{"id":376804,"date":"2016-03-31T21:37:03","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T02:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/vermont-law\/vermont-antitrust-laws.html"},"modified":"2016-06-20T19:48:40","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T00:48:40","slug":"vermont-antitrust-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/vermont-law\/vermont-antitrust-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Vermont Antitrust Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Vermont Antitrust Laws<\/h1>\n
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Created by FindLaw’s team<\/a> of legal writers and editors<\/i><\/p>\n\n | Last updated\n

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In the absence of competition, businesses have little incentive to win customers over. Therefore, the federal government and states use antitrust laws<\/a> to discourage certain mergers and acquisitions that may give them a grossly unfair advantage. This is a way of keeping large business entities (monopolies or trusts) from dominating market share and thus stifling competition. Typically, antitrust laws are invoked when a company announces a merger or acquisition<\/a> of another large company, creating a virtual monopoly.<\/p>\n

Where Did Antitrust Laws Originate?<\/h2>\n

The first antitrust law enacted in the U.S. was the Sherman Antitrust Act<\/a> in 1890. Considered the most significant of the federal antitrust laws, the Sherman Act was intended to combat the "business trusts" of the American economy during the late nineteenth century, and to this day it remains the bedrock of antitrust enforcement in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Vermont Antitrust Laws<\/h2>\n

State laws also prohibit monopolies. Modeled on federal statutory provisions, Vermont antitrust laws prohibit:<\/p>\n