Ask a Law Librarian
www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/law/
Bill Schwesig
was2@uchicago.edu