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Dealer Location Clauses And The Per Se Rule: From Schwinn To Gte Sylvania, Michael W. Miller

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This note examines vertical restraints on trade, which involves an agreement between firms at "successive stages of the distribution system. It specifically analyzes the effect of vertically imposed dealer-location clauses on competition and consumers and discusses whether such restraints are per se violations under Section 1 of the Sherman Act or whether they require analysis under the rule of reason. The note suggests that an absolute per se rule against all post-sale vertical restraints is overly broad and unjustified and calls for a more result-oriented approach in dealing with less offensive restraints on trade.