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Posted by : Matthew Wild | On : March 10, 2008

January 23, 2008. The FTC challenged anticompetitive behavior under Section 5 of the FTC Act that was not a violation of Section 1 or 2 of the Sherman Act. The FTC alleged that Negotiated Data (“N-Data”) reneged on its commitment to license its Ethernet technology to a standard-setting body on specificed terms. That commitment had induced that body to adopt N-Data’s technology as the standard. The FTC alleged that such conduct was both an “unfair method of competition” and an “unfair practice” in violation of Section 5. N-Data entered into a consent decree agreeing to abide by the licensing terms that it had originally offered. FTC Chair Majoras and Commissioner Kovacik dissented believing that Section 5 of the FTC Act does not reach such conduct. The FTC and Dissenting Statements and Analysis to Aid Public Comment are attached.FTC Statement (NData); ; Majoras Dissent (NData); Analysis to Aid Public Comment (NData)