Earlier this month, our new Antitrust and Competition Law course expert, Jarod Bona, shared some insights on his blog about how the federal antitrust agencies and courts decide if an organization’s behavior would be illegal under antitrust or competition laws.
Bona mentions that while not all monopolies are illegal, improperly utilizing your market power can cause you to run afoul of US, EU, or other antitrust or competition laws.
In the U.S., Section 2 of the Sherman Act is what the government will use to determine whether your organization is in violation or not. The elements of a claim for monopolization are as follows:
- The possession of monopoly power in the relevant market.
- The willful acquisition or maintenance of that power as distinguished from growth or development as a consequence of a superior product, business acumen, or historic accident.
Of course, determining whether your organization is in violation takes a great deal of analysis and, hopefully, the expert assistance from your antitrust attorney.
To learn more about the elements for a monopolization claim under federal antitrust laws, visit Jarod Bona’s blog here.
Remember: It’s important to train your team to identify anticompetitive behavior. Click here for your free trial of our new Antitrust and Compliance Training course.
