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The article reports that anti-trust law is designed to ensure an appropriate blend of cooperation and competition. The Collaboration Guidelines recognized the importance of cooperation among competitors in enhancing consumer welfare. It also provided a basic analytical framework for decision makers to apply at a time when many courts were struggling with antitrust analysis of joint ventures and other collaborations.

The article reports that the 2010 Merger Guidelines highlight the significance of high margins in conjunction with a high diversion ratio between the merging parties as enabling upward pricing pressure. In updating the Collaboration Guidelines, the antitrust authorities could make effective use of this enforcement action and its resolution to illustrate important general principles.