Published: 8/31/16
Publication: Lexology
“On August 12, 2016, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission released a proposed update of their Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property. While the agencies reinforced many of the existing propositions established in the original 1995 guidelines, there are several notable changes. First, the updated guidelines incorporate more recent Supreme Court precedent to reverse a century-held proposition that vertical resale price maintenance agreements, whether in the IP context or otherwise, are per se illegal. Second, the agencies align their approach to IP agreements with the Horizontal Merger Guidelines, recognizing the shift towards greater flexibility in assessing competitive effects, accounting for varying types of evidence in addition to market shares. The updated guidelines also reflect minor edits that do not result in much substantive change in agency policy, such as additional citations and the clarification of language.” [READ MORE]