Antitrust Policy

Introduction

This document sets forth the antitrust policy and the rules of conduct and compliance procedures which govern all activities of the European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry (ECMI). These formal guidelines are intended to do two things: (1) to prevent the occurrence of an actual antitrust violation in the course of ECMI activities, and (2) to prevent inadvertent conduct which might give the appearance of an antitrust violation to someone unfamiliar with ECMI’s nature and purposes. They are designed to protect you, your employer and ECMI from any accusation of wrongdoing arising out of your participation in ECMI activities.

Accomplishment of these objectives is everyone’s responsibility. We urge you to keep this document handy, and to refer to it whenever you have any question about the antitrust implications of any activity you might undertake under the auspices of ECMI. Any questions you or your company’s legal counsel may have concerning ECMI’s antitrust compliance program should be directed to Alessandra Micheletti, ECMI President (president@ecmi-indmath.org ) or Cl´audia Nunes, ECMI Executive Director (director@ecmiindmath.org ).

Statement of Antitrust Policy

ECMI is a consortium of academic institutions and industrial companies organized to promote and support research and education related to the employment of mathematical modelling, simulation, and optimization in any activity of social or economic importance. ECMI is not intended to, and may not, play any role in the competitive decisions of its industrial members or their employers, or in any way restrict industrial competition.

Through its workshops, conferences, and other activities, ECMI brings together scientists from academia and company representatives of competitors from different branches of industry. Although the subject matter of ECMI activities is normally technical in nature, and although the purpose of these activities is principally scientific or educational and there is no intent to restrain competition in any manner, nevertheless ECMI recognizes the possibility that its activities could be seen by some as an opportunity for anticompetitive conduct. For this reason, ECMI has taken the opportunity, through this statement of policy, to make clear its unequivocal support for the policy of competition served by the antitrust laws and its uncompromising intent to comply strictly in all respects with those laws.

It shall be the responsibility of every member of ECMI to be guided by ECMI’s policy of strict compliance with the antitrust laws in all ECMI activities. It shall be the special responsibility of board members and chairpersons of Special Interest Groups and commitees to ensure that this policy is known and adhered to in the course of activities pursued under their leadership.

General Rules of Antitrust Compliance

The following rules are applicable to all ECMI activities and must be observed in all situations and under all circumstances without exception or qualification other than as noted below.

  1. Neither ECMI nor any committee, Special Interest Group or activity of ECMI shall be used for the purpose of exchanging information or bringing about any understanding or agreement, written or oral, formal or informal, among competitors with regard to prices, pricing methods, terms or conditions of sale, distribution, volume of production, allocation of territories or customers, market entries, or new product developments.
  2. No ECMI activity should involve any discussion of costs, or any exchange of cost information, for the purpose or with the probable effect of (a) increasing, maintaining or stabilizing prices; or,(b)reducing competition in the marketplace with respect to the range or quality of products or services offered; or, (c) promoting agreement among competing firms with respect to their selection of products for purchase, their choice of suppliers, or the prices they will pay for supplies.
  3. No ECMI activity or communication shall include any discussion which might be construed as an attempt to prevent any person or business entity from gaining access to any market or customer for goods or services, or to prevent any business entity from obtaining a supply of goods or otherwise purchasing goods or services freely in the market.
  4. No person shall be unreasonably excluded from participation in any ECMI activity, committee or Special Interest Group, where such exclusion may impair such person’s ability to compete effectively its industry branch.
  5. Committee and Special Interest Group chairpersons shall prepare and circulate meeting agendas one week prior to any meeting. Any antitrust / competition law concerns with respect to topics on the agenda, shall be addressed to the chairperson. The meetings shall be hold in strict accordance with the agenda, deviations should be mirrored

in the meeting minutes. Minutes shall be drawn-up for each meeting and circulated to the participants in due course for approval.

  • All members are expected to comply with these guidelines and ECMI’s antitrust policy in informal discussions at the site of an ECMI meeting, but beyond the control of its chairperson, as well as in formal ECMI activities.
  • Any company which believes that it may be or has been unfairly placed at a competitive disadvantage as a result of an ECMI activity should notify the ECMI President or the ECMI Executive Director directly. They will then review and attempt to resolve the complaint.

Guidelines for Antitrust Compliance – DOs and DON’Ts for Meetings and Operations

  • DO send the agenda for all meetings one week prior to the meeting.
  • DO prepare and send minutes to the participants in due course.
  • DO review ECMI Antitrust Policy prior to the meeting. • DO stop any discussion which appears to be leading to:

(a) discussion of prices or pricing policy, (b) any restraint on competition of any kind.

  • DO advise all meeting attendees to observe the General Rules of Antitrust Compliance in informal conversations as well as formal ECMI activities.
  • DO NOT place constraints on committee or group membership, other than the member’s technical capability in the area covered by the committee or the group and the willingness of the committee member to participate actively in committee work.

Recommendations for the Selection of Speakers

ECMI workshops and conferences are not designed to be sales forums, but to provide a forum for the exchange of scientific results. Nevertheless, employees of companies are sometimes asked to participate as speakers or panelists because of their knowledge and experience. Participation on the program of a conference or workshop may be viewed by companies as a significant competitive opportunity, and the favouring of some company over others can give rise to antitrust problems.

The exclusion of a company from a panel or program will not be considered an antitrust violation unless it constitutes an unreasonable restraint on competition. The key to ”reasonableness” in this area is fair-minded decision making based upon objective criteria. In order to be fair to all companies and to avoid a charge of acting unreasonably to deprive any company of a significant competitive opportunity, scientific committees for ECMI events should in all cases observe the following guidelines:

  1. No speaker should be chosen with the intent to afford his company a competitive advantage, and no speaker should be excluded with the intent to deny any company a competitive opportunity.
  2. Speakers should be chosen individually on the basis of objective criteria reasonably related to the scientific purpose of the session, such as technical knowledge, experience, professional reputation, and effectiveness as a speaker.
  3. The criteria to be used in selecting speakers should be established prior to the actual selection of speakers.
  4. Company participation should be planned so as to minimize any competitive advantage which might arise from participation in an ECMI activity.

European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry (ECMI)
c/o Delft Institute of Applied Mathematics
TU Delft
Mekelweg 4
2628 CD Delft

E-mail: director@ecmi-indmath.org

Updated February 2024