In the case of Allied Tube & Conduit Corp. v. Indian Head, Inc., 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that private standard-setting organizations could be held liable under antitrust laws for actions taken to exclude competitors' products from their standards. The dispute arose when Allied Tube and other steel conduit manufacturers manipulated voting procedures at a meeting of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to prevent Indian Head's plastic conduits from being included in NFPA's electrical code. The court found that this conduct constituted a restraint of trade because it effectively excluded Indian Head’s product from many markets where local governments adopted NFPA codes as law or regulation without further examination.

In the dissenting opinion for Allied Tube & Conduit Corp. v. Indian Head, Inc., Justice Blackmun argued that the majority's decision to apply antitrust laws to private standard-setting organizations was misguided and could have negative implications for such bodies in future cases. He contended that these organizations play a crucial role in promoting safety and efficiency across various industries by setting technical standards, which should not be undermined by potential antitrust litigation risks. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's view that Allied Tube’s conduct constituted manipulation of a private standard-setting process; instead, he saw it as legitimate lobbying within an open democratic process where all interested parties had equal opportunities to influence outcomes.