Reference Library > Open Access & Interoperability

Legislation & Case Law

• Directive 2009/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009
  Directive on the legal protection of Computer Programs
• [FAILED] Directive (COM (2002) 92) on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions
  as amended by common position of the Council and by the Commission on 7 and 9 March 2005
  Had it been accepted, this Directive would have harmonised national patent laws concerning the granting of patents for computer-implemented inventions.
• Directive 2002/19/EC on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities
  Gives regulatory authorities the power to ensure adequate access and interconnection and interoperability of services to promote efficiency and competition.
• Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002
  on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services
  Provides that interoperability of services and interconnection of networks in conformity with Directive 2002/19/EC is a condition that may be attached to a general authorisation given to telecom operators
• Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002
  on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive)
  Gives the Commission the power to make certain standards and services compulsory should they fail to be adequately implemented by Member States to a level where interoperability between Member States is ensured.
• Decision 2007/176/EC establishing a list of standards for electronic communications networks
  Provides a list of standards to encourage the harmonised provision of electronic services thereby ensuring their interoperability and freedom of choice for users.
• IBM Undertaking 1984 (Bull. EC 10-1984)
  Undertaking given in return for the Commission agreeing to suspend proceedings against IBM for infringement of Article 86 (then Article 82).  Under it, IBM agreed to provide “interface information” to its competitors subject to certain conditions.
• (Case T-201/04 Microsoft) Judgement of the Court of First Instance 17 September 2007
  Judgement of the European Court of First Instance upholding the Commission Decision of 24 May 2004 against Microsoft as it related to a finding of an abuse of a dominant position by, in part, refusing to supply interoperability information.
• Commission Decision of 24 May 2004 (C(2004) 900) relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 82 of the EC Treaty and Article 54 of the EEA Agreement against Microsoft Corporation (Case COMP/C-3/37.792 — Microsoft)
  Microsoft was held to have abused a dominant position by, in part, refusing to supply interoperability information. One of the remedies imposed included an order to supply such information as it related to protocol specifications and to "ensuring interoperability with the essential features" that define a typical work group network.
• (Case C-418/01) IMS Health GmbH & Co. OHG v NDC Health GmbH & Co. KG
  IMS enjoyed copyright protection under German law but "exceptional circumstances" were “sufficient” in this case for the Court to impose a compulsory license on IMS as a dominant firm.

