Technological Tying of the Apple iPhone: Unlawful in Australia?

Abstract

Technology vendors are producing products and services which, by design, use technological methods to restrict interoperability and tie the use of their products and services to the use of other products and services from the same vendor. Often this type of technological tying raises concerns that it is anti-competitive. One such example is the technological tying of the Apple iPod to music purchased from the Apple iTunes Music Store, and vice versa. The new Apple iPhone contains technological locks which tie the iPhone to the mobile telephony services of a particular third-party mobile carrier, a new development in technological tying, and much more likely to be unlawful in Australia. The purpose of this article is to examine whether the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), in its current form is adequate to deal with this type of technological tying.