Antitrust USA: Sherman Act & Clayton ActOnline version
Antitrust basics quiz
1
What do the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act ban in the US?
Choose one or more answers
2
What does Section 2 of the Clayton Act primarily prohibit?
3
Which agencies enforce major US antitrust laws?
4
Under the Sherman Act, which practice is considered per se illegal?
5
To prove monopolization under the Sherman Act, a plaintiff must show:
6
What is a key concept used to assess antitrust claims about market power?
7
What type of relief is commonly sought under Sherman Act?
8
A dairy producer sells "Premium Brand" milk to Chain A for $3.00/gallon. They sell the exact same milk in a plain "Store Brand" bottle to Chain B for $2.50/gallon. The milk is physically identical. Does this violate Section 2(a)?
9
A CEO is caught explicitly agreeing with a competitor to fix prices for their products. Under which Act is the government most likely to seek a prison sentence for that CEO?
10
In a modern antitrust courtroom, a judge says: "The law is intended to protect competition, not competitors." What does this mean for a small business suing a large one?
11
Under Section 4 of the Clayton Act, what is the standard monetary recovery for a private plaintiff who proves injury to their "business or property" by reason of an antitrust violation?
12
According to the 2026 HSR thresholds (effective February 17, 2026), what is the "minimum size of transaction" below which a merger generally does not need to be reported?
13
Section 5(a) provides that a final judgment in a government-brought antitrust case is prima facie evidence in a subsequent private suit. However, this rule specifically does NOT apply to:
14
Under Section 8 (Interlocking Directorates), a person is prohibited from serving as a director for two competing corporations if each has capital/surplus exceeding the 2026 threshold of:
15
What is the standard statute of limitations for a cause of action arising under Section 4 or 4C?
16
Under Section 4C, a State Attorney General may bring a parens patriae action on behalf of corporations and partnerships residing in their state.
17
A person who becomes ineligible to serve as a director under Section 8 due to a change in the company's profits has a one-year grace period to resign.
18
Director X serves on the boards of Company A and Company B. Both companies have over $100 million in capital. Company A has total annual sales of $500 million, but only $4 million of those sales come from products that compete with Company B. Under the 2026 adjusted thresholds, does this interlock violate Section 8?
19
On March 1, 2026, TechGiant (Assets: $1 Billion) acquires StartupInc (Assets: $30 Million) for a total transaction value of $150 Million. They close the deal immediately without filing an HSR notification. Have they violated Section 7A?
20
A State Attorney General (AG) sues a manufacturer for a price-fixing conspiracy that harmed 2 million individual residents. The AG wishes to prove the total $10 million in damages using a statistical sampling method rather than proving the specific injury to each of the 2 million people. Which section of the Clayton Act authorizes this procedure?
Feedback
The Sherman Act prohibits restraints of trade; Clayton Act Sec 2 targets monopolization and attempts to monopolize.
Clayton Act Sec 2 addresses price discrimination.
DOJ enforces; FTC enforces many antitrust rules alongside DOJ.
Price fixing is a classic per se illegal restraint under the Sherman Act.
Requires both market power and intentional maintenance of that power.
Identifying the relevant product and geographic market is essential to assess power.
Courts can issue injunctions and damages; treble damages may apply.
This is a classic trick. The law focuses on physical attributes, not consumer perception or branding.
This is a fundamental distinction. The Sherman Act carries criminal penalties (felonies). The Clayton Act is primarily a civil statute. While the House version wanted criminal penalties, the Senate version (which passed) removed them.
This is the core of the "Chicago School" shift. It is the most important philosophical point for an undergraduate law student to understand.
Section 4G(3) excludes proprietorships and partnerships; 4C is for "natural persons"
Section 8(a)(2)(A) provides a "Safe Harbor." Even if the corporations are large, if the competitive sales of either corporation are below the adjusted threshold ($5,440,200 for 2026), the interlock is legal.
Under 2026 rules, a filing is required if the deal is > $133.9M AND the "Size of Person" test is met ($267.8M and $26.8M). TechGiant ($1B) and StartupInc ($30M) both exceed those respective limits.
Section 4D specifically states that in parens patriae price-fixing cases, damages may be proved in the aggregate by "statistical or sampling methods" without the necessity of separately proving individual claims.
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