The Association of Progressive Rental Organizations (APRO) is the trade association for a country’s rental purchase industry. APRO is not intended to, and may not, play any role in the competitive decisions of its members or their affiliates or business partners, nor in any way restrict competition among rental purchase dealers in any market segment. Accordingly, any activity that intentionally or unintentionally reduces competition or restrains trade is contrary to APRO policy.
To ensure that APRO members and staff understand the basic antitrust law and APRO’s antitrust policy, the Board of Directors takes the opportunity, through this statement of policy, to make clear its unanimous and unequivocal support for a robust policy of competition among competitor rental companies that is served by the antitrust laws and its uncompromising intent to comply strictly in all respects with those laws. In addition to APRO’s firm commitment to the principle of competition served by the antitrust laws, the penalties which may be imposed upon both APRO and its members involved in any violation of the antitrust laws are so severe that good business judgment demands that every effort be made to avoid any such violation.
ANTITRUST LAWS AND PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS
Trade associations and their members are subject to both federal and state antitrust laws. Section I of the Sherman Act prohibits any agreement or understanding affecting the price of a product regardless of the purpose of the agreement or understanding. Violation of the Sherman Act is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $1,000,000 or ten (10) years imprisonment (or both) for individuals or a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations. In addition to a criminal sentence, a corporation or individual convicted of a Sherman Act offense may be ordered to make restitution to the victims for all overcharges resulting from the conspiracy. Victims of bid-rigging or price-fixing conspiracies also may seek civil recoveries up to three times the amount of damages suffered. It is important for APRO members and staff to note that they may be held liable for criminal conspiracy under the Sherman Act for merely attending a meeting in which members of an association engage in an illegal price fixing discussion, even if the members or staff were not active participants in that discussion. The Sherman Act prohibits not only price fixing, but also bid-rigging, agreements among competitors to boycott or allocate markets, and other types of collusion.
Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act broadly prohibits “unfair methods of competition” and reaches anticompetitive conduct by individuals or companies even if there is no agreement or understanding. Violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act may result in a cease and desist order or dissolution of APRO itself. Failure to comply with a cease and desist order can result in fines of up to $10,000.
APRO ANTITURST POLICY STATEMENT
It is the responsibility of every member of APRO to be guided by the Association’s policy of strict compliance with antitrust laws in all APRO activities. It shall be the special responsibility of Committee Chairs, APRO officers and directors to ensure that this policy is known and adhered to in the course of activities pursued under their leadership.
To assist the APRO staff and all its officers and directors in recognizing situations which may raise the appearance of an antitrust problem, the Board will, as a matter of policy, furnish to each such person this policy statement. In addition, APRO staff will ensure that APRO members shall receive and familiarize themselves with the General Rules of Antitrust Compliance. Should questions arise as to the manner in which the antitrust laws may apply to the activities of APRO, such questions shall be directed to APRO’s legal counsel.
Antitrust compliance is the responsibility of every APRO member. Any knowing violation of the APRO General Rules of Antitrust Compliance or this general policy by an APRO member shall be handled in accordance with the APRO Bylaws.
APRO POLICY FOR ANTITRUST COMPLIANCE
The following rules are applicable to all APRO activities and must be observed in all situations and under all circumstances without exception or qualification other than as noted below.
- No activity of APRO shall be used for the purpose of bringing about or attempting to bring about any understanding or agreement, written or oral, formal or informal, express or implied, among competitors with regard to business practices, the form or content of documents or contracts, prices (current or future), terms or conditions of sale, distribution, volume of loan originations, territories or customers.
- No APRO activity or communication shall include discussion for any purpose or in any fashion of pricing methods or allocation of territories or customers.
- No APRO activity or communication shall include any discussion which might be construed as an attempt to prevent any person or business entity from gaining access to any market or customer for goods or services, or to prevent any business entity from obtaining a supply of products or services or otherwise purchasing products or services freely in the market.
- APRO shall not make any effort to bring about the standardization of any product, or to prevent the development, marketing or sale of any product not conforming to a specified standard for the sole purpose or with the sole effect of inhibiting competition or impeding free choice among consumers for products and services offered by APRO’s members.
- No APRO activity or communication shall include any discussion which might be construed as an agreement or understanding to refrain from obtaining funding or purchasing any equipment or services or other supplies from any supplier.
- APRO shall not exclude competitors from membership in APRO, restrict members from dealing with non-members or limit access to information developed by APRO, unless such limitation is based on the need to protect trade secrets or privilege.
- Speakers at APRO meetings shall be informed of the need to comply with APRO’s antitrust policy in the preparation and presentation of their talks.
- All APRO meetings shall be regularly scheduled and conducted according to an agenda prepared in advance of the meeting and reviewed by APRO’s legal counsel. The minutes of all APRO meetings shall be accurate and the APRO officer or director should never sign meeting minutes which have been altered, which are incomplete, or have not been reviewed by APRO’s legal counsel. In no case shall APRO members hold informal meetings in connection with regularly scheduled APRO meetings which fail to comply with these procedures, or which violate APRO’s General Rules of Antitrust Compliance.
