acts adopted by Congress to outlaw or restrict business practices considered to
be monopolistic or which restrain interstate commerce. The Sherman Antitrust Act
of 1890 declared illegal "every contract, combination…or conspiracy in restraint
of trade or commerce" between states or foreign countries. The Clayton Antitrust
Act of 1914, amended by the Robinson-Patman Act of 1936, prohibits discrimination
among customers through pricing and disallows mergers, acquisitions or takeovers
of one firm by another if the effect will "substantially lessen competition. " Interstate
commerce includes commerce within a state which affects the flow of that commerce,
thus making it pretty broad. There are also some state laws against restraint of
trade. The Antitrust Division of the U. S. Department of Justice enforces for the
federal government, but private lawsuits to halt antitrust activities have become
increasingly popular, particularly since attorney's fees are awarded to the winning
party. This is a legal specialty which has kept some industries relatively honest
and made some lawyers wealthy.
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