The Antitrust Department of the Department of
Justice of the US Government sues Western Electric and AT&T
for restraint of trade. Western Electric was a wholly owned subsidiary
of AT&T and that Bell Telephone Laboratories (BTL or Bell
Labs) was jointly owned by Western Electric and AT&T (50%
each). The consent decree required that AT&T license use of
all its patents at nominal fees, which laid the groundwork for
subsequent licensing of UNIX to universities.