Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2002
College
College of Business Administration
Department
Management and Marketing
Abstract
In 1995, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission adopted new guidelines for those wishing to license intellectual property rights without violating antitrust laws. Designed to provide clarity, these guidelines instead breed confusion because they misunderstand the nature of intellectual property markets and provide insufficient guidance in the most difficult areas. Section I of this article will discuss the basic provisions of the guidelines, especially their treatment of "innovation markets." It argues that government enforcers should focus primarily on activity that creates entry barriers. Understanding the use and misuse of licensing is the key to analyzing barriers in the IP field. The remainder of the article therefore examines three common types of license misuse. Section II considers patent holders' potential liability for refusing to grant licenses to competitors. Section III looks at the effect of setting industry standards and at patent holders' misconduct during industry standard setting. Section N analyzes patent accumulation through devices such as pooling and cross-licensing. The article concludes that the government should further amend the Guidelines to provide clearer rules for use of IP licenses.
Keywords
intellectual property, patent licensing, IPR, intellectual property rights, innovation, innovation market, patents, patent pooling, cross licensing, antitrust
Publication Title
Computer Law Review & Technology Journal
Volume
7
Digital Commons Citation
Hamilton, Clovia. "Adequacy of the 1995 Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property in Complex High-Tech Markets." Computer Law Review & Technology Journal 7 (2002): 23-44.
Included in
Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons, Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons, Intellectual Property Law Commons, Technology and Innovation Commons