[COLUG] Appeals Court Rules that Deceptive Conduct in Standard Setting can Violate Antitrust Laws

[R P Herrold]

On Sat, 8 Sep 2007, jep200404 wrote:

> Interesting article. Hopefully, the biggest players subject to
> anti-trust issues, can not moot this by simply outlasting their
> prosecution.

> http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=2007090607324049

from the fine article:

The specific holding on antitrust law reads as follows:

     We hold that (1) in a consensus-oriented private 
standard-setting environment,
 	(2) a patent holder's intentionally false promise to 
license essential proprietary technology on FRAND terms,
 	(3) coupled with an SDO's reliance on that promise 
when including the technology in a standard, and
 	(4) the patent holder's subsequent breach of that promise, 
is actionable anticompetitive conduct.

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include IA_AL disclaimer

Looks like the court is grafting a 'fraud' standard into 
actionable anti-trust -- conduct which makes an Intentional 
Misrepresentation, of a Material fact, Justifiably, and 
detrementally Relied upon, causing Actual damages

but, as to upsetting the old tactic of mooting a matter by 
outlasting an opponent, the way to bet is still that IBM will 
outlast SCOX ;)

-- Russ