''International Salt Co. v. United States'', 332 U.S. 392 (1947), was a case in which the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

held that the

Sherman Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author. Th ...

prohibits as ''

per se Per se may refer to: * ''per se'', a Latin phrase meaning "by itself" or "in itself". * Illegal ''per se'', the legal usage in criminal and antitrust law * Negligence ''per se'', legal use in tort law *Per Se (restaurant) Per Se is a New Ameri ...

'' violations all tying arrangements in which a product for which a seller has a legal

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

, such as a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

, requires purchasers to buy as well a product for which the seller has no legal monopoly.

Background

The

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...

, International Salt Company, had patented machines for processing

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

and mixing or injecting it into various foodstuffs. The company required those who leased machines to buy the salt or salt tablets as well, which was processed through the machines from the defendant. The

US government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

brought a case charging the company of an antitrust violation by the tying of its products. The defendant replied to the charges with the contention that the tying arrangement was necessary to control the quality of salt being used in its machines and claimed that salt not meeting certain standards would damage the machines.

Issue

The Supreme Court was asked to determine whether such an arrangement was a ''per se'' violation of the antitrust laws.

Decision

The Court found a ''per se'' violation. It also rejected the defense that the associated product must meet certain standards since competitors must be given the opportunity to meet them. The defense that customers could buy elsewhere if other vendors sold at lower prices was also rejected since the defendant could foreclose the market simply by meeting it.

External links

* {{portal bar, Food 1947 in United States case law United States antitrust case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Vinson Court History of salt

Background

Issue

Decision

See also

External links