Restraint of trade - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

A restraint of trade is any activity that tends to limit a party's ability to enter into transactions. The term is most commonly used in the context of government antitrust regulation. For example, federally, 15 U.S.C. � 1 prohibits �[e]very 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.� For example, in American Needle, Inc. v. Nat�l Football League, the U.S. Supreme Court held that licensing activities for individual teams� intellectual property conducted through a corporation separate from the teams with its own management [i.e. the NFL] fell within a possible restraint of trade covered under 15 U.S.C. � 1. Many states also have their own local restraints on anti-competitive business activity. For example, Massachusetts General Law Ch. 93 � 4 states �[e]very contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce in the commonwealth shall be unlawful.