Perhaps you have heard about some of the huge fines companies have faced after being charged with antitrust violations, such as Google’s $2.7 billion fine in June 2017, or the $26.7 million Euro judgment against one of Heineken’s subsidiaries in Greece in July 2017, or the $1.3 billion fine currently under review against Intel.  Government suits are bad enough, but after them come private lawsuits from other companies affected by the same conduct. Antitrust litigation from a few ill-considered decisions of individuals in a company can take years to resolve and millions to defend.  They disrupt companies and demand substantial human resources, as well.  There is no doubt that avoiding antitrust violations is a much more cost effective strategy than waiting until problems occur.

Our next installment of our Doing Business in the U.S. series is a brief introduction to U.S. antitrust laws.