Corporate Practice Series Portfolio No. 90, Antitrust Compliance, discusses the importance of antitrust compliance by business entities and explains how organizations can establish and monitor an effective antitrust compliance program. The portfolio provides practical advice concerning the conduct of business relations with competitors, customers, and suppliers, as well as for when the business entity is involved in a merger or acquisition. There is also discussion of the exemptions and immunities from the antitrust laws that have been created by legislatures and courts, as well as discussion of the intersection of antitrust law and intellectual property, which has been an area of increasing focus for the enforcement agencies. Finally, the portfolio contains guidance on how to create a compliance program that is based on the antitrust risk that a particular corporation and its employees are likely to face, and which takes into account both domestic and foreign competition laws that may apply to the corporation's business activities. In addition to discussion of the training of employees, there is also discussion of the internal audits of the program and best practices for the program. The portfolio also includes a number of Practice Tools, including an antitrust compliance presentation, a sample antitrust compliance policy and guidelines, and sample guidelines for meetings with competitors (trade association meetings, customer advisory panels, forums).

Portfolio 90: Antitrust Compliance

Foreword

I. Introduction

II. Overview of Antitrust Law

     A. Federal Law
         1. The Sherman Act
             a. Sherman Act § 1
             b. Sherman Act § 2
         2. The Clayton Act
         3. The Robinson-Patman Act
         4. The Federal Trade Commission Act
     B. State Law
     C. Antitrust Laws Outside of the United States

III. Core Principles of Antitrust Law
     A. Introduction
     B. Per Se Rule vs. Rule of Reason
     C. Market Power and Anticompetitive Effects
     D. Anticompetitive Conduct
         1. Coordination
             a. Vertical vs. horizontal agreements
             b. Integration of assets
         2. Exclusion
     E. Procompetitive Effects and Intent
     F. Conclusion

IV. Antitrust Enforcement
     A. Introduction
     B. U.S. Government Enforcement
         1. Civil enforcement
            a. By the Federal Trade Commission
            b. By the Department of Justice Antitrust Division
         2. Criminal enforcement
         3. Antitrust Division Leniency Program
     C. State Enforcement
     D. Other Federal and State Regulators
     E. Private Enforcement
         1. Treble damages
         2. Discovery
         3. Class actions
     F. Competition Law Enforcement Outside of the United States

V. Relations With Competitors
     A. Introduction
     B. Question #1: Who Is a Competitor?
     C. Question #2: What Constitutes an Agreement?
     D. Question #3: What Conduct Is and Is Not Permissible in Dealing With Competitors?
         1. Price fixing and output restrictions
         2. Customer and market allocation
         3. Concerted refusals to deal/boycotts
         4. Exchange of competitively-sensitive information
            a. Mergers and acquisitions
            b. Benchmarking, surveys, and other information exchanges
         5. Invitations to collude
         6. Joint ventures
            a. Fully-integrated joint ventures
            b. Research joint ventures
            c. Production joint ventures
            d. Network joint ventures
            e. Joint marketing or selling arrangements
            f. Joint purchasing arrangements
            g. Ancillary or collateral conduct
         7. Associations
            a. Information sharing through trade associations
            b. Association activities
            c. Association membership and benefits
         8. Standard setting
         9. Interlocking directorates

VI. Relations With Customers and Suppliers
     A. Introduction
     B. Resale Price Restraints
         1. Minimum resale price agreements
         2. Suggested resale price programs
         3. Minimum advertised price policies
         4. Maximum resale prices
     C. Non-Price Distribution Practices
         1. Territory and customer restrictions
         2. Dual distributorships
         3. Refusals to deal
     D. Price Discrimination
     E. Pricing Below Cost
     F. Tying
     G. Bundling
     H. Contractual Provisions That Reference Rivals
         1. Exclusive dealing and requirements contracts
         2. Market share and loyalty discounts
         3. Most-favored-nation provisions

VII. Exemptions and Immunities From the Antitrust Laws
     A. Introduction
     B. Petitioning the Government—‘Noerr-Pennington' Doctrine
         1. In general
         2. Sham petitioning
     C. State Action
     D. Other Exemptions
         1. Filed rate doctrine
         2. Labor-management relations
         3. Industry-specific exemptions

VIII. Mergers and Acquisitions
     A. Introduction
     B. Question #1: Are Certain Risk Factors Present that Would Tend to Increase the Likelihood that the FTC or DOJ (or a State or Non-U.S. Enforcer) Will Investigate or Challenge the Transaction?
         1. Horizontal vs. vertical mergers
         2. Competitive effects of a merger or acquisition
            a. Market share and concentration
            b. Rebutting the presumption
     C. Question #2: Is the Transaction Likely to Meet Certain Size Thresholds and Thereby Require Pre-Merger Filings With U.S. and Foreign Antitrust Authorities?
         1. Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR”) analysis
         2. HSR notification requirements
         3. International merger notification and investigation
     D. Question #3: What Are the Key Provisions of a Transaction Agreement That Are Affected by Antitrust Laws?
         1. Antitrust filings
         2. Antitrust risk
         3. Pre-closing conduct
         4. Non-competes
     E. Question #4: What Does a Company Need to Be Wary of When Engaging in Due Diligence and Transition Planning for a Transaction?
         1. Information exchanges during due diligence
         2. Gun-jumping

IX. Antitrust and Intellectual Property
     A. Introduction
     B. Securing Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks
     C. Licensing
         1. Refusals to license
         2. License terms
         3. Patent pools
     D. Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights
     E. Standard Setting

X. Establishing and Maintaining an Antitrust Compliance Program
     A. In General
     B. Initial Considerations
         1. Risk assessment
         2. Management buy-in
         3. Applicable law
         4. Guidance from enforcers
     C. Designing and Implementing the Program
         1. Compliance policy and guidelines
         2. Distribution of the policy and guidelines
         3. Mechanisms for monitoring, enforcing, and reporting
         4. Training
            a. Designing antitrust training
               (1) Senior executives
               (2) Sales personnel
               (3) Marketing employees
               (4) Human Resources employees
               (5) Lawyers
               (6) Other high risk groups
            b. Delivery
         5. Audits
     D. Preparing for an Investigation
         1. Responding to an unannounced search
         2. Mock raids
     E. Best Practices for Document Creation 

Portfolio 90: Antitrust Compliance

Table of Practice Tools

Practice Tool 1 Antitrust Compliance Guidelines: Training Program

Practice Tool 2 Sample Antitrust Compliance Policy

Practice Tool 3 Sample Antitrust Compliance Guidelines

Practice Tool 4 Antitrust Guidelines for Meetings With Competitors (Trade Association Meetings, Customer Advisory Panels, Forums)

Practice Tool 5 Antitrust Resources

Robert F. Leibenluft, Esq.
Benjamin F. Holt, Esq.
Justin W. Bernick, Esq.
and
Charlesa L. Ceres, Esq.*

Hogan Lovells US LLP
Washington, D.C.

* Editor's note: Ms. Ceres was with the firm of Hogan Lovells US LLP when the authors drafted this portfolio and prepared it for publication. She is now Counsel at United Technologies Corporation.