Antitrust law

Antitrust law addresses business conduct and market structures that restrict competition or create harmful concentrations of market power. It includes rules against cartels, exclusionary practices, and certain mergers.

Cartel: An agreement among independent firms to coordinate prices, output, markets, or bids. Antitrust law treats agreements among competitors to restrict rivalry as a central enforcement target.
Sherman Antitrust Act: The 1890 United States federal statute prohibiting contracts in restraint of trade and monopolization. It established the foundational federal prohibitions in American antitrust law.
John Sherman: A United States senator who sponsored the 1890 legislation that became the Sherman Antitrust Act. His name became attached to the first major federal antitrust statute.
Consumer welfare standard: An approach that evaluates antitrust primarily by effects on consumers, including prices, output, and quality. It offers a narrower account of harm than approaches emphasizing market structure or political power.
United States v. Microsoft Corp.: A United States antitrust case finding that Microsoft unlawfully maintained a monopoly in personal-computer operating systems. The case tested how exclusionary conduct can protect dominance in a technology market.
Monopolization: The unlawful acquisition or maintenance of monopoly power through exclusionary conduct. It distinguishes prohibited exclusion from merely possessing a large market share.
Clayton Antitrust Act: The 1914 United States statute addressing practices such as anticompetitive mergers and exclusive dealing. It added targeted rules where the Sherman Act’s broad language left uncertainty.
Louis Brandeis: A United States jurist and public figure who argued against concentrated corporate power. His ideas linked competition policy to economic opportunity and democratic accountability.
Ordoliberalism: A German economic and legal tradition that favors rules preserving open, decentralized markets. Its emphasis on market structure contrasts with price-centered enforcement theories.
European Union competition law: The European Union’s legal system governing anticompetitive agreements, abuse of dominance, and mergers. Its institutions and legal tests provide a major comparison with United States enforcement.

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