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INCITS Antitrust Guidelines

ITI counsel developed the INCITS Antitrust Guidelines for the protection of INCITS and INCITS Subgroup members on antitrust issues. INCITS and INCITS Subgroup members must follow the INCITS Antitrust Guidelines.

Anticipate Risks

INCITS and INCITS subgroup meetings must be conducted in a manner that avoids the appearance of conduct which might violate the antitrust laws. The harsh criminal penalties in the antitrust laws, for individuals as well as organizations, the high costs of defending antitrust suits, the diversion of resources from our important missions, and the risk of liability together mandate an understanding of, and respect for, the antitrust laws by INCITS and its members. Our objective is to create a climate where antitrust risks are both anticipated and avoided.

Consult Counsel

Legal counsel should be consulted prior to any discussion of actions which the staff or INCITS believes could raise antitrust issues, or which seem in any way to be questionable or out of the ordinary. It is counsel's job to advise INCITS on any matters that have legal significance. It is always better to ask.

Notice and Agenda

Each INCITS or INCITS subgroup meeting must be preceded by a notice to the members of the committee with a draft agenda. As required by INCITS procedures, the agenda must be approved at the beginning of the meeting and followed.

Conduct of Meetings

INCITS policy requires the full-time attendance of a person familiar with the antitrust guidelines (e.g., staff, trained officer, INCITS liaison). All participants should be afforded an opportunity to present their views. Acting on behalf of INCITS, members have the responsibility to terminate any discussion, seek counsel's advice or, if necessary, terminate any meeting if the discussion might be construed to raise questions under the INCITS antitrust guidelines.

Minutes of Meetings

After each INCITS or INCITS subgroup meeting, concise minutes must be prepared that accurately describe the actions taken, and where appropriate, any rationale or additional pertinent discussion. These minutes must be prepared by a member of the INCITS staff or someone designated by an INCITS officer to prepare the minutes. When prepared by someone other than a member of the INCITS staff, the draft minutes shall be reviewed by the INCITS staff prior to distribution to the committee.

Sensitive Topics

With rare exceptions that should be made only upon the advice of INCITS counsel, there should never be discussion of the following topics at any INCITS or an INCITS subgroup meeting:

  • Any company's prices or pricing policies;
  • Specific R&D, sales and marketing plans;
  • Any company's confidential product, product development or production strategies;
  • Whether certain suppliers or customers will be served;
  • Prices paid to input sources; or
  • Complaints about individual firms or other actions that might tend to hinder a competitor in any market.

Standards

In INCITS sponsored committees related to standards, all relevant opinions should be considered and a sound technical basis for the INCITS position should be articulated. When participating in other standard-setting bodies on behalf of INCITS, INCITS representatives should be guided by both the letter and the spirit of the established procedures, which are designed to ensure that the process is open to all interested parties and standards are based on objective technical factors. INCITS members should voluntarily disclose any proprietary interest they may have in proposed standards in order to reduce the risk of antitrust liability.

Educational Presentations

Sharing non-proprietary information among competitors is generally lawful. Discussion should be limited to objectives, which promote overall consumer welfare. Exchanging proprietary information may not be appropriate, if the purpose or effect of the exchange is to lead to diminished competition in the marketplace.

Patent Policy

As INCITS subscribes to the ANSI Patent Policy when developing American National Standards, a call for patents and pertinent issues is issued throughout the development of a project to determine if a proposed standard may require the use of a patented invention.

There is no objection in principle to drafting an American National Standard (ANS) in terms that include the use of an essential patent claim (one whose use would be required for compliance with that standard) if it is considered that technical reasons justify this approach. Participants in the ASD/ANSI standards development process are encouraged to bring patents with claims believed to be essential to the attention of the ANSI-Accredited Standards Developer (ASD). If an ASD receives a notice that a proposed, revised or approved ANS may require the use of such a patent claim that is not already covered by an existing assurance, the procedures in clause 3.1 (of the ANSI Essential Requirements) shall be followed.

INCITS encourages disclosure, where possible, of the existence of pending U.S. patent applications relating to the standard under development, and of any relevant unexpired foreign patents.

If such notice is received, INCITS seeks a statement that the patent holder will comply with the ANSI Patent Policy. 


Patent declaration form: INCITS Patent Declaration Form

INCITS Patent Policy Overview: INCITS Patent Policy Slides for IOE Meetings

Additional information:  Guidelines for Implementation of the ANSI Patent Policy

Submission of declaration forms: Completed patent declaration forms should be submitted to the INCITS Secretariat at patents@standards.incits.org.


When the ASD (INCITS) receives from a patent holder the assurance set forth in 3.1.1b (of the ANSI Essential Requirements), the standard shall include a note substantially as follows:

NOTE - The user's attention is called to the possibility that compliance with this standard may require the use of an invention covered by patent rights. By publication of this standard, no position is taken with respect to the validity of any such claim(s) or of any patent rights in connection therewith. If a patent holder has filed a statement of willingness to grant a license under these rights on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms and conditions to applicants desiring to obtain such a license, then details may be obtained from the standards developer.

Neither the ASD nor ANSI is responsible for identifying patents for which a license may be required by an American National Standard or for conducting inquiries into the legal validity or scope of those patents that are brought to their attention.

A record of the patent holder's statement is retained in the INCITS files. Note: The INCITS patent database contains patent information received to date. You are welcome to view existing information and check back later for more updates or send email to INCITS for additional information.

INCITS Patent Database

A record of the patent holder's statement is retained in the INCITS files.

The INCITS patent database contains patent information received to date. You are welcome to view existing information and check back later for more updates or send email to INCITS for additional information.   

Information for US Hosts of International Meetings

updated April 9, 2013

ANSI has provided the following information related to international delegates attending meetings in the United States:

  • Checklist for US Hosts of Chinese Technical Experts (also relevant for expert from other countries)
  • Visa One Pager - English and Chinese
  • United States Visa System - Information for Experts from the People’s Republic of China Attending Meetings of the ISO and IEC Held in the United States

Letters of Invitation

ANSI , as the US hosting body, will provide a letter of invitation for those delegates requiring one.  ANSI's ISO Team (ISOT) will provide a letter of invitation upon receipt of the following information:

Designation of ISO or ISO/IEC JTC 1 meeting:
Name: (include male/female)
Organization:
Email:
Date of Birth:
Passport Number:

Requests should be sent to ANSI at isot@ansi.org by the ISO Member of the delegate requiring a letter of invitation (i.e. SAC for China, DSM for Malaysia).

Privacy Policy

http://www.itic.org/privacy-policy

American National Standard Dictionary of Information Technology (ANSDIT)

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