Press Release: Antitrust: Commission market tests IBM’s commitments on mainframe maintenance and closes separate case into alleged unlawful tying

The European Commission invites comments on commitments offered by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) to ensure the availability of certain spare parts and technical information on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms over five years. These commitments aim to resolve concerns that IBM may have imposed unreasonable conditions for supplying competing mainframe maintenance service providers with such inputs, in breach of European Union antitrust rules prohibiting the abuse of a dominant market position in Europe. Mainframes are powerful computers which are used by large companies and governments to store and process critical information. The probe was opened in July 2010.

ESO: Background information: Brussels to probe IBM mainframe market role http://www.europeansources.info/record/brussels-to-probe-ibm-mainframe-market-role/

---