The Consent Decree, finalized in 1956, was not a traditional antitrust lawsuit but rather a settlement that aimed to modify IBM's business practices. Notably, the decree encouraged the development of open standards in computing, promoting interoperability among different systems.
This U.S. antitrust consent decree with IBM It led to the PC architecture being functionally an open design, as IBM was required to share its technology and promote competition. Therefore, IBM used standard components and a flexible design, making it easy for other manufacturers to replicate.
This openness encouraged many companies like Amstrad to create compatible products, leading to rapid growth in the PC market. Software developers also benefited, as they could create programs that worked across various compatible machines.