what is the robinson patman act 
the robinson patman act is a federal law passed in 1936 to outlaw price discrimination the robinson patman act is an amendment to the 1914 clayton antitrust act and is supposed to prevent unfair competition 1understanding the robinson patman actthe robinson patman act requires a business to sell its products at the same price regardless of who the buyer is it was intended to prevent large volume buyers from gaining an advantage over small volume buyers the act only applies to sales of tangible goods that are completed within a reasonably close timeframe and where the goods sold are similar in quality the act does not apply to the provision of services such as cell phone service cable television and real estate leases 2the law came about to combat unfair trade practices that allowed chain stores to purchase goods at lower prices than other retailers it was the first legislation to attempt to prevent price discrimination it required that the seller offer the same price terms to customers at a given level of trade the act instituted criminal penalties for violations but contained a specific exemption for cooperative associations 3enforcement and support for the law have faced challenges over the years because of the complexity of the act and tensions between it common business practices of price competition and other aspects of antitrust law bowing to industry pressures federal enforcement of the robinson patman act ceased for several years in the late 1960s this left enforcement of the act up to private actions of individual plaintiffs against other businesses which have always been difficult due to the complexity of understanding the law and its application 4 in the mid 1970s there was an unsuccessful attempt to repeal the act the federal trade commission temporarily revived its use in the late 1980s enforcement has again declined since the 1990s 5