Suggestion amounts to, you know - even if the suggestion

Is never put into practice, it could still be an infringement of

The law. The infringements in this case would be for

Conspiracy to allocate territories and fix prices. Of course,

it's very hard from an evidentiary standpoint for the case to

be proven, but it's still a violation.

Mr Greene: But we're just a taxi company. I mean, it's not like

we're Microsoft or anything.

Mr Langston: That's irrelevant, I'm afraid. The law still applies.

And territorial allocation - which is what dividing up the

Territory between yourselves is called - is a serious breach

Of antitrust law.

Mr Greene: I see. Another suggestion he had was a discount

on airport trips, a special price, really dirt cheap, that'd help

us to hold on to what's left of the airport business.

Mr Langston: Well, that's what's known as predatory pricing.

It's trying to keep new businesses from entering a market

By lowering prices below cost temporarily.

Mr Greene: I see they even have a name for it.

Mr Langston: Yes, they do. And they also have punishments for

It. Let me caution you that the fines can be very high for this

Sort of activity, Mr Greene. I must warn you that in this

Jurisdiction, individuals directly involved in serious anticompetitive

Behaviour face the threat of criminal prosecution,

Which could lead to imprisonment. You should be aware that

The risks of being a party to an anti-competitive agreement or

Abusing monopoly power are serious.

Mr Greene: Well, I can't say you haven't warned me.

Mr Langston: As your lawyer, I must strongly advise you to

Cease all communications with your competitor on the

Topics of territory and pricing. Furthermore, I recommend

That your competitor be advised of the illegality of his

Behaviour. I also suggest you concentrate on other, legal

Means of improving your position in the taxi-service market.

Listening 2

How are mergers evaluated? Section 16 of the Act lays out the

Criteria to be employed in the merger evaluation process. There

Are three key steps. First, the investigators, and, where

Appropriate, the Tribunal, must consider the impact of the

Merger on competition. This is not simply a matter of

Calculating present market shares and imputing future market

shares. It's a sophisticated analysis in which a range of factors

Must be considered. The nature of the product, the state of

International trade in the product, past inter-firm relations, the

Prospect that, in the absence of the merger, one of the firms

May fail are some of the factors that have to be accounted for.

Once this analysis is done, it's possible that a merger that

Leads to a large market share might be approved, whereas one

That results in substantially smaller market shares might be

rejected. One word of advice here: the definition of the market

Is a very important step in conducting the competition

Analysis. Predictably, the parties tend to define their market

Very widely; competition authorities tend to rather narrow

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 814