Antitrust compliance
AIA and its members are committed to the highest ethical standards and full compliance with all laws and regulations, including federal and state antitrust laws. By complying with both the letter and spirit of antitrust laws, we protect the integrity of our professions and the reputation of AIA.
Responsibility for antitrust compliance
AIA’s General Counsel provides guidance on antitrust matters, but members are responsible for ensuring that their actions, and the actions of others under their direction, comply with all antitrust laws.
Antitrust violations may result in substantial fines for corporations and in fines or imprisonment for individuals.
Antitrust guidelines
In all AIA operations and activities, members must avoid discussions or conduct that might violate antitrust laws or even raise an appearance of impropriety. Here are some guidelines to maintaining compliance with antitrust laws.
Take these actions
- · Consult legal counsel about any documents or activities that touch on sensitive antitrust subjects including pricing, market allocations, refusals to deal with any business and similar subjects.
- · Consult with legal counsel on any non-routine correspondence that asks you to participate in projects or programs that may be anticompetitive, submit data for such activities or join other members in such activities.
- · Make an agenda, stick to it, and take accurate minutes at every meeting. Where needed, have legal counsel review the agenda and minutes before they are finalized and circulated.
Avoid these actions
Do not have discussions with other members or competitors about any of the following subjects unless you have first received approval from legal counsel:
- · your prices for products or services
- · prices charged by your competitors
- · costs, discounts, terms of sale, profit margins or anything else that might affect your prices or your competitors’ prices
- · allocating markets, customers, territories or products with your competitors
- · limiting production
- · whether or not to deal with any other business
- · any competitively sensitive information concerning your business or a competitor’s business, including price discrimination, reciprocal dealing and exclusive dealing agreements
Do not stay at a meeting or any other gathering if any of the above discussions are taking place.
Do not create any documents or records, including emails, that may be misinterpreted to suggest that AIA condones or is involved in anticompetitive behavior.