[thelist] Business practices and Anti-Trust

[zac]

> This has been discussed on the Html Writers Guild.  Here is a link to their
> FAQ on the subject.  Didn't read it all since I am not a for hire
> programmer, but figured some of you might find it interesting.
> 
> http://www.hwg.org/resources/faqs/priceFAQ.html

I think its incorrect.

If you read the latest cases at the antitrust.org website

http://www.antitrust.org/news/pricefixing.html

You'll see that all of them involve people working in concert to actively
limit competition in a particular market or area.

Also please note that even though the Html Writers Guild FAQ specifically
mentions a case where discussion of pricing lead to a lawsuit it fails to
mention two things

1) the specific case number of case name that this occurred in
2) the specifics of the case. Were they simply discussing price increases or
were they discussing a plan to limit competition by artificially raising
their prices? Without those specifics the anecdotal reference to the case is
meaningless.

And, as mentioned in my other post, this would make pricing guidelines
(available in the design industry for years) illegal as well. Since the FTC
hasn't stopped the publication of them in their entire history one has to
assume that this is because they are in fact legal.

And, as I mentioned earlier, the only way to truly prove this is for someone
to actually find a case where this sort of behaviour has been prosecuted.



-- 

We are born naked, wet and hungry. Then things get worse.


email: zac at pixelgeek.com
web: http://www.pixelgeek.com/