[ 趙慶慶譯 ]——(2005-2-27) / 已閱53298次
Section 7A of the Clayton Act, called the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, requires the prior notification of large mergers to both the FTC and the Justice Department.
《克萊頓法》第七條A款，亦稱Hart-Scott-Rodino法，要求大合并案中當事方在合并時要事先照會聯邦貿易委員會和司法部。
Some cases are easier than others. The courts decided many years ago that certain practices, such as price fixing, are so inherently harmful to consumers that a detailed examination isn’t necessary to determine whether they are reasonable. The law presumes that they are violations (antitrust lawyers call these per se violations) and condemns them almost automatically.
某些案件比其它的案子要來得簡單一些。諸如價格限定這類行為，因其對消費者固有的危害性，法院多年前曾確認在認定這些行為是否合理時，并不需要對它們進行詳細的審查，而是由法律直接假定它們違法而且幾乎是自動地譴責它們。（反托拉斯律師們稱其為實質性違法）。
Other practices demand closer scrutiny based on principles that the courts and antitrust agencies have developed. These cases are examined under a "rule of reason" analysis. A practice is illegal if it restricts competition in some significant way and has no overriding business justification. Practices that meet both characteristics are likely to harm consumers -- by increasing prices, reducing availability of goods or services, lowering quality or service, or significantly stifling innovation.
其它的一些行為則需要根據法院和反托拉局業已發展起來的一些原則對其進行詳細的審查。這些案子是在 “理性原則”的分析下接受審查的。一種行為倘若其以某種明顯的方式限制了競爭且沒有免責正當的商事抗辯理由，那么它就是非法的。這些行為常有以下這些特征：通過提價，降低商品或服務的可用性，提供低品質的商品或低質量的服務，以及顯著的抑制技術革新等手段來損害消費者的利益。
The antitrust laws are further complicated by the fact that many business practices can have a reasonable business justification even if they limit competition in some way. Consider an agreement among manufacturers to adopt specifications that require fire-resistant materials for certain products. The set of specifications may be called a standard. The agreement to adopt the standard is restrictive: the manufacturers have limited their own ability to use other materials, and they have limited consumer choice. But the agreement to adopt the standard may benefit consumers in that it provides assurances of safety.
反托拉斯法亦基于一個這樣的事實而趨于復雜化。那就是許多商事行為雖然在某種程度上限制了競爭，但它們擁有正當的商事抗辯理由。例如，廠商們之間關于采用防火材料制造特種產品的規范的協定。這一整套的規范可稱之為標準。廠商們采納的這種標準事實上是限制競爭的：廠商自我限制了其使用其它材料的能力，同時也限制了消費者的選擇范圍。然而，這種關于采納某一標準的協定對消費者可能是有利的-------它提供了具有安全保證的商品。
What if manufacturers did not use a uniform standard for electrical outlets and plugs? The likely result would be incompatibilities between parts produced by different manufacturers. But because of the standard, parts manufactured by different companies become interchangeable; competition for the parts increases, and prices go down.
如果廠商們不采用電源和插座的行業統一標準會有什么情況發生呢?極可能導致不同廠商制造的零部件相互之間不相容。由于統一標準的存在，不同公司制造的零部件變得可以通用，于是此類零部件市場的競爭加強了，從而使其價格回落。
Illegal Business Practices
非法商事行為
Horizontal agreements among competitors:
Agreements among parties in a competing relationship can raise antitrust suspicions. Competitors may be agreeing to restrict competition among themselves. Antitrust authorities must investigate the effect and purpose of an agreement to determine its legality.
競爭者間的橫向協定： 相互之間有競爭關系的市場主體間的協定很可能引起反托拉斯當局的懷疑。競爭們可能協商在他們自己之間進行限制競爭。反托拉斯當局需要通過調查該協定的影響和目的來確認其合法性。
Agreements on price. Agreements about price or price-related matters such as credit terms potentially are the most serious. That’s because price often is the principal way that firms compete. A "naked" agreement on price -- where the agreement is not reasonably related to the firms’ business operations -- is illegal. Hard core -- clear or blatant -- price-fixing is subject to criminal prosecution.
