PASMA Compatibility Protocol ensures free and fair competition
28/3/24 - PASMA reaffirms its commitment to the Compatibility Protocol, (agreed by a Working Group representing all stakeholder groups and thereafter ratified by the PASMA Technical Committee and PASMA Council), which is a simple and straightforward document which aims to regulate the claims of compatibility from manufacturers who assert that their components can be used or interchanged with those of another manufacturer.
In line with its commitment to prevent anti-competitive practices which unfairly restrict buyers to a single supply source, either directly or indirectly, the Protocol sets out the conditions which need to be met to validate claims of compatibility. As a result, it affords buyers the choice to source alternative suppliers and consequently encourages and enables free and fair competition in the tower market.
PASMA is very much aware and mindful of legal precedent in this area, where suppliers have sought to restrict buyers to purchase only original manufacturers’ components, citing technical or safety concerns and warranty invalidation that would preclude an alternative supplier, which have subsequently been adjudged to have been clearly ‘anti-competitive’ barriers to trade.
The UK Courts will decide on the merits or otherwise of manufacturers’ claims that compatible components cannot be sourced from alternative supply sources when a buyer challenges that assertion legally.
