Being a monopoly is neither necessary nor sufficient for an anticompetitive business practice to be illegal. A literal monopoly is not necessary for a court to

Being a monopoly is neither necessary nor sufficient for an anticompetitive business practice to be illegal. A literal monopoly is not necessary for a court to determine that a firm can exert significant and durable market power over its competitors and customers. If a firm is able to achieve and maintain a monopoly solely through lawful and reasonable means, such as producing and offering a superior product at a lower price, it is free to reap the benefits of that fairly-attained monopoly.