U.S. Supreme Court re-thinks the rule on setting resale prices

This week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a group of significant business law cases.  First up on Monday will be a case that could, for the first time in nearly 100 years, allow manufacturers to dictate the prices at which distributors and retailers re-sell their products.  Since the 1911 case of Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Park & Sons Co., resale price maintenance has been illegal under the antitrust laws.  While manufacturers have been allowed to "suggest" retail prices (hence the common term "manufacturer's suggested retail price," or MSRP), toeing the line between suggesting a price and setting a price has been a struggle for manufacturers.

The case the court will hear on Monday is Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc.   A number of parties have weighed in with briefs to the court, some pointing out that economists have long criticized the rule of the Dr. Miles case, and others contending that the rule has been beneficial in allowing discounters to thrive.

For other law blog coverage of the case, see here and here.