The antitrust laws protect users against unfair methods of competition and unfair
practices that reduce competition, discourage innovation, limit consumer choices
and increase prices

A trade practice is unfair if it “causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to
consumers which is not reasonably avoidable by consumers themselves and not
outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or to competition.

Investigation and enforcement is necessary to prevent Playdom from
destroying competition in the market for virtual goods purchased in social games,
and eventually in other markets for purchasing goods or services on the Internet,
to protect existing businesses from being unfairly boxed out of the market, and to
allow new businesses to enter the relevant markets, and ultimately, to protect
consumers from higher prices.

Consumers will not be able to reasonably avoid these injuries because they have
seriously limited options for social gaming platforms on which to play their
favorite games and purchase desired virtual goods, other than hyper-depreciation
of these virtual items purchased at perpetually-inflated prices.

Intellectual property, innovation and competition

[102]Intellectual property and competition have become increasingly intertwined. On the one hand, it is believed that promotion of innovation through enforcement of intellectual rights promotes competitiveness, while on the other the contrary may be the consequence. The question rests on whether it is legal to acquire monopoly through accumulation of intellectual property. In which case, the judgment needs to decide between giving preference to intellectual rights or towards promoting competitiveness

    Should antitrust laws accord special treatment to intellectual property
    Should intellectual rights be revoked or not granted when antitrust laws are violated.

Concerns also arise over anti-competitive effects and consequences due to

    Intellectual properties that are collaboratively designed with consequence of violating antitrust laws (intentionally or otherwise)
    and the further effects on competition when such properties are accepted into industry standards
    Cross-licensing of intellectual property.
    Bundling of intellectual rights to long term business transactions or agreements to extend the market exclusiveness of intellectual rights beyond their statutory duration.
    Trade secrets, if remain undecipherable, having an eternal length of life.


SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_law#Intellectual_property.2C_innovation_and_competition

Unfair business practices encompass fraud, misrepresentation, and oppressive or unconscionable acts or practices by business, often against consumers and are prohibited by law in many countries

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfair_business_practices

Anti-competitive agreements among competitors, such as price fixing and customer and market allocation agreements, are typical types of restraints of trade proscribed by the antitrust laws. These type of conspiracies are considered pernicious to competition and are generally proscribed outright by the antitrust laws

Monopolization and attempted monopolization are offenses that may be committed by an individual firm, even without an agreement with any other enterprise. Unreasonable exclusionary practices that serve to entrench or create monopoly power can therefore be unlawful. Allegations of predatory pricing by large companies can be the basis for a monopolization claim

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law#Consumer_protection