SFF-8023 Rev 1.0



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 SFF specifications are available at ftp://ftp.seagate.com/sff




                     SFF Committee Antitrust Guidelines

                         Rev 1.0   January 28, 2007

These guidelines have been documented for the protection of SFF Committee and 
SFF SSWG participants on antitrust issues.

SFF Committee and SFF SSWGs 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 
participants in the SFF Committee. The objective is to create a climate where 
antitrust risks are both anticipated and avoided.

Any member who anticipates a matter which could raise antitrust issues should 
contact the Chairman as soon as possible before the meeting or SSWG starts to 
advise of the possibility. 

Each meeting or SSWG shall identify the policy in the agenda so that everyone 
in attendance is aware that these antitrust guidelines are available at 
ftp://ftp.seagate.com/sff/SFF-8023.PDF 

All SFF Committee members in a meeting or SSWG shal be afforded an opportunity 
to present their views. In the event that discussion could be construed as 
raising questions under the SFF Committee antitrust guidelines, the chair or 
leader has the responsibility to terminate any discussion, even to the extent 
of terminating the meeting or SSWG. 

Concise minutes prepared after each SFF Committee meeting must accurately 
describe the actions taken, the justification for those actions, and where 
appropriate, additional pertinent discussion. Any member who feels the minutes 
are deficient can request that they be revised. 

It is required that minutes be prepared after every SFF SSWG meeting, and 
strongly recommended that they be prepared after a telecon.

All persons present are responsible for identifying potential violations of 
the antitrust guidelines and reporting them to the chair. Any person present 
is responsible to object if he/she believes a discussion violates those 
guidelines. 

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

Some topics are considered sensitive and should never be covered 


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at a meeting e.g. 

 - 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.

SFF Committee meetings and SSWGs shall consider all opinions, and where 
applicable decisions must be made on a sound technical basis. Any member 
participating in another standard-setting body on behalf of the SFF Committee 
should be guided by both the letter and the spirit of these guidelines to 
ensure that the process is open to all interested parties and specifications 
are based on objective technical factors. 

SFF Committee members should voluntarily disclose any proprietary interest 
they may have in proposed standard in order to reduce the risk of antitrust 
liability.






































SFF Committee Antitrust Guidelines                                     Page 2