When the FBI Comes Calling…®
ANTITRUST (continued)
15 U.S.C. § 2 (2007).
The Crime
It is a felony violation of section 2 for a person to
- monopolize, or
- attempt to monopolize, or
- combine or conspire with any other person or persons to monopolize
The Punishment
Punishment for a violation of section 2 is:
- a fine of not more than
- $100,000,000 if the violator is a corporation, or
- $1,000,000 if the violator is any other person; or
- imprisonment for not more than 10 years; or
- both, by the discretion of the court. Id.
Case Law Interpreting Section 2
Similar to cases brought under section 1, cases under section 2 are also complicated. It should be noted at this point that the prime purpose of the antitrust laws is to protect the public from the failure of the market, Walgreen Co. v. Organon, Inc. 335 F. Supp. 2d 522, 527 (D.N.J. 2004), and to prevent single firms that monopolize or attempt to monopolize, as well as conspiracies and combinations to monopolize. Spectrum Sports v. McQuillan, 506 U.S. 447, 454 (1993).
To prove a case of attempted monopolization, the government must prove
- that the defendant has engaged in predatory or anticompetitive conduct with
- a specific intent to monopolize and
- a dangerous probability of achieving monopoly power. Id. at 456.
In order to determine whether there is a dangerous probability of monopolization, "courts have found it necessary to consider the relevant market and the defendant's ability to lessen or destroy competition in that market." Id.