價格協定。關于價格或諸如信用證條款等有關價格事項的協定是極具潛在危害性的。這是因為價格通常是商家之間競爭的最主要的手段。一項與公司的商業運作不適當地聯系在一起的純價格協定是非法的。Hard core -- clear or blatant -- price-fixing is subject to criminal prosecution. 限價行為不論其是清晰的還是極為顯著的，都將面臨到刑事指控。
Are similarity of prices, simultaneous price changes or high prices indications of price-fixing? Not always. These conditions can result from price-fixing, but to prove the charge, antitrust authorities would need evidence of an agreement to fix prices. Price similarities -- or the appearance of simultaneous changes in price -- also can result from normal economic conditions. For example, vigorous competition can drive prices down to a common level. A general increase in wholesale gasoline costs due to production shortages can cause gasoline stations to increase retail prices around the same time. As for the appearance of uniformly "high" prices, collusion may not be the only basis for the situation. Prices may increase if consumer demand for a product is particularly high and the supply is limited. Ask any shopper in search of a particularly popular children’s toy.
是否近似價格、同時發生的價格變動或高價格都是限價行為的跡象呢？并非總是如此。這些情形可以是由限價行為而引發的，但是反托拉斯當局需要有一限價協定作為證據以支持其指控。近似價格、同時發生的價格變動也可以是由正常的經濟環境變動而引發的。例如，激烈的競爭促使價格下降到一個正常的水平；因產量不足而引起的汽油成本整體性上升會促使各加油站在一個大體相同的時間提高它們的零售價格；至于出現的統一的高價格，串謀也可能不是出現這樣情形的唯一原因。價格上漲可能是由于消費者對某一供應不足的產品需求特別大。如，要求商家提供一非常受歡迎的兒童玩具。
Agreements to restrict output. An agreement to restrict production or output is illegal because reducing the supply of a product or service inevitably drives up its price.
產量限制協定。一項關于限制產量的協定是非法的。因為它削減了產品和服務的供應量，這就不可避免地引發了價格上漲。
Boycotts. A group boycott -- an agreement among competitors not to deal with another person or business -- violates the law if it is used to force another party to pay higher prices.
聯合抵制。一團體的聯合抵制（即競爭者之間有關禁止與其它人交易的協定）若是以迫使另一團體支付更高的價格為目的，那么這種行為就是非法的。
Boycotts to prevent a firm from entering a market or to disadvantage a competitor also are illegal. Recent cases involved a group of physicians charged with using a boycott to prevent a managed care organization from establishing a competing health care facility in Virginia and retailers who used a boycott to force manufacturers to limit sales through a competing catalog vendor.
聯合抵制一家新的公司進入市場或聯合使某一競爭者陷入劣勢境地同樣也是非法的。新近的案例有：弗吉尼亞州一內科醫生團體聯合抵制一組織建立其競爭性的衛生保健設施而遭到起訴；及零售商們通過聯合行動強迫制造商限制其經由競爭性零售網的銷售。
Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? It depends on their effect on competition and possible justifications. A group of California auto dealers used a boycott to prevent a newspaper from telling consumers how to use wholesale price information when shopping for cars. The FTC proved that the boycott affected price competition and had no reasonable justification.
至于用于其它目的的聯合抵制行動是否也是非法的呢？這則取決于它們對于競爭的影響和可能存在的正當抗辯理由。例如，一加利福尼亞的汽車代理商團體曾采取聯合抵制行動阻止新聞媒體告訴消費者在購買汽車時怎樣利用批發價信息。聯邦貿易委員會最終認定這種聯合抵制行為影響了價格競爭，而且也沒有任何正當的抗辯理由。
Market division. Agreements among competitors to divide sales territories or allocate customers -- essentially, agreements not to compete -- are presumed to be illegal. At issue in one recent case was an agreement between cable television companies not to enter each other’s territory.
市場分割。競爭者之間關于市場領域劃分或分享消費者的協定（本質上是也是限制競爭的）同樣被認為是非法的。新近的一個案例是幾家有線電視公司簽訂協定承諾互不進入對方的市場領域。
Agreements to restrict advertising. Restrictions on price advertising can be illegal if they deprive consumers of important information. Restrictions on non-price advertising also may be illegal if the evidence shows the restrictions have anticompetitive effects and lack reasonable business justification. The FTC recently charged a group of auto dealers with restricting comparative and discount advertising to the detriment of consumers.
