Horizontal agreements setting prices, price components, discounts, or credit terms are per se illegal without inquiry into reasonableness. Vertical price agreements are analyzed under the rule of reason after Leegin.
Indirect agreements on price components qualify.
Alternative Names:
Price-Fixing|Price Fixing Conspiracy
Why it Matters?
Per se treatment eliminates the procompetitive justification defense entirely, which means the litigation concentrates on whether an agreement existed rather than whether it harmed competition. Information exchange among competitors is the recurring gray area, since sharing current pricing data can support an agreement inference while exchanging historical aggregated data through a neutral administrator generally does not. Compliance program design turns on that distinction.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Does per se treatment permit justification?
Where is information exchange risky?
