Opinion

Continental T. v. Inc. v. GTE Sylvania Inc.

  • 433 U.S. 36
  • 97 S. Ct. 2549
  • 53 L. Ed. 2d 568
  • 1977 U.S. LEXIS 134
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Filed
Jun 23, 1977
Status
Published
Author
Brennan
On the bench
Blackmun, Brennan, Burger, Powell, Stewart, White
Cited by
1,083 cases
Authority
More cited than 24.1%

concluding that, although a contractual require *209 ment that distributors sell Sylvania television sets from authorized locations limited competition among the distributors in the resale of Sylvania televisions (“intrabrand competition”), it ultimately promoted competition with other brands of television sets (“interbrand competition”) and stating that the competitiveness of the interbrand market “provides a significant check on the exploitation of intrabrand market power”

How later courts described this case

  • concluding that, although a contractual require *209 ment that distributors sell Sylvania television sets from authorized locations limited competition among the distributors in the resale of Sylvania televisions (“intrabrand competition”), it ultimately promoted competition with other brands of television sets (“interbrand competition”) and stating that the competitiveness of the interbrand market “provides a significant check on the exploitation of intrabrand market power”
  • concluding that, although a contractual requirement that distributors sell Sylvania television sets from authorized locations limited competition among the distributors in the resale of Sylvania televisions ("intrabrand competition"), it ultimately promoted competition with other brands of television sets ("interbrand competition") and stating that the competitiveness of the interbrand market "provides a significant check on the exploitation of intrabrand market power"
  • explaining, “[bjecause of market imperfections such as the so-called “free rider” effect, these services might not be provided by retailers in a purely competitive situation, despite the fact that each retailer’s benefit would be greater if all provided the services than if none did.”
  • concluding that, although a contractual require ment that distributors sell Sylvania television sets from authorized locations limited competition among the distributors in the resale of Sylvania televisions (“intrabrand competition”

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

Mr. Justice Brennan,

with whom Mr. Justice Marshall joins, dissenting.

I would not overrule the per se rule stated in United States v. Arnold, Schwinn & Co., 388 U. S. 365 (1967), and would therefore reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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