<P> Since 1997, US courts have divided price fixing into two categories: vertical and horizontal maximum price fixing . Vertical price fixing includes a manufacturer's attempt to control the price of its product at retail . In State Oil Co. v. Khan, the US Supreme Court held that vertical price fixing is no longer considered a per se violation of the Sherman Act, but horizontal price fixing is still considered a breach of the Sherman Act . Also in 2008, the defendants of United States v LG Display Co., United States v. Chunghwa Picture Tubes, and United States v. Sharp Corporation,! heard in the Northern District of California, agreed to pay a total sum of $585 million to settle their prosecutions for conspiring to fix prices of liquid crystal display panels . That was the second largest amount awarded under the Sherman Act in history . </P> <P> In Canada, it is an indictable criminal offense under Section 45 of the Competition Act . Bid rigging is considered a form of price fixing and is illegal in both the United States (s. 1 Sherman Act) and Canada (s. 47 Competition Act). In the United States, agreements to fix, raise, lower, stabilize, or otherwise set a price are illegal per se . It does not matter if the price agreed upon is reasonable or for a good or altruistic cause or the agreement is unspoken and tacit . In the United States, price - fixing also includes agreements to hold prices the same, discount prices (even if based on financial need or income), set credit terms, agree on a price schedule or scale, adopt a common formula to figure prices, ban price advertising, or agree to adhere to prices that are announced . </P> <P> Although price fixing usually means sellers agreeing on price, it can also include agreements among buyers to fix the price at which they will buy products . </P> <P> Price fixing is illegal in Australia under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, with considerably similar prohibitions to the US and Canadian prohibitions . The Act is administered and enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission . Section 48 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) explicitly states, "A corporation shall not engage in the practise of resale price maintenance ." A broader understanding of the statutory provision is in Section 96 (3) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), which broadly defines what can be resale price maintenance . </P>

Retail price maintenance is an attempt by a vendor or supplier to