Section 09 · GEM

Antitrust Compliance Policy

The CTCA's commitment to full compliance with all applicable antitrust and competition laws — advancing the trading card industry through education, standards, and collaboration, never by restricting competition.

Version 1.0 Approved by Board of Directors Annual Review Cycle

Independent Decision-Making

Every member company independently determines prices, products, partners, and competitive strategy.

Prohibited Agreements

No price fixing, bid rigging, boycotts, market allocation, or informal understandings of any kind.

Annual Acknowledgment

All directors, advisory board, committee members, and staff acknowledge compliance annually.

Section 3 · Prohibited Discussions

Four Categories of Prohibited Topics

During any CTCA meeting, committee meeting, webinar, conference, working group, online forum, or communication, participants shall not discuss, exchange, coordinate, or reach agreements regarding the following:

Pricing

Participants shall not discuss, exchange, coordinate, or reach agreements regarding:

Product prices
Service fees
Grading fees
Breaking fees
Membership pricing
Discounts
Commissions
Margins
Minimum advertised pricing
Credit terms

Customers and Markets

Participants shall not discuss or agree upon:

Customer allocation
Geographic territories
Market division
Exclusive customer groups
Sales restrictions

Competitive Strategies

Participants shall not exchange:

Future pricing plans
Future product launches
Marketing strategies
Sales strategies
Expansion plans
Production decisions
Supply limitations

Sensitive Business Information

Members shall not disclose:

Confidential financial information
Sales volume
Profit margins
Customer lists
Vendor agreements
Inventory strategies
Internal forecasts
Proprietary technology
Non-public operational information

Policy Provisions

Full Policy Provisions

Sections 1–2 and 4–11 of the Antitrust Compliance Policy.

The Certified Trading Card Association ("CTCA") is committed to operating in full compliance with all applicable federal, state, and international antitrust and competition laws.

The CTCA exists to advance the trading card industry through education, standards, consumer protection, collaboration, and advocacy—not to restrict competition among industry participants.

This policy applies to all members, Advisory Board members, directors, officers, committee members, volunteers, employees, contractors, sponsors, and guests participating in CTCA activities.

Meeting Antitrust Statement

The Certified Trading Card Association is committed to full compliance with all applicable antitrust and competition laws. Participants must not discuss pricing, fees, margins, customer allocation, market allocation, confidential competitive information, or any topic that could improperly restrict competition.

If any participant believes a discussion is approaching an inappropriate topic, they should immediately raise the concern so the discussion can be redirected or ended.

Participation in this meeting constitutes an agreement to comply with this policy.

Version

1.0

Review Cycle

Annual

Policy Owner

CTCA Board

Legal Review

Periodic

This policy should be reviewed periodically by qualified legal counsel to ensure compliance with applicable antitrust and competition laws.