15 U.S.C. § 13 — Discrimination in price, services, or facili-

Page 20 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 13 ‘‘Commerce,’’ as used herein, means trade or commerce among the several States and with foreign nations, or between the District of Co- lumbia or any Territory of the United States and any State, Territory, or foreign nation, or between any insular possessions or other places under the jurisdiction of the United States, or between any such possession or place and any State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia or any foreign nation, or within the District of Columbia or any Territory or any insular possession or other place under the jurisdiction of the United States: Provided, That nothing in this Act contained shall apply to the Philippine Islands. The word ‘‘person’’ or ‘‘persons’’ wherever used in this Act shall be deemed to include cor- porations and associations existing under or au- thorized by the laws of either the United States, the laws of any of the Territories, the laws of any State, or the laws of any foreign country. (b) This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clayton Act’’. (Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, § 1, 38 Stat. 730; Pub. L. 94–435, title III, § 305(b), Sept. 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 1397; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title IV, § 14102(c)(2)(A), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1921.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Words ‘‘herein’’ and ‘‘this Act’’, referred to in the three paragraphs of subsec. (a), mean the Clayton Act. For classification of the Clayton Act to the Code, see last paragraph hereunder. The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to protect trade and com- merce against unlawful restraints and monopolies,’’ ap- proved July second, eighteen hundred and ninety, re- ferred to in subsec. (a), is act July 2, 1890, ch. 647, 26 Stat. 209, known as the Sherman Act, which is classi- fied to sections 1 to 7 of this title. The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to reduce taxation, to pro- vide revenue for the Government, and for other pur- poses,’’ of August twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, referred to in subsec. (a), is act Aug. 27, 1894, ch. 349, 28 Stat. 509, known as the Wilson Tariff Act. Sections seventy-three to seventy-six thereof are set out as sections 8 to 11 of this title. The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to amend sections seventy- three and seventy-six of the Act of August twenty-sev- enth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, entitled ‘An Act to reduce taxation, to provide revenue for the Gov- ernment, and for other purposes’,’’ approved February twelfth, nineteen hundred and thirteen, referred to in subsec. (a), is act Feb. 12, 1913, ch. 40, 37 Stat. 667, which is classified to sections 8 and 11 of this title. The Clayton Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is act Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, 38 Stat. 730, which is classified to sec- tions 12, 13, 14 to 19, 21, and 22 to 27 of this title, and sections 52 and 53 of Title 29, Labor. Sections 9 and 21 to 25 of the act were repealed by act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, § 21, 62 Stat. 862, eff. Sept. 1, 1948, and their provi- sions are now covered by sections 402, 660, 3285 and 3691 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, except that former section 23 of the act is obsolete and not now covered. Sections 17 to 19 of the act were repealed by act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, § 39, 62 Stat. 992, eff. Sept. 1, 1948, and their provisions are now covered by rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, set out in the Ap- pendix to Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. CODIFICATION The 3d par. of subsec. (a) is also classified to section 53 of Title 29, Labor. AMENDMENTS 2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–273 substituted ‘‘sev- enty-three to seventy-six’’ for ‘‘seventy-three to sev- enty-seven’’ in first par. 1976—Pub. L. 94–435 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2002 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 107–273 effective Nov. 2, 2002, and applicable only with respect to cases commenced on or after Nov. 2, 2002, see section 14103 of Pub. L. 107–273, set out as a note under section 3 of this title. § 13. Discrimination in price, services, or facili- ties (a) Price; selection of customers It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce, ei- ther directly or indirectly, to discriminate in price between different purchasers of commod- ities of like grade and quality, where either or any of the purchases involved in such discrimi- nation are in commerce, where such commod- ities are sold for use, consumption, or resale within the United States or any Territory there- of or the District of Columbia or any insular possession or other place under the jurisdiction of the United States, and where the effect of such discrimination may be substantially to lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce, or to injure, destroy, or prevent competition with any person who ei- ther grants or knowingly receives the benefit of such discrimination, or with customers of either of them: Provided, That nothing herein con- tained shall prevent differentials which make only due allowance for differences in the cost of manufacture, sale, or delivery resulting from the differing methods or quantities in which such commodities are to such purchasers sold or delivered: Provided, however, That the Federal Trade Commission may, after due investigation and hearing to all interested parties, fix and es- tablish quantity limits, and revise the same as it finds necessary, as to particular commodities or classes of commodities, where it finds that available purchasers in greater quantities are so few as to render differentials on account thereof unjustly discriminatory or promotive of monop- oly in any line of commerce; and the foregoing shall then not be construed to permit differen- tials based on differences in quantities greater than