Dec. 10, 2025 – Since the earliest days of commerce, humans have realized a need to regulate trading and promote fairness in competition in the marketplace. Law librarian Diane Duffey gives a primer on resources for business competition laws, with a focus on Wisconsin and federal material.
Primary Law
There are three main federal acts that govern antitrust and competition law.
The
Sherman Antitrust Act, codified at
15 U.S.C §§ 1-7, enacted in 1890, created prohibitions on any anticompetitive agreements among competitors, such as price fixing and bid rigging.
The
Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 strengthened and clarified the laws created by the Sherman Act and put restrictions on mergers; it is codified at
15 U.S.C. §§ 12-27 and 29 U.S.C. §§ 52-53.
Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, codified at
15 U.S.C. § 41 - 58, created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
In addition to these three, there are three significant amendments, chiefly to the Clayton Act:
The
Robinson-Patman Act of 1936, an amendment regarding price discrimination, codified at
15 U.S.C. § 13.
The
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975, 15 U.S.C.
§§ 2301 – 2312.
The
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976,
15 U.S.C. § 18a, which deals primarily with mergers.
In the Code of Federal Regulations,
Chapter I of Title 16 on Commercial Practices covers most aspects of fair competition and trade, including
subchapter G on Magnuson-Moss and
subchapter H on Hart-Scott-Rodino.
Several Wisconsin statute chapters and sections cover antitrust and competition.
Chapters:
Specific statute sections and their popular names:
For more references to specific antitrust statute sections within the chapters above, check the Legislature’s
statutes index from 2021.
In the Wisconsin Administrative Code, the chapters below regulate competition:
Books and Treatises
In addition to antitrust-related titles specific to various industries such as health care, international business and intellectual property, there are several titles from Thomson Reuters (Westlaw) that include but are not limited to:
Antitrust Adviser
Antitrust Law Handbook
Callmann on Unfair Competition, Trademarks & Monopolies
Corporate Counsel's Guide to the Robinson-Patman Act
Legal Aspects of Selling & Buying
McCarthy on Trademarks & Unfair Competition
Franchise & Distribution Law & Practice
Wolters Kluwer makes the
Business Franchise Guide available via the VitalLaw platform, which tracks nationwide statutes, regulations and cases as well as international laws. Wolters Kluwer also publishes the treatises
Antitrust Law: An Analysis of Antitrust Principles and Their Application, by Areeda and Hovenkamp, and
Distribution Law: Antitrust Principles and Practice, by Theodore Banks.
Matthew Bender publishes the treatise,
Federal
Antitrust
Law, by Joseph P. Bauer, et al.
Franchise DeskBook: Selected State Laws, Commentary and Annotations is published by the American Bar Association, which also publishes the periodicals
Antitrust Law Journal, and
Franchise Law Journal.
State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE® has an eponymous title on the
Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law, dedicated to this law. Other useful titles include
Commercial and Consumer Transactions in Wisconsin, and
Business Litigation and Dispute Resolution in Wisconsin.
The FTC Site
Probably the most important federal resource for antitrust guidance, manuals, news and more, the
Federal Trade Commission website supports the Commission’s
raison d’être of protecting the public from unfair business practices and methods of competition.
The site features a searchable
Legal Library of records and documents, and also organizes its offerings into four tabs:
Enforcement, to search for and follow cases brought by the FTC, warning letters issues to businesses.
Policy, to find statements, Advisory Opinions, reports, public comments.
Advice and Guidance for consumers and also businesses.
News and Events
One business relationship on which antitrust laws have significant influence is franchising. The FTC has
a resource page dedicated to the Franchise Rule and franchise compliance.
Other Government Resources
Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has a Bureau of Business Trade Practices which makes available a list of
applicable laws, and also a reference page on the
Unfair Sales Act.
At the Securities tab of the site of the
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, one can find general information and also franchise disclosure documents filed for franchisors operating in Wisconsin.
Price Fixing, Bid Rigging, and Market Allocation Schemes: What They Are and What to Look For: An Antitrust Primer (PDF) can be found at the U.S. Department of Justice site.
State Bar Articles
Below are just a few useful articles, most published in the State Bar’s magazine,
Wisconsin Lawyer, for further reading:
Additional Resources
There are four Wisconsin Civil Jury Instructions which are specific to the WFDL:
See also instructions which address misrepresentation and unfair trade practices (Wis. JI-Civil 2400 to 2420), and Breach of Warranty (Wis. JI-Civil 3200 to 3230).
Section 8 of the Clayton Act generally prohibits the same individual from serving as an officer or director of two competing corporations. This arrangement, known as interlocking directorates, is also barred by
Wis. Stat. section 133.06.
LittleSis is a database maintained by the Public Accountability Initiative, which helps to make these relationships transparent.
The American Bar Association’s Forum on Franchising has a wealth of articles and materials from educational events (for members). Other organizations which offer memberships and resources on antitrust and franchising issues include:
Need Help? Ask a Law Librarian
Have questions about using AI for discovery? Don’t hesitate to reach out to a friendly law librarian – we’re experts at navigating the ins and outs of legal research and are happy to help! You can find law librarians ready to assist you at these Wisconsin libraries:
