[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 179 (Monday, September 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58427-58428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23468]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 011 0244]


American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic 
Works; Analysis To Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed Consent Agreement.

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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged 
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to 
Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft 
complaint that accompanies the consent agreement and the terms of the 
consent order--embodied in the consent agreement--that would settle 
these allegations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 10, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed in paper form should be directed to: FTC/
Office of the Secretary, Room 159-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20580. Comments filed in electronic form should be 
directed to: consent [email protected], as prescribed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: L. Barry Costilo, FTC, Bureau of 
Competition, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 
326-2024.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and Sec.  2.34 of 
the Commission's rules of practice, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is hereby given 
that the above-captioned consent agreement containing a consent order 
to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to 
final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record 
for a period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis to Aid Public 
Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and the 
allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text of 
the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page 
(for September 10, 2002), on the World Wide Web, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2002/09/index.htm. A paper copy can be obtained from the FTC Public 
Reference Room, Room 130-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20580, either in person or by calling (202) 326-2222.
    Public comments are invited, and may be filed with the Commission 
in either paper or electronic form. Comments filed in paper form should 
be directed to: FTC/Office of the Secretary, Room 159-H, 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. If a comment contains 
nonpublic information, it must be filed in paper form, and the first 
page of the document must be clearly labeled ``confidential.'' Comments 
that do not contain any nonpublic information may instead be filed in 
electronic form (in ASCII format, WordPerfect, or Microsoft Word) as 
part of or as an attachment to email messages directed to the following 
email box: consent [email protected]. Such comments will be considered 
by the Commission and will be available for inspection and copying at 
its principal office in accordance with Sec.  4.9(b)(6)(ii) of the 
Commission's rules of practice, 16 CFR 4.9(b)(6)(ii)).

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

    The Federal Trade Commission has accepted an agreement to a 
proposed consent order from the American Institute for Conservation of 
Historic and Artistic Works (``AIC''). AIC has its principal place of 
business in Washington, DC.
    The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for 
thirty (30) days for reception of comments by interested persons. 
Comments received during this period will become part of the public 
record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the 
agreement and the comments received, and decide whether it should 
withdraw from the agreement or make final the agreement's proposed 
order.
    AIC is an association of professional conservators. The complaint 
alleges that AIC engages in substantial activities for the economic 
benefit of its members. The complaint alleges that AIC has 
approximately 3,100 members, many of whom provide professional services 
for a fee or who are employed by organizations that provide such 
services for a fee.
    A conservation professional is a person who manages, cares for, 
preserves, or treats cultural objects, including artistic, historical, 
archaeological, scientific, and religious objects. The conservation 
professional may determine the condition, the need for treatment or 
restoration, and the appropriate method for preservation of such 
objects, and perform the required work to minimize deterioration or to 
restore such objects to their original state.
    The complaint charges that AIC has violated Section 5 of the 
Federal Trade Commission Act by acting as a combination of its members 
and in agreement with some of its members to restrain price competition 
among conservation professionals. The

[[Page 58428]]

complaint alleges that in furtherance of the combination and agreement 
AIC has adopted and maintained Commentaries to the Guidelines for 
Practice of the AIC that state that ``the consistent undercutting of 
local or regional market rates should be understood to be 
unprofessional behavior.'' They further state that ``when damage to the 
cultural property is imminent, and funding is limited, a conservation 
professional may work at reduced fees or pro bono.'' Read together, 
these provisions mean that only in these limited circumstances can a 
conservator work for free or at reduced fees without being considered 
to be engaging in ``unprofessional behavior.''
    The complaint alleges that the above acts and practices constitute 
unfair methods of competition which have restrained competition 
unreasonably. It further alleges that the effects of the acts and 
practices are to discourage and restrict price competition among 
conservation professionals and to deprive consumers and users of 
conservation services of the benefit of free and open competition.
    AIC has signed a consent agreement containing the proposed consent 
order. The proposed consent order would prohibit AIC from maintaining 
or enforcing any policy, ethical rule, interpretation, commentary or 
guideline that impedes or restricts price competition among 
conservation professionals, including provision of free or discounted 
services.
    To ensure and monitor compliance, the consent order provides, among 
other things, that within 90 days after the order becomes final AIC 
shall remove the provisions that are inconsistent with the order from 
AIC's Code of Ethics, Guidelines for Practice of the AIC, Commentaries 
to the Guidelines and AIC's website, and publish the revisions of these 
documents in such places. In addition, the order requires AIC to 
publish a copy of the order and complaint in the AIC News. It further 
provides that the order and complaint shall be published on the AIC web 
site, with a link placed in a prominent position on the web site's home 
page. The proposed consent order also contains other provisions to 
monitor compliance.
    The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the 
proposed order, and it is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the agreements and proposed orders or to modify in 
any way their terms.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-23468 Filed 9-13-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M