those so fixed and established: And provided further, That nothing herein contained shall pre- vent persons engaged in selling goods, wares, or merchandise in commerce from selecting their own customers in bona fide transactions and not in restraint of trade: And provided further, That nothing herein contained shall prevent price changes from time to time where in response to changing conditions affecting the market for or the marketability of the goods concerned, such as but not limited to actual or imminent dete- rioration of perishable goods, obsolescence of seasonal goods, distress sales under court proc- ess, or sales in good faith in discontinuance of business in the goods concerned. Page 21 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 13b (b) Burden of rebutting prima-facie case of dis- crimination Upon proof being made, at any hearing on a complaint under this section, that there has been discrimination in price or services or facili- ties furnished, the burden of rebutting the prima-facie case thus made by showing justifica- tion shall be upon the person charged with a vio- lation of this section, and unless justification shall be affirmatively shown, the Commission is authorized to issue an order terminating the dis- crimination: Provided, however, That nothing herein contained shall prevent a seller rebutting the prima-facie case thus made by showing that his lower price or the furnishing of services or facilities to any purchaser or purchasers was made in good faith to meet an equally low price of a competitor, or the services or facilities fur- nished by a competitor. (c) Payment or acceptance of commission, bro- kerage, or other compensation It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce, to pay or grant, or to receive or accept, anything of value as a commission, brokerage, or other com- pensation, or any allowance or discount in lieu thereof, except for services rendered in connec- tion with the sale or purchase of goods, wares, or merchandise, either to the other party to such transaction or to an agent, representative, or other intermediary therein where such inter- mediary is acting in fact for or in behalf, or is subject to the direct or indirect control, of any party to such transaction other than the person by whom such compensation is so granted or paid. (d) Payment for services or facilities for proc- essing or sale It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce to pay or contact for the payment of anything of value to or for the benefit of a cus- tomer of such person in the course of such com- merce as compensation or in consideration for any services or facilities furnished by or through such customer in connection with the processing, handling, sale, or offering for sale of any products or commodities manufactured, sold, or offered for sale by such person, unless such payment or consideration is available on proportionally equal terms to all other cus- tomers competing in the distribution of such products or commodities. (e) Furnishing services or facilities for proc- essing, handling, etc. It shall be unlawful for any person to discrimi- nate in favor of one purchaser against another purchaser or purchasers of a commodity bought for resale, with or without processing, by con- tracting to furnish or furnishing, or by contrib- uting to the furnishing of, any services or facili- ties connected with the processing, handling, sale, or offering for sale of such commodity so purchased upon terms not accorded to all pur- chasers on proportionally equal terms. (f) Knowingly inducing or receiving discrimina- tory price It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce, knowingly to induce or receive a discrimination in price which is prohibited by this section. (Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, § 2, 38 Stat. 730; June 19, 1936, ch. 592, § 1, 49 Stat. 1526.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1936—Act June 19, 1936, amended section generally. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE Act June 19, 1936, which amended this section and added sections 13a, 13b, and 21a of this title, is popu- larly known as the Robinson-Patman Act, as the Rob- inson-Patman Antidiscrimination Act, and also as the Robinson-Patman Price Discrimination Act. § 13a. Discrimination in rebates, discounts, or ad- vertising service charges; underselling in particular localities; penalties It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce, to be a party to, or assist in, any transaction of sale, or contract to sell, which discriminates to his knowledge against competitors of the pur- chaser, in that, any discount, rebate, allowance, or advertising service charge is granted to the purchaser over and above any discount, rebate, allowance, or advertising service charge avail- able at the time of such transaction to said com- petitors in respect of a sale of goods of like grade, quality, and quantity; to sell, or contract to sell, goods in any part of the United States at prices lower than those exacted by said person elsewhere in the United States for the purpose of destroying competition, or eliminating a competitor in such part of the United States; or, to sell, or contract to sell, goods at unreason- ably low prices for the purpose of destroying competition or eliminating a competitor. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (June 19, 1936, ch. 592, § 3, 49 Stat. 1528.) § 13b. Cooperative association; return of net earnings or surplus Nothing in this Act shall prevent a coopera- tive association from returning to its members, producers, or consumers the whole, or any part of, the net earnings or surplus resulting from its trading operations, in proportion to their pur- chases or sales from, to, or through the associa- tion. (June 19, 1936, ch. 592, § 4, 49 Stat. 1528.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in text, is act June 19, 1936, ch. 592, 49 Stat. 1526, popularly known as the Robinson-Pat- man Antidiscrimination Act and also as the Robinson- Patman Price Discrimination Act, which enacted sec- tions 13a, 13b, and 21a of this title and amended section 13 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 13 of this title and Tables.