464
Opinion of the Court
B
Having found sufficient evidence of a tying arrangement, we consider the other necessary feature of an illegal tying arrangement: appreciable economic power in the tying market. Market power is the power "to force a purchaser to do something that he would not do in a competitive market." Jefferson Parish, 466 U. S., at 14.9 It has been defined as "the ability of a single seller to raise price and restrict output." Fortner, 394 U. S., at 503; United States v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 351 U. S. 377, 391 (1956). The existence of such power ordinarily is inferred from the seller's possession of a predominant share of the market. Jefferson Parish, 466 U. S., at 17; United States v. Grinnell Corp., 384 U. S. 563, 571 (1966); Times-Picayune Publishing Co. v. United States, 345 U. S. 594, 611-613 (1953).
1
Respondents contend that Kodak has more than sufficient power in the parts market to force unwanted purchases of the tied market, service. Respondents provide evidence that certain parts are available exclusively through Kodak. Respondents also assert that Kodak has control over the availability of parts it does not manufacture. According to respondents' evidence, Kodak has prohibited independent manufacturers from selling Kodak parts to ISO's, pressured Kodak equipment owners and independent parts distributors to deny ISO's the purchase of Kodak parts, and taken steps to restrict the availability of used machines.
9 "[T]he essential characteristic of an invalid tying arrangement lies in the seller's exploitation of its control over the tying product to force the buyer into the purchase of a tied product that the buyer either did not want at all, or might have preferred to purchase elsewhere on different terms. When such 'forcing' is present, competition on the merits in the market for the tied item is restrained and the Sherman Act is violated." Jefferson Parish, 466 U. S., at 12.
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