About the Project
Disclaimer of Authority
Official versions of all current and historic Merger Guidelines are made available by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Apart from potential clerical errors, the versions of the merger guidelines included in this project faithfully reproduce the original text of these documents. The annotations and commentary included in this project are not, however, part of the official guidelines and do not purport to represent the views of the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, or the United States Government.
Purpose of the Annotation Project
The purpose of the annotation project is to increase the functionality and usefulness of the United States merger guidelines. Mechanical improvements include the introduction of linked cross references (e.g. Section 1), accessible footnotes (e.g. 1), and pincite markers (ΒΆ#).
Annotations have also been added to provide additional information and context throughout the Guidelines. Annotations fall within different scopes, each providing a distinct type of information.
Comments
Comments are opinionated commentary on antitrust merger practice and the interpretation and application of the United States merger guidelines. Some of this commentary is descriptive in nature. Examples include the following:
- Identification of implicit cross references within the Guidelines
- Discussion of the scope of statutory authority for merger review
Other commentary is normative. Examples include the following:
- Suggestions for how to interpret ambiguous aspects of the Guidelines
- Suggestions for best practices in merger analysis
- Critiques of the Merger Guidelines
Comments, in this annotation project, reflect the editors' views, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, or the United States Government, none of which has reviewed, approved, or disproved anything in this project.
Updates. The annotation project aims to update and add commentary over time. If you see a proposition in need of commentary, or if existing commentary fails to fully address an important subject, please contact an editor to discuss the omission and possible addition of relevant information.
Caselaw
Caselaw annotations are neutral surveys of relevant cases and decisional law for practices and propositions within the Guidelines. While the annotation project aims to be thorough and inclusive in these annotations, no assurance can be provided that any given annotation is an exhaustive, current, or accurate prediction of the law in a given jurisdiction.
Updates. The annotation project aims to update and add caselaw annotations over time. If you see any proposition in need of a caselaw annotation, or if existing annotations fail to include important authorities, please contact an editor to discuss the omission and possible addition of relevant information.
Scholarship
Scholarship annotations are neutral surveys of research and academic commentary relating to practices and propositions within the Guidelines. The inclusion of a work in one of these annotations does not necessarily indicate that the editors endorse the views in that work. By the same token, the exclusion of a work does not indicate disagreement with its views or importance.
Updates. The annotation project aims to update and add scholarship annotations over time. If you see any proposition for which relevant scholarship has been omitted, please contact an editor to discuss the omission and possible addition of this citation.
- This footnote text is easily accessible from the referencing content.