| Any
agreement between competitors affecting price, whether raising, lowering, fixing, pegging,
or stabilizing prices, is illegal per se. United States v. Socony - Vaccuum Oil, Co.,
310 U.S. 150, 223 (1940). Agreements to adhere to
a price book, agreements restricting price advertising, agreements to standardize credit
terms, agreements to use uniform trade-in allowances, agreements to utilize standard cash
down |
|
payment
requirements, to limit discounts, agreements to discontinue free service or to fix any
other element of prices and agreements to restrict the output or quantity of a product are
a violation of the statutes governing price fixing. Also forbidden are the allocation of
customers by geographic or product markets. (United States v. Topco Assoc., Inc. 405
U.S. 596 (1972). This applies to agreements between potential as well as actual
competitors. Palmer v. BRG of Georgia, Inc., 498 U.S. 46 (1990). |
Antitrust Basics
