A vertical intra-brand restraint occurs when a manufacturer limits its retailers to selling in a specified territory. The restraint works by protecting the retailer from a market imperfection known as “free riding,” which has played an important role in antitrust thinking. In an article published in the Fall 2017 issue of Today’s General Counsel magazine, Jeffery M. Cross, a member of the Litigation Practice Group and Antitrust & Trade Regulation Group, writes about the concept of free riding and how protecting against it is a well-established, pro-competitive justification for restraints, as well as why it is important for the justification to be properly applied in order to avoid antitrust liability. The article, “Restraints Justified to Prevent Free Riding,” is the latest installment of Cross’ "The Antitrust Litigator" column for the magazine.
To read the article, click here.
