Cite as: 508 U. S. 49 (1993)
Stevens, J., concurring in judgment
not to say that litigation is actionable under the antitrust laws merely because the plaintiff is trying to get a monopoly. He is entitled to pursue such a goal through lawful means, including litigation against competitors. The line is crossed when his purpose is not to win a favorable judgment against a competitor but to harass him, and deter others, by the process itself—regardless of outcome—of litigating. The difficulty of determining the true purpose is great but no more so than in many other areas of antitrust law." Grip-Pak, Inc. v. Illinois Tool Works, Inc., 694 F. 2d 466, 472 (1982).
It is important to remember that the distinction between "sham" litigation and genuine litigation is not always, or only, the difference between lawful and unlawful conduct; objectively reasonable lawsuits may still break the law. For example, a manufacturer's successful action enforcing resale price maintenance agreements,9 restrictive provisions in a license to use a patent or a trademark,10 or an equipment lease,11 may evidence, or even constitute, violations of the antitrust laws. On the other hand, just because a sham lawsuit has grievously harmed a competitor does not necessarily mean that it has violated the Sherman Act. See Spectrum Sports, Inc. v. McQuillan, 506 U. S. 447, 455-459 (1993). The rare plaintiff who successfully proves a sham must still satisfy the exacting elements of an antitrust demand. See ante, at 61.
In sum, in this case I agree with the Court's explanation of why respondents' copyright infringement action was not "objectively baseless," and why allegations of improper sub-9 Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Park & Sons Co., 220 U. S. 373 (1911); Schwegmann Brothers v. Calvert Distillers Corp., 341 U. S. 384 (1951).
10 Timken Roller Bearing Co. v. United States, 341 U. S. 593 (1951); Farbenfabriken Bayer A. G. v. Sterling Drug, Inc., 307 F. 2d 207 (CA3 1962).
11 International Salt Co. v. United States, 332 U. S. 392 (1947); United Shoe Machinery Corp. v. United States, 258 U. S. 451 (1922).
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