Enacted by the 51st U.S. Congress and signed by President Benjamin Harrison on 2 July 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act is the founding U.S. federal antitrust statute. It declares illegal every contract, combination or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce among the states or with foreign nations, and makes monopolization or attempted monopolization a criminal offense. It established the basic framework for U.S. competition law, later expanded by the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, which added prohibitions on price discrimination, exclusive dealing, interlocking directorates and anticompetitive mergers.
Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal, per the codified Section 1 text.
Facts
Promulgated ByUnited States Congress, 51st Congress, signed by President Benjamin Harrison 2 Jurisdiction ScopeUnited States federal, interstate and foreign commerce 2 Regulatory DomainAntitrust and competition 2 Classification
Legal StatusSourced to the subject's own account Jurisdiction Scope
Jurisdiction Scope (category) Era
Era (category)19th Century (1800-1899) 2 Connections
Associated With
Both statutes are national antitrust and competition-law regimes, though China's law arose more than a century after the Sherman Act and within a different legal-family lineage.
Source Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China, 2022 (Wikisource)
The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 supplemented the Sherman Antitrust Act general prohibitions with specific named practices.
Source Sherman Antitrust Act (Wikipedia)
Both prohibit anticompetitive agreements and abuse of dominance in their jurisdictions.
The Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 was enacted alongside the Clayton Act to strengthen enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Source Sherman Antitrust Act (Wikipedia)
Both are early federal statutes regulating commerce and competition.
The Statute of Monopolies of 1624 is an early English limit on monopoly grants and is a historical antecedent of antitrust policy.
Authored By
John Sherman, Jurists Senator John Sherman of Ohio authored and gave his name to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.
In Legal System
United States federal statute, within the common law tradition.
Source Major Legal Systems in the World TodayRene David and John E.C. Brierley
Sources
1. Sherman Antitrust Act (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section
The Sherman Antitrust Act (26 Stat.
In Group: United States Antitrust Statutes, Introduction, sentence 2
209, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-7) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce and consequently prohibits unfair monopolies.
View the Source 2. Sherman Antitrust Act (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section
The Sherman Antitrust Act (26 Stat.
- Associated With: Clayton Antitrust Act
- Associated With: Federal Trade Commission Act
15 U.S.C. Section 1 (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School)
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School15 U.S.C. Section 1Quote, 15 U.S.C. Section 1
Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal.
Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China, 2022 (Wikisource)
WikisourceAssociated With: Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China
Major Legal Systems in the World Today
Rene David and John E.C. Brierley, Stevens and Sons, 1985In Legal System: Law of the United States
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