What are antitrust laws simple definition?

What are antitrust laws simple definition?

Definition of antitrust : of, relating to, or being legislation against or opposition to trusts or combinations specifically : consisting of laws to protect trade and commerce from unlawful restraints and monopolies or unfair business practices.

What is the basic purpose of antitrust law?

Enforcing Antitrust Laws Many of the Division’s accomplishments on these fronts are made possible by an unprecedented level of cooperation and coordination with foreign antitrust enforcement agencies and with state attorneys general.

What are antitrust laws for kids?

Antitrust law is a set of statutes developed to regulate competition between companies, mainly to ensure that businesses are engaging in fair competition. The purpose of these laws is to protect consumers from greedy business owners.

Why is it called antitrust?

Antitrust law is the law of competition. Why then is it called “antitrust”? The answer is that these laws were originally established to check the abuses threatened or imposed by the immense “trusts” that emerged in the late 19th Century.

What kinds of behavior do the antitrust laws prohibit?

The Sherman Act outlaws “every contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade,” and any “monopolization, attempted monopolization, or conspiracy or combination to monopolize.” Long ago, the Supreme Court decided that the Sherman Act does not prohibit every restraint of trade, only those that are …

Is being a monopoly illegal under antitrust laws?

Antitrust law doesn’t penalize successful companies just for being successful. Competitors may be at a legitimate disadvantage if their product or service is inferior to the monopolist’s. But monopolies are illegal if they are established or maintained through improper conduct, such as exclusionary or predatory acts.

What is the United States primary antitrust law?

The main statutes are the Sherman Act of 1890, the Clayton Act of 1914 and the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914. These Acts serve three major functions. First, Section 1 of the Sherman Act prohibits price fixing and the operation of cartels, and prohibits other collusive practices that unreasonably restrain trade.

Who do antitrust laws protect?

Antitrust laws also referred to as competition laws, are statutes developed by the U.S. government to protect consumers from predatory business practices. They ensure that fair competition exists in an open-market economy.

What are some examples of antitrust laws?

Antitrust laws exist to preserve competition in the marketplace. Competition encourages low prices, high quality products and strong innovation. One example of an antitrust law is the Sherman Antitrust Act, passed in 1890.

What do antitrust laws allow the government to do?

Antitrust laws purport to prevent monopolies and encourage competition. These laws allow the federal government to regulate and restrict business activities, including pricing, production, product lines, and mergers.

Why does us have antitrust laws?

The antitrust laws serve to promote and protect market economics, doing so on the theory that society flourishes the most when it is founded on vigorous competition: According to this theory, competition brings forth the best in each of us, keeping each of us on our toes, mindful that if we do not perform well,…

What does the enforcement of anti trust laws do?

The enforcement of antitrust laws speeds up the flow of capital and wages. Antitrust laws also known as competition laws, constitute statutes developed by the U.S. government in order to protect consumers from predatory business practices. They ensure that fair competition takes place in an open-market economy.