456
Opinion of the Court
be necessary to appraise the exclusionary power of the illegal patent claim in terms of the relevant market for the product involved. Ibid. The reason was that "[w]ithout a definition of that market there is no way to measure [the defendant's] ability to lessen or destroy competition." Ibid.
Similarly, this Court reaffirmed in Copperweld Corp. v. Independence Tube Corp., 467 U. S. 752 (1984), that "Congress authorized Sherman Act scrutiny of single firms only when they pose a danger of monopolization. Judging unilateral conduct in this manner reduces the risk that the antitrust laws will dampen the competitive zeal of a single aggressive entrepreneur." Id., at 768. Thus, the conduct of a single firm, governed by § 2, "is unlawful only when it threatens actual monopolization." Id., at 767. See also Lorain Journal Co. v. United States, 342 U. S. 143, 154 (1951); United States v. Griffith, 334 U. S. 100, 105-106 (1948); American Tobacco Co. v. United States, 328 U. S. 781, 785 (1946).
The Courts of Appeals other than the Ninth Circuit have followed this approach. Consistent with our cases, it is generally required that to demonstrate attempted monopolization a plaintiff must prove (1) that the defendant has engaged in predatory or anticompetitive conduct with (2) a specific intent to monopolize and (3) a dangerous probability of achieving monopoly power. See 3 Areeda & Turner, supra, ¶ 820, at 312. In order to determine whether there is a dangerous probability of monopolization, courts have found it necessary to consider the relevant market and the defendant's ability to lessen or destroy competition in that market.8
8 See, e. g., Arthur S. Langenderfer, Inc. v. S. E. Johnson Co., 917 F. 2d, at 1431-1432; Twin Laboratories, Inc. v. Weider Health & Fitness, 900 F. 2d, at 570; Colorado Interstate Gas Co. v. Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America, 885 F. 2d, at 693; Indiana Grocery, Inc. v. Super Valu Stores, Inc., 864 F. 2d, at 1413-1416; General Industries Corp. v. Hartz Mountain Corp., 810 F. 2d, at 804.
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