The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), along with several other industry associations, has joined an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a recent decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The brief argues that the Fourth Circuit got the law wrong, and in the process upended decades of antitrust doctrine, when it endorsed the “monopoly broth” theory, which holds that multiple lawful business practices, when combined, can somehow violate the Sherman Act.
The Fourth Circuit’s holding in Duke Energy notwithstanding, the monopoly broth theory contradicts long-established Supreme Court precedent and creates uncertainty for businesses, potentially chilling pro-competitive conduct. Because of this, SIIA and its partners believe that allowing this decision to stand would harm innovation, competition, and investment, thereby undermining the very foundation of antitrust law.
