Linking Cogs Corporation and Meshed Gears Inc

Essay

Linking Cogs Corporation and Meshed Gears Inc. are competitors selling certain machine parts that are otherwise generally unattainable in their geographic market. This market includes the states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Linking Cogs and Meshed Gears agree that Linking Cogs will no longer sell in Minnesota and that Meshed Gears will no longer sell in North and South Dakota. Have Linking Cogs and Meshed Gears violated any antitrust law? If so, which one? Explain. If they had divided their market by type of customer rather than geographic are, would the result be the same? Why or why not?