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Patent Licenses That Restrain Price: New Wrinkles and Old Doctrine
Price fixing arrangements have been held to be clear violations of the antitrust laws for many years. United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., 310 U.S. 150, 223 (1940) (“Under the Sherman Act a combination formed for the purpose and with the effect of raising, depressing, fixing, pegging, or stabilizing the price of a commodity in interstate or foreign commerce is illegal per se“). Whether a creative patent license agreement that impacts price constitutes a price fixing arrangement is, however, often less than clear. This article discusses the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals cases that set the stage for the types of patent licensing arrangements that will be seen as price fixing, and provides an overview of the Department of Justice's take on patent licensing arrangements and how it will scrutinize such arrangements under the antitrust laws. Finally, this article reviews recent case law discussing the intersection of patent and antitrust law.
Background
The Supreme Court has addressed an array of alleged price fixing scenarios, generally concluding that a patent licensing agreement that sets the resale price for which the licensee may sell the patented product is unlawful price fixing and thus a violation of antitrust law. Interestingly, these cases have had to reconcile themselves with early precedent set by the Court, which found a price fixing provision in a patent licensing agreement acceptable.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?