Technological tying in the computer industry : when does it contravene Section 46 of the Trade Practices Act?

The courts in Australia have very little experience of the complex issues that arise when allegations are made about anti-competitive bundling or tying in relation to the supply of computer products. The paper falls broadly into two parts. The first part considers some special characteristics of computer based markets, and the elements that need to be established in order to make out a contravention of s 46 of the TPA. The second part of the paper considers two different types of technological tying: first, the tying of two separate products through the creation of one integrated product; and secondly, tying the sale of a product with its repair or servicing in such a way that independent service organizations (ISOs) are foreclosed from the market. Both types of technological tying are open to a claim that they are anti-competitive and constitute a form of leveraging contrary to s 46 of the TPA.