United States v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co.

118 F. Supp. 41, 99 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 462, 1953 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4323
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedDecember 14, 1953
DocketCiv. A. 1216
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 118 F. Supp. 41 (United States v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., 118 F. Supp. 41, 99 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 462, 1953 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4323 (D. Del. 1953).

Opinion

*45 TABLE OF CONTENTS.

COMPARISON OF THE ECONOMIC AND LEGAL CONCEPTS OF MONOPOLY.

THE PRESENT ECONOMIC AND LEGAL VIEWS OF MONOPOLY AND COMPETITION

a. Competition and monopoly in the economic sense.

b. The competition intended by the Sherman Act.

c. The economic view of the effect of potential competition upon monopoly.

d. The economic view of the effect of substitute products upon monopoly.

PART I — CELLOPHANE.

A. DuPONT’S POSITION DOES NOT VIOLATE § 2 OF THE SHERMAN ACT.

1. DuPONT DOES NOT HAVE MONOPOLY POWER.

a. Plaintiff must establish duPont has sufficient power arbitrarily to raise prices or to exclude competitors.

FINDINGS OF FACT.

I. Description of Defendant duPont (Findings 1-6).
II. Description of Cellophane (Findings 7-12).

III. DuPont’s Entry Into the Cellophane Business and Organization of duPont Cellophane Company (Findings 13-36).

IV. The “Market Setting” in Which Cellophane is Sold (Findings 37-79).

V. DuPont Competed by Research to Improve Quality and Lower Cost (Findings 80-122).

VI. DuPont Competed by Lowering Prices (Findings 123-149).

VII. Competition Between Cellophane and Other Flexible Packaging Materials (Findings 150-278).

SPECIFIC USES:

1. White Bread.
2. Specialty Breads.
3. Caice and Sweet Goods.
4. Meat.
5. Candy.
6. Crackers and Biscuits.
7. Frozen Foods.
8. Potato Chips, Pop Corn and Snacks.
9. Cereals.
10. Fresh Produce.
11. Paper Goods and Textiles.
12. Cigarettes.
13. Butter.
14. Chewing Gum.
15. Other Food Products.
16. Other Tobacco Products.
17. Cheese.
18. Oleomargarine.

*46 VIII. Results of duPont’s Competition With Other Materials (Findings 279-292).

IX. DuPont Competed With Sylvania (Findings 293-330).
X. The Basic Moistureproof Patents (Findings 831-339).
XI. DuPont Did Not Engage in Predatory Practices as Alleged.

A. DuPont’s decisions as to changes in its business capacity were made on the basis of proper business considerations, and not to suppress competition or to create artificial shortages (Findings 340-353).

B. Potential competitors were not excluded (Findings 354-388).

C. Distribution outlets were not controlled (Findings 389-455).

D. Patents were not abused (Findings 456-532).

XII. DuPont Did Not Conspire to Monopolize.

A. With Sylvania (Findings 533-591).
1. Patent License Agreement (Findings 533-583).
2. Prices (Findings 584-591).
B. With foreign concerns to exclude imports (Findings 592-645).

XIII. DuPont Did Not Attempt and Is Not Now Attempting to Monopolize.

A. General (Findings 646-660).
B. Olin license (Findings 661-686).

XIV. DuPont Has Not Monopolized (Findings 687-732).

CAPS AND BANDS (Findings 733-819).

OTHER FACTS (Findings 820-834).

CONCLUSIONS OF THE MASTER FACTS (Findings 835-854).

RESUMPTION OF THE OPINION.

b. Competitive conditions preclude acquisition of market control and hence of monopoly powers over cellophane.

i. “Market Setting”.

ii. Candy — A Case History.

iii. Testimony op Independent Witnesses.

c. DuPont has not “power to raise cellophane prices”.

d. DuPont has not the “power to exclude competition”.

1. General.
2. Potential Competitors.
3. Patents.
4. Sylvania Competition.

e. Application of recognized economic tests further evidences the lack of monopoly power.

*47 2. DuPONT’S POSITION IS NOT TO BE ATTACKED BECAUSE IT, RESULTS FROM TECHNICAL SKILL AND COMPETITIVE ACTIVITY.

a. The moistureproof patent is, I conclude, a defense.

b. Monopolization requires a factual showing of illegality.

c. Technical skill and other competition were responsible for duPont’s position in the field.

B. IS ORIGIN OF DuPONT’S POSITION LAWFUL?
C. WAS DuPONT’S POSITION MAINTAINED BY PREDATORY ASSERTION OF MONOPOLY POWER?
1. TESTS TO BE APPLIED.
2. ALLEGED SUPPRESSION OF SYLVANIA.

a. The Moistureproof Patent License Agreement.

b. The Alleged Price Agreement.

3. PATENT PRACTICES.
1. Ultra-Violet Light License.
2. Ribbon Licenses.
3. Ethylene Glycol License.
4. Marathon License.
5. The Sealing Licenses.
6. Interferences.
7. Tying Provisions.
4. CONTROL OF DISTRIBUTION OUTLETS.
5. EVIDENCE PLAINTIFF IGNORES.

PART II — CAPS AND BANDS.

NO FACTUAL BASIS EXISTS FOR CLAIMING A VIOLATION OF § 2 AS TO CAPS AND BANDS.

CONCLUSION OF LAW.

LEAHY, Chief Judge.

This is a civil suit by United States of America under § 4 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C.A.

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118 F. Supp. 41, 99 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 462, 1953 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4323, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-e-i-du-pont-de-nemours-co-ded-1953.