Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: FTC approves final changes to “Fred Meyer Guides”, (Sep 24, 2014)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

The FTC has approved final changes to its Guides for Advertising Allowances and Other Merchandising Payments and Services, otherwise known as the “Fred Meyer Guides.” The changes, which will become effective November 10, 2014, are aimed at bringing the Guides up-to-date with technological developments, as well as recent legal developments, since the Guides were last revised in 1990.

The Guides were originally issued in 1969 to assist businesses in complying with sections 2(d) and 2(e) of the Robinson-Patman Act. The two sections generally prohibit sellers from paying allowances or providing services to promote the resale of its products, unless the allowances or services are offered to all competing customers on proportionally equal terms.

“Developments in technology, methods of commerce, and the law since the last revision of the Guides suggest that certain provisions of the Guides might usefully be revised,” the Commission stated. Such developments include the emergence of the Internet as an important retail sales and communications channel, and case law signaling a heightened risk of liability in connection with promotional allowances and services of which businesses and their lawyers may wish to take account.

The changes—which update the Guidelines with references to the Internet and online advertising, and limits the applicability of sections 2(a) and 2(f)—were made in response to public comments the Commission requested as part of its systematic review of all FTC rules and guides. The FTC received comments on the Fred Meyer Guides from the American Antitrust Institute, the Section of Antitrust law of the American Bar Association, the Food Marketing Institute, the National Automobile Dealers Association, the National Community Pharmacists Associations, the National Grocers Association, and a practitioner.

News: Antitrust FederalTradeCommissionNews