Konkurencja i konsument · 22.11.1995

Dell Computer Corp.; Consent Agreement With Analysis To Aid Public Comment

In settlement of alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair acts and practices and unfair methods of competition, this consent agreement, accepted subject to final Commission approval, would require Dell not to enforce patent rights against computer manufacturers using the VL-bus, a mechanism to transfer instructions between a computer's central processing unit and peripherals such as a video monitor, which had been accepted by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) as the industry standard. The Commission had alleged that Dell, as a member of the VESA, did not disclose to other VESA members that it held patent rights to the VL-bus technology at the time the VESA standard for such technology was adopted and then later attempted to enforce those patent rights against certain VESA members, in an effort to unilaterally impose costs on its rivals.