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  Antitrust Law

Antitrust laws are legislation that has been established to prevent companies from engaging in practices that are considered unfair and reduce competition in the marketplace. The United States first established such laws to prevent business trusts, or cartels.

Here are some of the activities that antitrust laws are designed to combat: bid rigging, creation of a monopoly, price fixing, tying, and vendor lock-in.

The primary antimonopoly law in the United States is the Sherman Antitrust Act, which was passed in 1890 and outlawed any restraint of trade. The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 extended the United States antitrust laws, making illegal the following: interlocking directorates, ownership in a competing corporation, and price-cutting below cost to eliminate a competitor.