What are the differences between civil and criminal antitrust violations?

Antitrust law in Delaware prohibits business activity that is considered anti-competitive or restricts trade. Antitrust violations can be civil, or criminal in nature. Criminal antitrust violations refer to cases where companies or individuals have committed a criminal act, such as price-fixing or other illegal activities that could harm consumers or businesses. In cases of criminal antitrust violations, the U.S. Department of Justice has the authority to prosecute the offender or offenders. If convicted, the person or company could face fines, imprisonment or both. Civil antitrust violations refer to cases where companies or individuals have engaged in anti-competitive business activity that could harm consumers or other businesses, but there is no criminal intent. The federal government could sue for a civil violation, but it would be up to the court to decide the punishment. Punishments for civil antitrust violations can include monetary damages, restitution or remedies to prevent the same violation from happening again. Overall, criminal antitrust violations involve a criminal act while civil antitrust violations involve harm caused by anti-competitive behavior. The main difference is that criminal violations can lead to imprisonment while civil violations are primarily enforced through fines.

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What are the differences between civil and criminal antitrust violations?

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