FTC And DOJ Release Report On Antitrust Enforcement And Intellectual Property Rights

On April 17, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice issued a long-awaited joint report on Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights. The 220-page Report is the result of years of research by the DOJ and FTC, including two dozen days of hearings in 2002, and reaches a number of conclusions concerning six areas addressed below. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/04/ipreport.shtm The Report reaffirms enforcement policy set forth in the FTC and DOJ's 1995 Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property. http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/guidelines/0558.htm Notably absent from the Report's analysis is an evaluation of the settlement of patent disputes under the Hatch-Waxman Act between brand manufacturers and generic manufacturers.