Antitrust Law

Many organizations, both government and private, use competitive bidding processes to make sure they get the best goods and services for the best prices. The Sherman Act and other antitrust laws prohibit any agreement among competitors to fix prices, rig bids, or engage in other anti-competitive activity. The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice enforce the antitrust laws.

Basic Information

• Plain English Guide to Antitrust Laws
  Easy to follow guide to antitrust laws, how they can benefit consumers, and how they can affect you if you operate a business.
• Understanding Fair Business Practices
  Guide to understanding fair business practices and staying in compliance with the antitrust laws. From the Small Business Administration.
  
• Antitrust Compliance Assistance for Business
  Provides antitrust compliance assistance resources for businesses.
  
• Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Competition
  FTC's antitrust arm, the Bureau of Competition seeks to prevent business practices that restrain competition. This site includes all regulatory information concerning the enforcement of antitrust laws by the FTC.
• Competition in the Health Care Marketplace
  Frequently asked advertising questions, compliance guides, fact sheets, policy statements, and staff comments on various advertising issues.

In current times, competitive forces are driving firms toward complex collaborations to achieve goals such as expanding into foreign markets, funding innovation efforts, and lowering production and other costs. The Department of Justice and the FTC provide Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors for collaborating without violating antitrust laws

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Business Mergers Best Practices
  Federal Trade Commission guide to best practices for conducting business mergers and acquisitions.
  
• Competition and Antitrust Statutes
  Guide to all federal antitrust laws affecting mergers and acquisitions and enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.
  
• Merger Consent Order Provisions : FAQs
  Answers to commonly asked questions about merger remedies.
  
• Pre-Merger/Hart-Scott-Rodino Act
  Provides assistance for businesses seeking information about when and how to submit HSR premerger filings.