Journal Article

Antitrust enforcement and intellectual property rights

Perazzelli, Jessica L, Collins, John F

2007

Overview

In April of this year, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (Agencies) issued a joint report on antitrust enforcement and intellectual property rights entitled Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights: Promoting Innovation and Competition (the Report). This article summarizes the six chapters of the Report. Beginning in February 2002, the Agencies conducted a series of Hearings designed to develop a better understanding of the questions that arise when antitrust law is applied to conduct involving intellectual property rights and to examine the Agencies' approach toward analyzing such conduct. The Report notes that the starting point for evaluating the practices described above is to assess whether the patent itself confers market power on its holder, and then, whether that power is being unreasonably extended by the firm beyond the natural expiration of the patent. The Report is a worthy effort by the Agencies to explain their analytical processes and enforcement positions in the intersection of antitrust law and intellectual property rights and a valuable supplement to their Antitrust-IP Guidelines.

• Publisher: Aspen Publishers, Inc
• Subject: Antitrust law / Antitrust laws / Competition / Enforcement / Intellectual property / Intellectual property law / Liability / Licenses / Licensing / OEM / Principles / Sherman Antitrust Act 1890-US / Violations