Intellectual Property Committee ABA Section of Antitrust Law – Resources Relating to Antitrust and Standards Setting

John Anthony Chavez, Intellectual Property Committee Vice Chair- Electronic Communication, American Bar Association

1/01/2005
(Original Publish Date: 1/31/2003)

Standards that facilitate interoperability are critical in high tech industries and increasingly raise antitrust issues, whether set through a standard setting organization, by ad hoc groups of competitors, or by a single dominant firm. Key areas of controversy relate to the nature and extent of any disclosure obligation to the members of the standard setting organization and the terms under which patents covering a standard are licensed. With increasing frequency, this is a topic of interest expressed by the antitrust enforcement agencies. The FTC and the DOJ are exploring these issues in their hearings on Competition and Intellectual Property Law and Policy in the Knowledge Based Economy. Specifically, on April 18, 2002 hearings were held on Standard Setting Practices: Competition, Innovation and Consumer Welfare. In May 2001, the Intellectual Property Committee of the Antitrust Section of the ABA started preparing a list of resources relevant to antitrust and standard setting.