Title
Raising the Standard: Antitrust Scrutiny of Standard-Setting Consortia in High Technology Industries
Author
Douglas D. Leeds
Date
4/11/2008
(Original Publish Date: 5/1/1997)
(Original Publish Date: 5/1/1997)
Abstract
In September of 1995, nine of the largest consumer electronics manufacturers in the world, including such powerhouses as Sony, Phillips, Toshiba, and JVC, jointly announced that they had reached agreement on a standard format for the next generation of audio/video compact discs ("CDs"), to be known as digital video discs ("DVDs"). The agreement was widely hailed both by its participants and by the potential consumers of the new discs, the producers of entertainment and computer "software" for it meant that the consortium had averted a format fight similar to the one between the VHS and Betamax standards over a decade ago.