Patent Licensing and U.S. Antitrust Laws

摘要

The report examines past and present judicial and Executive Branch attitudes about the legality of patent licensing arrangements under the antitrust laws, and the effect these attitudes have had on the willingness of patentees to enter into certain licensing agreements. The report first discusses how and when patent licensing laws may affect the innovation process, and how the widely perceived tension between the antitrust and patent laws continues to affect the willingness of U.S. business to engage in such licensing arrangements as tie-ins. It reviews over a dozen studies which have proposed a variety of ways for balancing the competitive goals of the antitrust laws and the innovative goals of the patent laws. It then analyzes the legislation proposed by the Administration to require use of the rule of reason in all patent misues and antitrust cases, and considers the reaction of Congress and the business community. It concludes by proposing the adoption of specific criteria to supplement the rule of reason in order to provide the courts greater guidance, and patentees greater certainty, when reviewing patents licensing arrangements.