The Boards of Directors of Disney and Lucasfilm have approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, and other customary closing conditions.
These cases involve a complex web of federal laws and legal principles, including the patent system established under the Constitution, antitrust law, and the Hatch-Waxman Act, a 1984 law that was intended to give generic manufacturers an incentive to challenge patents.
For nearly 120 years, the Sherman Antitrust Act has been the main vehicle through which the government and private parties have regulated the so-called anticompetitive behavior of corporate America.