Revitalizing Section 5 of the FTC Act Using 'Consumer Choice' Analysis
Antitrust Source, Vol. 8, No. 3, February 2009
University of Baltimore School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2008-18
7 Pages Posted: 20 Oct 2008 Last revised: 14 Jul 2011
Date Written: October 17, 2008
Abstract
This paper makes two points. First, Section 5 of the FTC Act, properly construed, is indeed significantly broader and more encompassing than the Sherman Act or Clayton Act. Section 5 violations include incipient violations of the other antitrust laws, and also violations of their policy or spirit.
Second, the best - and probably the only - way to interpret Section 5 in an expansive manner is to do so in a way that also is relatively definite, predictable, principled and clearly bounded. This best can be done if Section 5 is articulated using the consumer choice framework. Without the discipline and constraints provided by this framework, the FTC Act risks becoming unduly standardless. Unless the Commission uses the choice framework, any attempt to construe Section 5 that goes beyond the other antitrust laws risks being viewed as giving undue discretion to the Commission, and for this reason probably will not be permitted by reviewing courts.
The paper also presents three illustrations of how this could make a beneficial difference in practice: situations similar to the N Data case, invitations to collude, and incipient tying and exclusive dealing violations.
Keywords: Antitrust, Federal Trade Commission, trade regulation, collusion, tying, exclusive dealing, consumer choice
JEL Classification: K21, L40
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Intellectual Property Rights and Standard-Setting Organizations
-
Patent Holdup and Royalty Stacking
By Mark A. Lemley and Carl Shapiro
-
Reply: Patent Holdup and Royalty Stacking
By Mark A. Lemley and Carl Shapiro
-
Patents and the Performance of Voluntary Standard Setting Organizations
By Marc Rysman and Timothy Simcoe
-
The Rules of Standard Setting Organizations: An Empirical Analysis
By Benjamin Chiao, Jean Tirole, ...
-
The Rules of Standard Setting Organizations: An Empirical Analysis
By Benjamin Chiao, Jean Tirole, ...
-
The Rules of Standard Setting Organizations: An Empirical Analysis
By Benjamin Chiao, Josh Lerner, ...
-
A Model of Forum Shopping, with Special Reference to Standard Setting Organizations
By Jean Tirole and Josh Lerner
-
A Model of Forum Shopping, with Special Reference to Standard Setting Organizations
By Jean Tirole and Josh Lerner
-
To Join or Not to Join: Examining Patent Pool Participation and Rent Sharing Rules
By Anne Layne-farrar and Josh Lerner