Antitrust Laws and Issues Pathfinder
by Rebecca Gonzales


This pathfinder was designed to assist individuals in locating information on antitrust laws and issues. It does not attempt to list the hundreds of books, articles, and Internet sites available that address antitrust issues, but instead suggests several sources that may be good starting places for the location of useful information. The following sites provide answers to both general and specific questions that may arise in a law firm.


Where can I find general information on antitrust laws for my client to read?

These sources provide general information on United States antitrust laws and corporation mergers.

Books

  • The antitrust laws: a primer by John H. Shenefield and Irwin M. Stelzer. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 2001.

  • Mergers and acquisitions: understanding the antitrust issues by Robert S. Schlossberg and Clifford H. Chicago, Ill.: American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law, 2000.


Glossary

  • Mueller, Charles E. Glossary of Antitrust Terms from Antitrust Law and Economics Review Vol. 26, No. 4 Antitrust Law & Economics Review, Inc. FL, 1997. Accessible via the Web: http://home.mpinet.net/cmueller/ii-03.html


Online Sources

  • Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice
    http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/

  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Antitrust/ Competition Site
    http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/antitrust.htm
    (There is a section of the FTC site which is a useful introduction to antitrust, it is called The Promoting Competition, Protecting Consumers: A Plain English Guide to Antitrust Laws and is available online at: http://www.ftc.gov/bc/compguide/index.htm)

  • Antitrust Policy
    http://www.antitrust.org
    This private site is sponsored by a variety of economic consulting firms and other companies. Here you can find research, policy, and case discussions addressing mergers, price-fixing, and other competitive restraints.


Where can I find the most current antitrust news and information?

The best source of current information is available to our users online through Lexis-Nexis. The Lexis portion of Lexis-Nexis is one of the leading legal databases, aggregating information from a wide variety of authoritative and informative sources. The Nexis portion of Lexis-Nexis gives access to hundreds of worldwide news sources.

Online

  • Lexis
    http://www.lexis.com
    To access the wide variety of antitrust information available click on "Area of Law - By Topic" listed under "Explore Sources" on the main page. Click on "Trade and Antitrust" to access many areas topics such as "Statutes & Legislative Materials", "Cases", "Administrative Materials & Regulations", "Treatises & Analytical Materials", "Law Reviews and Journals". The search box is available for detailed searches. Materials are aggregated from such sources as the FTC, US Department of Justice, Recent Topical Developments - Federal Trade Regulation, United States Attorney's Resource Manual, ABA Antitrust Law Journal, and Journal of Commerce, The M&A Lawyer, to name just a few.

  • Nexis
    http://www.nexis.com
    To locate newspaper articles on antitrust first go to "Business and Management" in the main Subject Directory, then click on "Business Regulation". Finally click on "Antitrust" in the "Directory Subjects" for the latest information from newspapers worldwide.

    To locate journal articles on antitrust select "Law Reviews" in the Search Form first type in "antitrust law" in the subject box, select the dates you would like to search, and locate the journal article. Some of the journals available through Lexis-Nexis include: Berkeley Technology Law Journal, Cornell Law Review, Journal of Legislation, Law and Policy in International Business, and The Journal of the Legal Profession.


Antitrust issues are becoming more complex in the information age. Where can I find information on this topic?

Antitrust is struggling with new questions while continuing to wrestle with current ones. These sources address topics of continuing and emerging interest, such as the latest insights into network externalities in the technological age and Microsoft's conduct and its implications for the future of antitrust.

  • Book
    The antitrust paradox revisited: Robert Bork and the transformation of modern antitrust policy by William E. Kovacic Washington, D.C.: Washington Legal Foundation, 1989.

  • Cassette
    Antitrust turnpikes to the millennium Millersville, MD: Recorded Resources Corp., 1999.

