In the United States v. Cooper Corporation case of 1940, the U.S. government sued Cooper Corporation under antitrust laws for alleged price-fixing in the automotive parts industry. The Supreme Court ruled that while states and foreign nations could sue corporations for damages under federal antitrust laws, the U.S. government itself did not have this right unless explicitly granted by Congress - which it had not been at that time. This decision was based on a strict interpretation of Section 7 of the Sherman Act, which only specified "persons" as being able to seek damages from such anti-competitive practices; since no law defined or included the United States as a "person," it could not claim these rights implicitly but required explicit legislative provision to do so.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Cooper Corporation, it was argued that the government should be allowed to sue for damages under antitrust laws. The dissenting justices believed that there were no explicit restrictions in the Sherman Act preventing such a suit and thus, they saw no reason why the federal government could not act as a plaintiff in this case. They also pointed out that allowing such suits would serve public interest by discouraging monopolistic practices and promoting competition. Furthermore, they disagreed with majority's interpretation of 'person' within Section 7 of Sherman Act which excluded United States; instead arguing that U.S., being an artificial person itself, should fall within its purview too.