廣告限制協定。價格廣告方面的限制若是剝奪了消費者需要的一些重要信息就是非法的。對非價格廣告的限制亦有可能是非法的，只要有證據表明這種限制有反競爭性的影響同時又沒有正當的商事抗辯理由。聯邦貿易委員會不久前曾起訴了一群對比較和折扣廣告進行限制，從而損害了消費者利益的汽車代理商。
Codes of ethics. A professional code of ethics may be unlawful if it unreasonably restricts the ways professionals may compete. Several years ago, for example, the FTC ruled that certain provisions of the American Medical Association’s code of ethics restricted doctors from participating in alternative forms of health care delivery, such as managed health care programs, in violation of the antitrust laws. The case opened the door for greater competition in health care.
道德準則。職業道德準則若是不適當地限制了其職業可能的競爭方式也是非法的。多年前，有這樣一個案例：聯邦貿易委員會裁定美國醫藥聯合會確立的道德準則中的某些條款限制了醫生參加一些提供選擇性醫療服務的業務，例如衛生保健計劃就違法了反托拉斯法。本案為衛生保健領域更為激烈的競爭打開了大門。
Restraints of other business practices. Other kinds of agreements also can restrict competition. For example:
其它商事限制行為。其它類型的協定同樣可能限制競爭。例如：
A large group of Detroit-area auto dealers agreed to restrict their showroom hours, including closing on Saturdays. The agreement reduced a service that dealers normally provide -- convenient hours -- and made it difficult for consumers to comparison shop. The FTC challenged the agreement successfully.
一些Detroit-area公司的代理商協定削減他們的營業時間，包括在周六停業。
該協定減少了這些代理商在人們便利的時間內其本應正常提供的服務。從而加大了消費者貨比三家的難度。聯邦貿易委員會成功地阻止了此項協定的生效。
A group of dentists refused to make patients’ X-rays available to insurance companies. The FTC maintained that the agreement restricted a service to patients, as well as information that would be relevant to reimbursements. The Supreme Court upheld the FTC’s ruling.
A group of dentists refused to make patients’ X-rays available to insurance companies. The FTC maintained that the agreement restricted a service to patients, as well as information that would be relevant to reimbursements. 最高法院亦支持了聯邦貿易委員會的裁定。
Proving a violation in these kinds of cases depends largely on proving the existence of an agreement. An explicit agreement can be demonstrated through direct evidence -- a document that contains or refers to an agreement, minutes of a meeting that record an agreement among the attendees, or testimony by a person with knowledge of an agreement. But an agreement also can be demonstrated by inference -- a combination of circumstantial evidence, including the fact that competitors had a meeting before they implemented certain practices, records of telephone calls, and signaling behavior -- when one company tells another that it intends to raise prices by a certain amount. This evidence must show that a company’s conduct was more likely the result of an agreement than a unilateral action.
在這些類型的案件中確認一違法行為很大程度上取決于能否證明廠商間協定的存在。一外在的協定可以通過一些直接的證據予以證明。如一份包含或涉及協議的文件；數分鐘的廠商間達成協定的會議記錄；或一知曉協定內容的證人的證詞。但協定也可以用類推的方式予以證明，主要是指一些合并的間接證據，包括競爭者在實施特定市場行為前開會；電話記錄以及信號行為。（即一家公司將其提高商品價格的意圖告訴另一家公司）。這些證據必需表明廠商的行為看起來更像是相互間串謀的結果，而非單方面行動。
Vertical agreements between buyers and sellers
買方和賣方間的縱向協定
Certain kinds of agreements between parties in a buyer-seller relationship, such as a retailer who buys from a manufacturer, also are illegal. Price-related agreements are presumed to be violations, but antitrust authorities view most non-price agreements with less suspicion because many have valid business justifications.
此類型的協定存在于相互間有買賣關系的各方之間，如一零售商與其供貨制造商。雖然與價格相關的協定常被假定是非法的，但反托拉斯當局認為多數非價格協定無多嫌疑，因為它們之中許多都有正當的商事抗辯理由。
Resale price maintenance agreements. Vertical price-fixing -- an agreement between a supplier and a dealer that fixes the minimum resale price of a product -- is a clear-cut antitrust violation. It also is illegal for a manufacturer and retailer to agree on a minimum resale price.
轉售價格維持協定。此為縱向限價，即一供貨商與一銷售商之間關于某一商品最低轉售價格的協定。這種協定明顯違反了反托拉斯法。同樣，制造商和零售商對最低轉售價格達成一致也是非法的。
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