Data General v. Grumman Systems Support

Citation[]

Data General Corp. v. Grumman Systems Support Corp., 36 F.3d 1147 (1st Cir. 1994) (full-text).

Appellate Court Proceedings[]

The court considered a computer manufacturer’s alleged monopolization of a service market for its own product through its alleged refusal to license its diagnostic software to third-party maintenance providers. The court acknowledged that competition issues were relevant to the analysis, but held that "an author’s desire to exclude others from use of its copyrighted work is a presumptively valid business justification for any immediate harm to consumers."^[1]

References[]

↑ 36 F.3d at 1187. In a footnote, the court added: "Wary of undermining the Sherman Act, however, we do not hold that an antitrust plaintiff can never rebut the presumption, for there may be rare cases in which imposing antitrust liability is unlikely to frustrate the objectives of the Copyright Act." 36 F.3d at 1187 n.64. In that statement, the court seemed to suggest that intellectual property should receive greater deference than antitrust when the two come into conflict.

[1] 36 F.3d at 1187. In a footnote, the court added: "Wary of undermining the Sherman Act, however, we do not hold that an antitrust plaintiff can never rebut the presumption, for there may be rare cases in which imposing antitrust liability is unlikely to frustrate the objectives of the Copyright Act." 36 F.3d at 1187 n.64. In that statement, the court seemed to suggest that intellectual property should receive greater deference than antitrust when the two come into conflict.

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