  • Online
    Nexis
    http://www.nexis.com
    There are a number of journals available through Lexis-Nexis that deal with this topic. Try a search using "antitrust laws and technology". A few of the journals available are Berkeley Technology Law Journal and Boston University Journal of Science and Technology Law.

Where can I find reliable resources that give both points of view in the battle between the US Department of Justice and Microsoft?

  • Online
    United States v. Microsoft Trial Department of Justice: Antitrust Division
    http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/ms_index.htm
    The Department of Justice Antitrust Division provides a full text history of the cases thus far brought against Microsoft. Included are complaints, motions, briefs, consent decrees, court orders, and judgments. Note that some files are available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format only.

  • Index of Microsoft's Legal Documents
    http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legalnews.asp
    Microsoft's legal documents site contains court briefs, replies, and motions dating back to November 1997. Microsoft's Press Pass page is, and will continue to be, the headquarters for its attempt to win the hearts and minds of the computing public in the battle. At present, it contains articles on competition and innovation in the software industry, background papers, and a letter from Bill Gates to "customers, partners, and shareholders," among other features.


Where can I find concise lists and summaries of antitrust and trade regulation cases?

  • Online
    Antitrust Case Filings by the Department of Justice: Antitrust Division
    http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases.html
    This section of the Department of Justice website contains electronic versions of selected documents filed by the Division since December 1994. Cases are listed alphabetically by the last name of individual defendants, by company name, and by the entity's first name.

  • The Antitrust Case Summaries
    http://www.antitrustcases.com/
    This site provides summaries of significant U.S. antitrust cases (case law) with multiple indexes. It also provides text of key antitrust statutes and links to related antitrust sites.

  • Federal Trade Commission Online (FTC)
    http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/antitrust.htm
    The FTC provides general information on antitrust activities by the commission.

  • Supreme Court Antitrust Debates
    http://www.ripon.edu/Faculty/bowenj/antitrust/intro.htm


Legal Information Institute Law about Antitrust on the Cornell Law website http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/antitrust.html
Gives an overview of antitrust. Includes federal and state statutes and federal and state judicial decisions.


Where can I find information on international antitrust regulations?

The sources listed below are for general information on United States antitrust laws in relation to the U.S./EC cooperation agreement and international antitrust regulations. The issues covered include U.S. antitrust and trade laws, arbitration procedures, and guidelines for handling international mergers. These also cover comparisons and economic analyses of Common Market competition law and international business practice codes and guidelines, transfer of technology issues, and merger regulations.

Books

  • United States, Common Market and international antitrust: a comparative guide vol. 1-vol 3 2nd ed. / by Barry E. Hawk. New York: Aspen Law & Business, 1985-1996.

  • Merger control law in the European Union by the European Commission. Brussels; Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities; Lanham, MD: Bernan Associates [distributor], 1998. This is a publication by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Competition on the topic of consolidation and merger of corporations and antitrust law in the European countries.


Online


Where can I find resources that deal directly with antitrust litigation?

Books

  • Antitrust litigation: strategies for success, 2000 by co-chairs, Yee Wah Chin, M. Sean Royall. New York, N.Y.: Practicing Law Institute, 2000.

  • The merger review process: a step-by-step guide to federal merger review by editor, Judy Whalley Chicago, IL: Section of Antitrust Law, American Bar Association, 1995

  • Managing antitrust and other complex litigation: a handbook for lawyers and judges by William W. Schwarzer Charlottesville, Va.: Michie Co., 1982.

Cassette Tape

  • How to recognize a plaintiff's antitrust suit by Josef D. Cooper [Washington, D.C.]: Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Education Fund, 1981.

Are there antitrust associations?

Online

  • American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law http://www.abanet.org/antitrust/

  • American Antitrust Institute
    http://www.antitrustinstitute.org/
    This is an independent Washington-based non-profit education, research, and advocacy organization.

  • American Law and Economics Association
    http://www.amlecon.org
    This association is dedicated to the advancement of economic understanding of law and related areas of public policy and regulation.


Created May 2001