Xerox Corp.’s refusal to sell copier parts, manuals, and software to an independent servicer of Xerox copiers did not violate the antitrust laws because unilateral refusal to deal is within a patent or copyright owner’s rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held Feb. 17 (In re Independent Service Organizations Antitrust Litigation, Fed. Cir., No. 99-1323, 2/17/00).
Xerox Corp. sells copiers. In 1984, it established a policy of not selling copier parts, manuals, and software except to end-users. CSU LLC is an independent service organization (“ISO”), which is in the business of servicing Xerox equipment using parts cannibalized from used Xerox equipment and so forth.
