The third misconception is that only top executives face any risk. While it's true that top managers are more likely to be held personally liable for antitrust violations, anyone representing the business can violate the antitrust laws on behalf of the company and be found personally liable. Knowing the basics of antitrust law will help you avoid an inadvertent antitrust problem. Hire knowledgeable outside counsel. The Basics Antitrust laws are based on the idea that competition creates the largest choice of products and services, with the widest range of quality and price.
Laws keep competition robust by preventing unreasonable barriers to competition.
However, the rules are no guarantee that competitors will be equal. There are two flavors of antitrust monopolization and agreements by competitors to restrain trade. Agreements that restrain trade include price fixing, bid rigging, allocating customers or markets, and boycotting competitors or suppliers. It doesn't matter how big or small your business is, as certain agreements are illegal regardless of your justification. More importantly, they're criminal.