Policy & Research

• UK Goverment ICT Strategy
  The UK Government's ICT strategy for the public sector (27/1/2010)
• EU Study on the Specific Policy Needs for ICT Standardisation (July 2007)
  Chapter 4 of this study which was carried out by DLA Piper, Universidade Nova de Lisboa and T.U. Delft on behalf of the Commission, deals with interoperability and includes recommendations for its facilitation through an EU ICT standardisation policy.
• Setting the standards high,  speech by EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes to the Harvard Club of Belgium on 15 October 2009
  "Standards are good because they create the level playing field on which all can compete. More than that, good standard-setting helps consumers, boosts competitiveness and can spur market growth..."
• White Paper : “Modernising ICT Standardisation in the EU, the Way Forward (COM (2009) 324)
  The white paper proposes an EU strategy to modernise ICT standardisation practices and improve quality, coherence, interoperability and competitiveness
•  “Towards an increased contribution from standardisation to innovation in Europe” (COM (2008) 133)
  Communication from the Commission to the Council, European Parliament and ECOSOC. The communication presents a series of proposals aimed at securing a greater contribution from standardisation to innovation and competitiveness.
• Communication on the Role of European Standardisation in the Framework of European Policies and Legislation (COM(2004) 674 final)
  “Standards can help to create and ensure interoperability and hence contribute to avoid the fragmentation of markets. “
• Speech by Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes “Being Open about Standards”
  “standards are the foundation of interoperability”
• Standard setting in EC Competition Law after Rambus
  Slides accompanying a speech by Per Hellström, Head of Anti-Trust Unit, DG Competition, on patents, standards and anti-trust, given at a Brussels Matters event on 15 October 2009.
• Explanatory notice on the application of the competition rules to access agreements in the telecommunications sector
  Sets out access principles stemming from EU competition law and provides guidance on how the competition rules are applied in this respect.
• 2005 Staff Discussion Paper on the application of Article 82 of the Treaty to Exclusionary Abuses
  This discussion paper sets out principles for the Commission’s application of Article 82 to exclusionary abuses. Such abuses include refusing to supply information needed for interoperability.
• Guidance on the Commission's enforcement priorities in applying Article 82 of the EC Treaty to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings
  The guidance does not mention interoperability specifically but does describe (at section IV D) when refusal to supply will constitute an enforcement priority notwithstanding that the application of Article 82 would lead to the imposition of an obligation to supply.
• Interoperable Systems: An Introduction, Anthony Finkelstein, University College London
  This paper provides an introduction to interoperable systems and attempts to distinguish the principal research strands in this area.
• Roapmap for Open ICT Ecosystems (2005)
  This roadmap presents a coherent set of principles, best practices and case studies that can help sustain open ICT ecosystems.
• When and How ICT Iteroperability Drives Innovation (2007)
  In this report, Urs Gasser and John Palfrey conduct a case study of DRM-protected music, Digital ID, and Mashups in the Web services context with a goal of understanding a range of views on how interoperability comes to pass, what is optimal in terms of interoperability, how interoperability relates to innovation, and how we ought to approach achieving greater interoperability.
• DG Information Society Paper on European Software Strategy
   Under an initiative of Commissioner Viviane Reding, the European Commission invited representatives of Europe’s Software Industry to put forward concrete ideas for a European Software Strategy. This report summarises the Industry’s response to that call.
• Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy (1998), by Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian. This online companion to the book contains some useful presentations under the teaching tab.
• "Preserving a Free and Open Internet: A Platform for Innovation, Opportunity, and Prosperity"
  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's speech delivered at the Brookings Institute on the 21 September on Net Neutrality.
  (http://www.openinternet.gov/ is a site launced by Genachowski to monitor net neutrality and related issues.)
• The 2005 FCC Policy Statement adopting the four principles
  ...to ensure that broadband networks are widely deployed, open, affordable, and accessible to all consumers
• Taking Sides on Technology Neutrality (2007) by Chris Reed, Professor of Electronic Commerce Law, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London. It has often been asserted that technology neutrality is the proper approach to ICT regulation, but those making this assertion use the concept in a number of divergent senses. This article analyses those different meanings and asks whether technology neutrality really is as desirable as motherhood and apple pie, and whether it does in fact achieve the goals desired by legislators.
• Navigating the Clouds Presentation by Sam Parr and Ian Waldon, Center For Commercial Law, Queen Mary College London
• Moving Into The Cloud - Significant Energy Savings Two separate papers from MIT and Rutgers suggest energy savings as much as 45% by moving to the cloud and moving jobs from site to site within the cloud depending on the availability of the lowest cost energy.
  From "ICT and Climate Change A Foundation for Innovation in Canada" Bill St. Arnaud CANARIE Inc.
• Cloud computing – what is it and what does it mean for education? – John Powell, Leicester Business School
  This paper offers a definition of cloud computing and explores the opportunities and risks that its adoption poses with a particular focus on (higher) education institutions.
• Preview of the UK Government's G-Cloud Stragtegy
  This preview is based on information available via the web ahead of the publication of the UK Government's official G-Cloud strategy.
• QMUL Cloud Legal Project - The Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS) at Queen Mary, University of London has embarked on a three year project to undertake academic research in relation to cloud computing and to disseminate the key findings of that research. 
• Arnoldo Hax, Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Management Emeritus Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management at MIT Sloan. Professor Hax has done extensive work on the strategy of being the best "complementor" which is highly relevant as a profitable business strategy for the development of computing platforms.
• Hal Varian, Professor in the School of Information, the Haas School of Business, and the Department of Economics at the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently on leave from Berkeley and serving as Chief Economist at Google.
• David J.  Teece, Thomas W. Tusher Professor in Global Business, Walter A. Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley and Director of the Center for Global Strategy and Governance. Research interests include: Corporate strategy and public policy. Technological innovation, knowledge management, and intellectual property. Regulatory and antitrust economics. Telecommunications, computers, and energy.
• Nicholas Economides, Professor of Economics, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University. Professor Economides is an internationally recognized academic authority on network economics, electronic commerce and public policy. His fields of specialization and research include the economics of networks, especially of telecommunications, computers, and information, the economics of technical compatibility and standardization, industrial organization, the structure and organization of financial markets and payment systems, antitrust, application of public policy to network industries, strategic analysis of markets and law and economics.