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Competition law
Basic concepts
History of competition law Monopolization Coercive monopoly Natural monopoly Barriers to entry Market power SSNIP test Relevant market Merger control
Anti-competitive practices
Collusion Formation of cartels Price fixing Product bundling and tying Refusal to deal Group boycott Exclusive dealing Bid rigging Dividing territories Conscious parallelism Predatory pricing Misuse of patents and copyrights
Laws and doctrines
United States Sherman Antitrust Act Clayton Antitrust Act Robinson-Patman Act Federal Trade Commission Act Merger guidelines Essential facilities doctrine Noerr-Pennington doctrine Rule of reason Europe European Community competition law Irish Competition Law Competition Act 1998 (U.K.) Australia Trade Practices Act 1974
Enforcement authorities and organizations
International Competition Network List of competition regulators
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The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, (October 15, 1914, ch. 323, 38 Stat. 730, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 12–27, 29 U.S.C. § 52–53), was enacted in the United States to remedy deficiencies in antitrust law created under the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the first Federal law outlawing practices "harmful" to consumers (monopolies and anti-competitive agreements). Passed during the Wilson administration, the legislation was first introduced by Alabama Democrat Henry De Lamar Clayton in the U.S. House of Representatives, where the act passed by a vote of 277 to 54 on June 5th, 1914. Though the Senate passed its own version on September 2nd, 1914 by a vote of 46-16, the final version of the law (written after deliberation between Senate and the House), did not pass the Senate until October 5th and the House until October 8th of the same year.

The Clayton Act made both substantive and procedural modifications to federal competition law. Substantively, the act prohibits particular types of conduct, not deemed in the best interest of a competitive market, that the Sherman Act did not. Notably, the act prohibits:

• price discrimination between different purchasers if such discrimination substantially lessens competition or tends to create a monopoly in any line of commerce (Act Section 2, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 13);
• sales on the condition that (A) the buyer or lessee not deal with the competitors of the seller or lessor ("exclusive dealings"), or that the buyer also purchase another different product ("tying", also covered by the Sherman Act, Section 1), but only when these acts substantially lessen competition (Act Section 3, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 14);
• mergers and acquisitions where the effect may substantially lessen competition (Act Section 7, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 18);
• any person from being a director of two or more competing corporations (Act Section 8; codified at 15 U.S.C. § 19).

The act also provides for certain exemptions from its own provisions. Specifically: Section 6 of the Act (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 17) exempts labor unions and agricultural organizations. Therefore, boycotts, peaceful strikes, and peaceful picketing are not regulated by this statute. Injunctions could be used to settle labor disputes only when property damage was threatened.

Procedurally, the Act empowers private parties injured by violations of the Act to sue for treble damages under Section 4 and injunctive relief under Section 16.

The Act is also enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

• Celler-Kefauver Act
• Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act
• Robinson-Patman Act
• Sherman Antitrust Act
• United States v. Continental Can Co.

• Brief History of the Federal Trade Commission (PDF)
• Why Did The Clayton Act Pass? An Analysis of the Interest Group Hypothesis (PDF)
• Full Text of the Clayton Antitrust Act