Title 15 — Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73
§2 Monopolizing trade a felony; penalty
Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 1— - MONOPOLIES AND COMBINATIONS IN RESTRAINT OF TRADE › § 2
Summary
Anyone who controls, tries to control, or teams up with others to control trade between states or with other countries is committing a serious crime. If convicted, a corporation can be fined up to $100,000,000, a person up to $1,000,000, and/or jailed for up to 10 years; the court decides whether to impose a fine, prison time, or both.
Full Legal Text
Title 15, §2
Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2004—Pub. L. 108–237 substituted “$100,000,000” for “$10,000,000”, “$1,000,000” for “$350,000”, and “10” for “three”. 1990—Pub. L. 101–588 substituted “$10,000,000” for “one million dollars” and “$350,000” for “one hundred thousand dollars”. 1974—Pub. L. 93–528 substituted “a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding one million dollars if a corporation, or, if any other person, one hundred thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding three years” for “a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year”. 1955—Act July 7, 1955, substituted “fifty thousand dollars” for “five thousand dollars”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
15 U.S.C. § 2
Title 15 — Commerce and Trade
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73