Actually MRTP in India is quite a law, never used because of the inept Govt. & Consumer bodies and long wait for a lawsuit resolution, make it an nonviable tool.
Microsoft was forced to unbundle Internet Explorer, if I remember this correctly, due to this sort of thing only and now Google is coming under scanner again & again due to this sort of thing only.
FT is quite a force in its niche area. And its behaving like a monopoly. I remember talking to the CEO of a major OMS abroad whom I found him in my linkedin contact list. He was disgusted at the low prices for OMS (per user) in India and he said that was exactly what was keeping FT king of Indian markets. He said when prices become too low, % revenues per user become too low compared to other emerging markets, thus making India a lower marketing priority. FT on the other hand is looking at total revenue and lowering entry cost for brokers, by keeping per user license fees low and charging on a pay as you grow model. This is a way of doing business that is a paradigm that originates from India.....and in fact, increases FT's monopoly......the concept of value at the lower end of the Pyramid is a concept originating in the Indian context Foreign companies are not yet comfortable with this sort of thing and one success from someone from abroad is required before it will create a "chalo India" movement by various vendors
As to how it is different from Microsoft Well...its like the Microsoft Document format vs. Open Document Format fight. Indian Govt. opted for Open Document format... though after heavy lobbying.
You see, exchanges except for MCX are pre-dominantly institution owned, where the Govt. holds tremendous power (SBI,UTI etc). Again Software Vendor Accredition is mainly exchange governed and Exchanges are supposed to be pro investor, not pro software vendor.
Any accusation, that reaches enuff ears or is highlighted by Media attention, is going to cause exchanges to react, under media and govt pressure, forcing the vendors to bend. Thats all we can ask for. Point is, our reasons in our written plea have to be valid and effective.
Comments?
Sanjay.