The US Department of Justice must approve the buyer of Premier, and that buyer must be allowed to compete with ES&S where Premier currently operates, according to a DOJ statement.

“Under the terms of the settlement, ES&S must divest all of the intellectual property associated with all versions – past, present and in development – of the Premier voting equipment systems to another country,” the statement says.

“ES&S must sell the divestiture assets to a buyer approved by the department.”

DOJ specifies that ES&S must “grant a fully paid-up, irrevocable, perpetual license to use the AutoMARK, ES&S’s ballot marking device for which Premier had a limited license prior to the acquisition,” and that the buyer has the right to “modify and improve both Premier products and the AutoMARK.”

Source:
1. Justice-department-requires-key-divestiture-election-systems-softwarepremier-election

1. Why must the Obama Justice Department approve the buyer of Premier?

2. Is DOJ trying to take away ES&S market share from states where Premier is presently operating?

3. If so, for what reason?

4. What is the special interest in transferring AutoMARK technology to other purchasers?