THE CLAYTON ACT
Organic Statute Language
"The Commission is charged under Sections 3, 7 and 8 of this Act with preventing and eliminating unlawful tying contracts, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and interlocking directorates. This Act was amended by the Robinson-Patman Act, which authorizes the Commission to prevent certain practices involving discriminatory pricing and product promotion."
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The Clayton Antitrust Act law enacted in 1914 by the United States Congress to clarify and strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act.
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The Clayton Act was amended again in 1976 by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act to require companies planning large mergers or acquisitions to notify the government of their plans in advance. The Clayton Act also authorizes private parties to sue for triple damages when they have been harmed by conduct that violates either the Sherman or Clayton Act and to obtain a court order prohibiting the anticompetitive practice in the future.
While the Sherman Act declared monopolies illegal, the Clayton Act defined as illegal certain business practices that are conducive to the formation of monopolies or that result from them. Two sections of the Clayton Act were later amended by the Robinson-Patman Act (1936) and the Celler-Kefauver Act (1950) to fortify its provisions.
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The Robinson-Patman Act was enacted in 1936 and protects small businesses from being driven out of the marketplace by discrimination in pricing, promotional alowances, and advertising by large franchised companies. The Act is also intended to protect wholesalers from being excluded from the purchasing chain. The Robinson-Patman Act is part of the antitrust legislation found in the Clayton Act of 1914.
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More information on the history of the Clayton Act can be found here.