--- "Devine, James" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > there are two major differences that I can see in > the US legal definition of price discrimination > (below) and the economist's definition are > > 1) anti-trust law only applies to interstate > commerce, right? thus, it wouldn't apply to a local > business such as a movie theater.
You dpo have to prove the interstate commerce element. But the definition of interstate commerce is quite broad. If what happens within a state affects interstate commerce even a teeny bit, then the jurisdictional requirement is satisfied. It's a low showing. > > 2) more importantly, the only kind of price > discrimination that's illegal has "the > effect of such discrimination may be substantially > to > lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in > any > line of commerce, or to injure, destroy, or prevent > competition with any person who either grants or > knowingly receives the benefit of such > discrimination, > or with customers of either of them." Not all > "economic" price discrimination has this effect. > Right, so you can mount a defense that your price discrimination is not harmful to competition. This is not actually an affirmative defense. The harm to competition is part of plaintiff's prima facie case, meaning it's something the P has to show by a preponderance. In antitrust law, outside of a small class of per se violations like price fixing, where harm to competition is presumed, you have to show that the practice is in fact harmful to competition. jks > Jim > > -------------------- > Here is the conduct prohibited in the statute, 15 > USC > sec 13(a). > > > (a) Price; selection of customers > > > > It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in > commerce, in the course of such commerce, either > directly or indirectly, to discriminate in price > between different purchasers of commodities of like > grade and quality, where either or any of the > purchases involved in such discrimination are in > commerce, where such commodities are sold for use, > consumption, or resale within the United States or > any > Territory thereof or the District of Columbia or any > insular possession or other place under the > jurisdiction of the United States, and where the > effect of such discrimination may be substantially > to > lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in > any > line of commerce, or to injure, destroy, or prevent > competition with any person who either grants or > knowingly receives the benefit of such > discrimination, > or with customers of either of them: Provided, That > nothing herein contained shall prevent differentials > which make only due allowance for differences in the > cost of manufacture, sale, or delivery resulting > from > the differing methods or quantities in which such > commodities are to such purchasers sold or > delivered: > Provided, however, That the Federal Trade Commission > may, after due investigation and hearing to all > interested parties, fix and establish quantity > limits, > and revise the same as it finds necessary, as to > particular commodities or classes of commodities, > where it finds that available purchasers in greater > quantities are so few as to render differentials on > account thereof unjustly discriminatory or promotive > of monopoly in any line of commerce; and the > foregoing > shall then not be construed to permit differentials > based on differences in quantities greater than > those > so fixed and established: And provided further, That > nothing herein contained shall prevent persons > engaged > in selling goods, wares, or merchandise in commerce > from selecting their own customers in bona fide > transactions and not in restraint of trade: And > provided further, That nothing herein contained > shall > prevent price changes from time to time where in > response to changing conditions affecting the market > for or the marketability of the goods concerned, > such > as but not limited to actual or imminent > deterioration > of perishable goods, obsolescence of seasonal goods, > distress sales under court process, or sales in good > faith in discontinuance of business in the goods > concerned. > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site > design software > http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com
