Final IP And International Guidelines

January 25, 2017 - On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") issued new editions of their Antitrust Guidelines for Licensing of Intellectual Property ("IP Guidelines") and Antitrust Guidelines for International Enforcement and Cooperation ("International Guidelines"). A draft of the updated IP Guidelines had been released for public comment on August 12, 2016, and the updated International Guidelines were likewise circulated for public comment on November 1, 2016. Both sets of Guidelines were first published in 1995, and had not been updated since.

Neither new set of Guidelines reflects a major change from the Agencies' approach to antitrust enforcement in recent years, or even from the 1995 Guidelines. Instead, they largely conform to the earlier guidelines to statutory and case law development since that time, and tackle the growing importance of international cooperation.