2.  TRUST  A group or collection of firms who agree to coordinate efforts for the purpose of restricting output and raising prices/profits  Also known as cartels  ANTITRUST LAWS  Laws intended to promote free competition  Sherman Antitrust Act & Clayton Act

3.  TYPES OF ILLEGAL TRUSTS  Bid Rigging  Predatory Pricing  Price Fixing  Vendor Lock-in  Geographic Allocation  Walker Process Fraud  Tying

4.  ANTITRUST LAW & TECHNOLOGY  Dominant companies (i.e. Microsoft) may not use their intellectual property or copyrights to harm competition  United States v. Microsoft  United States v. Samsung

5.  ECONOMISTS OPINIONS  Milton Friedman  Changed views over time  Antitrust laws do far more harm than good  Alan Greenspan  Antitrust laws prevent firms from actions that may benefit society due to fear of antitrust violations  Products, processes, and cost-savings mergers killed by the Sherman Antitrust Act  Meaning, competition is not an end in itself

6.  STATUTES OF VIOLATION  Law requires evidence of conspiracy (i.e. explicit agreement)  Focus of law pertains to the behavior of the firm  Charging monopoly level prices is not necessarily illegal

7.  LEGAL TRUSTS  Labor Unions  Public Utilities  Major League Baseball  Hospitals  Military Equipment Suppliers  OPEC (international)