Robinson-Patman: How Did We Get Here? Could We Go Back?

Government enforcement and private litigation of the Robinson-Patman has been minimal during the past decades. However now the FTC –– among many others –– seems to want to revive its application. In this article we illustrate the evolution of courts’ views on Robinson-Patman cases, and how any attempt would need to account for decades worth of court opinions that have questioned its policy and narrowed its interpretation. Courts have interpreted all antitrust laws, including Robison-Pa