Re: [Gendispatch] I-D Action: draft-halpern-gendispatch-antitrust-00.txt

[Vittorio Bertola <[e-mail]>]

> Il 06/09/2021 21:12 John Levine <[e-mail]> ha scritto:
> 
> In general it is illegal for competitors to coordinate the way they do
> business. Stanrdards development has a carveout because there there
> is a widely understood benefit to the public for competing products
> to interoperate.  That isn't limited to software; it's why the lightbulbs
> you buy at the hardware store fit into the sockets in the desk lamps you
> bought at the office supply store.

On this, there is one very important aspect that the draft IMHO fails to address, which is any lack of inclusiveness (voluntary or involuntary) in the participants set. 

Standards development is not considered anticompetitive as long as all those whose businesses are impacted by the new standard have a voice in the process or can at least exploit the standard on fair terms. If a group of companies agree to design and adopt a standard that makes it harder for companies outside of that subset to compete with them, then this is potentially (I'd say definitely) an antitrust issue.

I am not a lawyer, so I cannot say, for example, whether the current IETF policies for participation (open door, no fees etc.) are in themselves sufficient to avoid that risk, or whether specific care should be taken to involve all potentially affected industry sectors before finalizing a standard that would impact market and product opportunities. I'd still recommend that the point is addressed in the draft.

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Vittorio Bertola | Head of Policy & Innovation, Open-Xchange
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