Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights: Promoting Innovation and Competition

In April 2007, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice issued a joint report, Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights: Promoting Innovation and Competition, addressing issues arising when antitrust law is applied to conduct involving intellectual property rights. This is the second report, of two, to come out of a series of 24 hearings spanning 10 months, during which the agencies received comments and heard testimony from over 300 business, government, and academic commentators offering diverse perspectives. The report emphasizes that the agencies use a flexible rule of reason approach for the vast majority of conduct involving intellectual property rights, in order to promote the common goals of encouraging innovation and competition.