“Are patents and antitrust liability mutually exclusive?” This was the underlying question posed by Marc Brotman, Pfizer, David Rodi, Baker Botts, and Willard Tom, FTC, during the Antitrust workshop at the LES Spring Meeting. The panel engaged in a high level discussion of the tension between patent and antitrust law, focusing on the FTC’s Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property, and recent legal issues. An antitrust law primer was provided
along with discussion on specific types of license provisions, such as price, field of use and geographic restrictions, and application of the antitrust laws to certain patent licensing
arrangements. Specific issues relating to the Hart–Scott–Rodino reporting requirements and Hatch-Waxman pharmaceutical litigation settlements were also discussed.