Intersection of Intellectual Property and Competition Policy in Recent Cases

The authors discuss high-profile cases in the EU and US that concern IP rights and competition policy.

This article outlines some recent high-profile cases in the EU and the US where intellectual property (IP) rights and competition policy intersect, and discuss the impact of IP rights on the competitive assessment. Authors Margaret Kyle, Vivek Mani, and Sinan Corus note some rising concerns about transactions that may have an adverse effect on future competition.

The article includes discussions of:

• Reverse payment agreements, and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) judgments in Paroxetine and Lundbeck.
• The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit judgement in FTC v. Qualcomm and the court’s insights on how to assess the competitive effects of licensing practices.
• The European Commission’s recent Aspen investigation and excessive pricing assessments.
• Merger control, and the role of IP rights in vertical mergers.

This article was originally published by Concurrences in May 2022.

The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Cornerstone Research.