Sherman Act: Exclusionary Practices

• The Sherman Act states that being a monopoly is not an antitrust violation but exclusionary behavior is a violation
• The courts believe…
  • Aggressive, competitive conduct by a monopolist is highly beneficial to consumers and that courts should prize and encourage this conduct via antitrust laws
  • Aggressive, exclusionary conduct by a monopolist is deleterious to consumers and courts should condemn this conduct via antitrust laws
• However, identifying exclusionary behavior is extremely difficult → Competitive and exclusionary conduct often look alike