Antitrust Law By Prof. Keith N. Hylton
Other Course Links: Tort Law, Economics of IP, Economics of Labor Law
Other Course Links: Tort Law, Economics of IP, Economics of Labor Law
Antitrust law regulates the competition between business firms in unregulated markets (and in varying degrees in regulated markets, where it supplies a benchmark standard). Thus, all privately owned economic entities are subject to or affected by the antitrust laws (federal or state), ranging from the largest multinationals to self-employed individuals, e.g., lawyers. Antitrust law constrains business behavior that injures the competitive process, encompassing such topics as price fixing, boycotts, monopolization, mergers, price discrimination, distributorship limitations and similar trade restrictions. Antitrust analysis is increasingly economic in its orientation and therefore economic analysis will form a vital part of the course. Supplementary economic readings are suggested for students without previous economic background (and for others who may wish to refresh their knowledge). More advanced readings are also suggested for students who intend to do scholarship in antitrust law or applied industrial organization economics.
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
display knowledge of basic antitrust law, including, for example, concepts associated with price fixing, monopolization, and tying;
deploy legal reasoning at the advanced level;
analyze facts to identify legal issues presented by those facts; Identify the strengths and weaknesses of an antitrust claim in a given factual context;
analyze the relationship between substantive antitrust law and litigation procedures;
identify the rationale for substantive antitrust law;
distinguish policy and legal issues presented by antitrust law in a given factual context.
Students will be assessed on these learning objectives through:
a final examination and in class discussion/exercises.