Legal Definitions - consciously parallel

Definition: Consciously parallel refers to the behavior of a company that is aware of its competitor's actions, such as raising prices, and decides to take the same action independently. This behavior is often seen as evidence of a conspiracy in antitrust cases.

Example: Company A and Company B are both in the business of selling widgets. Company A raises the price of their widgets, and Company B, who is aware of this, also raises the price of their widgets. This is an example of consciously parallel behavior.

Explanation: In this example, Company B is consciously parallel to Company A because they are aware of Company A's price increase and decide to raise their prices as well. This behavior can be seen as evidence of a conspiracy because it suggests that the two companies may have colluded to raise prices together, rather than making independent pricing decisions.