“If I was an enterprise CIO, the only immediate action is, if we are considering working with either of these entities, to write in a provision that gives [the enterprise] room to renegotiate to the extent that this case reaches a judgment or they reach a settlement that may impact the contract,” Levine said, adding, “but that language may be implied anyway.”
Douglas Brush, a special master with the US federal courts, said that enterprise IT must rethink all AI contracts in light of these kinds of antitrust accusations.
“The best approach is to use short contracts with re-openers, transparent pricing with safeguards, multiple cloud options, and an economics model that prioritizes consumption. This allows [enterprises] to benefit from falling prices, protect themselves when they rise, and keep the business running regardless of any single vendor’s motives,” Brush advised. “Budgeting needs to treat AI like a commodity input, not a fixed software license — [cost of goods sold] versus [operating expense]. … Quarterly repricing and automatic rebases to current schedules are table stakes.”