ASSOCIATED PRESS v. UNITED STATES

Legal Principle at Issue

Whether the bylaws and membership practices of the Associated Press (with restrictions on who could join AP and limits to members’ ability to sell or share news with nonmembers) violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, and whether applying the antitrust laws infringed the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of the press.

Action

Affirmed (includes modified). Petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition.

Facts/Syllabus

By-laws of the Associated Press, a cooperative association engaged in gathering and distributing news in interstate and foreign commerce, prohibited service of AP news to nonmembers, prohibited members from furnishing spontaneous news to nonmembers, and empowered members to block membership applications of competitors. A contract between AP and a Canadian press association obligated both to furnish news exclusively to each other. Charging, inter alia, that the bylaws and the contract violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Government sought an injunction against AP and member publishers. Upon the Government's motion, the District Court rendered summary judgment.