Is Patent Reform via Private Ordering Anticompetitive? An Analysis of Open Patent Agreements

Is Patent Reform via Private Ordering Anticompetitive? An Analysis of Open Patent Agreements

Files

Description

Private-ordering patent reform strategies are growing in number and popularity out of twinned desires to decrease patent litigation and promote cross-platform innovation. However, much like patent pools and other attempts at collective IP problem solving, questions of competition impact and antitrust policy arise. This chapter considers one such strategy—open patent agreements (OPAs)—and asks how it might perform under antitrust scrutiny. In the end, we conclude that OPAs should survive such scrutiny because they generate significant procompetitive effects, such as non-discriminatory access to knowledge and incentives for follow-on innovation, that more than outweigh the potential risks to competition.

Source Publication

Patent Pledges: Global Perspectives on Patent Law's Private Ordering Frontier

Source Editors/Authors

Jorge L. Contreras, Meredith Jacob

Publication Date

2017

Is Patent Reform via Private Ordering Anticompetitive? An Analysis of Open Patent Agreements

Share

COinS