Foreword

• Pages: iii-iii

iii

FOREWORD

This mono graph is one in a series prepar ed by members of the

Section of Antitrust Law of the American Bar Association. Monographs

are designed to contribute to the principled discussion of significant

policy issues by providing balanced analyses of different points of view.

This monograph considers the law and policy issues surrounding

petitioning immunity, commonly referred to as the Noer r-Pennin gton

doctrin e, whic h exemp ts fro m antitr ust liability genuine efforts by

private parti es to influence government acti on.

This monograph builds upon and updates the Section’s 1993

monograph on the Noerr-Pennington doctrine. As the 1993 monograph

was going to press, the Supreme Court decided Professional Real Estate

Investors v. Columbia Pictures Industries, 508 U.S. 49 (1993), causing

the authors of that edition to include an addendum about that case. The

Supreme Court has been silent on the Noerr-Pennington doctrine since

then, but the law has continued to develop, new issues have come to the

forefront, and the time is right for the Section to contribute to the

understanding of this fascinating and challenging area of antitrust law.

We hope this volume will be a valuable addition to the debate over

how the antitrust laws should be applied to collective and unilateral

efforts to infl uence government action for alle gedly anticompetitive

ends, as well as a valuable resource in applying the Noerr-Pennington

doctrine.

June 2009 James A. Wilson

Chair, Section of Antitrust Law

American Bar Association

2008-09