• Wall Street Journal , Thursday, December 4, 2008 11 AM

EBay and a group of other retailers and antitrust advocates are meeting in Washington today to discuss ways to get around a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last year that a manufacturer's "minimum advertised price," or MAP, is legal and not a violation of antitrust law.

Manufacturers say minimum-pricing requirements protect a brand's image from being tarnished by discounting, Joseph Pereira reports, while helping retailers make enough profit to pay for customer service. But consumer advocates say MAP keeps prices high and reduces choice.

Typically, MAP agreements apply only to high-end goods, electronics and new product lines that manufacturers don't want to see tarnished by immediate discounting. The Supreme Court ruling has been a boon for businesses like NetEnforcers, a unit of Intersections Inc., MAPtrackers, Cyveillance and Brand Protection Agency, all of which scour the Internet looking for violations.

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