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Software companies involved in setting standards should be open in declaring intellectual property and fixing fees, the European Commission told the market this week.
Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said companies should declare their interests and set maximum royalty rates so informed decisions can be made on which products to use.
"Both [patent and maximum royalty disclosure] can increase the effectiveness of the standard setting process, lead to more competitive solutions and reduce the risk of later antitrust problems," she said.
"Standards bodies could very often require disclosure without fear of competition law intervention."
If one technology becomes a de facto standard then a competition authority or regulator may need to intervene, she added.
Competition law could be used to counter unscrupulous companies attempting to have their technology included in a standard so they could charge high licence fees.
Standards are the agreed specifications that ensure technologies from different manufacturers work together, for example, European mobile phones have the GSM standard.
The Competition Commission is an independent public body that helps to ensure healthy competition between companies for the benefit of the firms, customers and the economy.
