Resale-price maintenance (RPM) is a common and controversial issue for antitrust attorneys because of the variety of arrangements a manufacturer or supplier may use to control the price downstream and the implications of setting prices in this manner. We have already explored some of…
Antitrust and Bundled Discounts: How do I apply the Discount-Attribution Test?A common test that courts utilize to determine whether a bundled discount violates the antitrust laws is called the discount-attribution test. This test was applied most prominently (so far) by the United States Court of…
A combination of court-made doctrine and federal statutes exempt certain types of activities that would normally violate federal antitrust law. As discussed below, one type of antitrust exemption relates to labor union and certain employer-negotiating conduct. Other types of antitrust…
Are you unable to compete for certain customers because those customers are bound by exclusive-dealing agreements with your competitors? Or are you a competitor who has or is considering an exclusive-dealing agreement? If your competitor is using exclusive-dealing agreements, you might be…
When a seller requires buyers to purchase a second product or service as a condition of obtaining a first product or service, it may run afoul of the federal antitrust laws. This is called a tying arrangement or tying agreement. You can read our article at The Antitrust Attorney Blog on tying…
In today’s economy, manufacturers (and suppliers) often enter resale-price maintenance agreements with distributors and retailers. These are agreements that set the minimum price at which a reseller can sell the manufacturer’s product. This is vertical price-fixing. Until the United…