When the FBI Comes Calling…®
ANTITRUST (continued)
15 U.S.C. § 3 (2007).
The Crime
Section 3 is an extension of sections 1 and 2. Under section 3(a), "every contract, combination in form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce" that occurs in any Territory of the United States, in the District of Columbia, or among any such location and any State or foreign nation, is illegal. 15 U.S.C. § 3(a) (2005). Therefore, any person makes any such contract or engages in any such combination or conspiracy, is guilty of a felony. Id.
It is a felony violation of section 3(b) 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 3(a) 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. § 3(a).
Punishment for a violation of section 3(b) 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. § 3(b).
Case Law Interpreting Section 3
Section 3 is, by its terms, the exact counterpart of sections 1 and 2 of title 15, only it expressly applies to the territories and the District of Columbia. See Dart Drug Corp. v. Parke, Davis & Co. 344 F.2d 173, 174 n.1 (D.C. Cir. 1965) (interpreting section 1). It is, however, slightly more expansive than section 1 in that it does not require an interstate component. See United States v. Oregon State Medical Soc. 343 U.S. 326, 339 (1952). Other than those two tweaks, a case under section 3 will be prosecuted in the same manner as a case under section 1.