Showing archive for: “Patents”
Welcome guest blogger David Olson
I’m delighted to announce that David Olson will be guest blogging at Truth on the Market this summer. David is an Associate Professor at Boston College Law School. He teaches antitrust, patents, and intellectual property law. Professor Olson’s writing has been cited in Supreme Court and other legal opinions. Olson came to Boston College from Stanford ... Welcome guest blogger David Olson
Senate Bill Provides Remedy for Regulatory Abuse Keeping Generics Off the Market
I’d like to begin by discussing Geoff’s post on the pending legislative proposals designed to combat strategic abuse of drug safety regulations to prevent generic competition. Specifically, I’d like to address the economic incentive structure that is in effect in this highly regulated market. Like many others, I first noticed the abuse of drug safety ... Senate Bill Provides Remedy for Regulatory Abuse Keeping Generics Off the Market
Will the Supreme Court’s Halo Electronics Decision Have a Desirable Halo Effect, Reducing Incentives to Infringe Patents?
The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous June 13 decision (per Chief Justice John Roberts) in Halo Electronics v. Pulse Electronics, overturning the Federal Circuit’s convoluted Seagate test for enhanced damages, is good news for patent holders. By reducing the incentives for intentional patent infringement (due to the near impossibility of obtaining punitive damages relief under Seagate), ... Will the Supreme Court’s Halo Electronics Decision Have a Desirable Halo Effect, Reducing Incentives to Infringe Patents?
Senator Lee’s prescription for regulatory failure in the generic drug market
Brand drug manufacturers are no strangers to antitrust accusations when it comes to their complicated relationship with generic competitors — most obviously with respect to reverse payment settlements. But the massive and massively complex regulatory scheme under which drugs are regulated has provided other opportunities for regulatory legerdemain with potentially anticompetitive effect, as well. In ... Senator Lee’s prescription for regulatory failure in the generic drug market
Combatting Foreign Theft of U.S. IP Theft by Strengthening Section 337 of the Tariff Act – and Making it an “IP Only” Statute
Public policies that rely on free-market forces and avoid government interventions that distort terms of international trade benefit producers, consumers, and national economies alike. The full benefits of international trade will not be realized, however, if sales and purchase decisions are distorted by anticompetitive behavior or other illegitimate commercial conduct (such as theft, fraud, or ... Combatting Foreign Theft of U.S. IP Theft by Strengthening Section 337 of the Tariff Act – and Making it an “IP Only” Statute
Trade Secret Protection Gets a Federal Shot in the Arm
Trade secrets are frequently one of the most powerful forms of intellectual property that a company has in its competitive arsenal. Particularly given the ongoing interest in whittling away at the property rights of patent holders (e.g. the enhanced IPR process, and even the more tame VENUE Act), trade secrets are a critical means for ... Trade Secret Protection Gets a Federal Shot in the Arm
Acknowledging the Limitations of the FTC’s “PAE” Study
[Below is an excellent essay by Devlin Hartline that was first posted at the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property blog last week, and I’m sharing it here.] ACKNOWLEDGING THE LIMITATIONS OF THE FTC’S “PAE” STUDY By Devlin Hartline The FTC’s long-awaited case study of patent assertion entities (PAEs) is expected to be released this spring. ... Acknowledging the Limitations of the FTC’s “PAE” Study
Time to Confront Bias Against Patent Owners in Patent “Reform” Legislation like the VENUE Act
Last March, I published an op ed in the the Washington Times on the proposed VENUE Act, a recently introduced bill taken wholesale from a portion of HR 9 (the tendentiously titled “Innovation Act”). HR 9 has rightly stalled given its widespread and radical changes to the patent system that weaken and dilute all property rights ... Time to Confront Bias Against Patent Owners in Patent “Reform” Legislation like the VENUE Act
Attorney General Lynch Demonstrates a Misunderstanding of American Antitrust Law, and its Proper Role in Promoting Economic Dynamism
For several decades, U.S. federal antitrust enforcers, on a bipartisan basis, have publicly supported the proposition that antitrust law seeks to advance consumer welfare by promoting economic efficiency and vigorous competition on the merits. This reflects an economic interpretation of the antitrust laws adopted by the Supreme Court beginning in the late 1970s, inspired by ... Attorney General Lynch Demonstrates a Misunderstanding of American Antitrust Law, and its Proper Role in Promoting Economic Dynamism
Outstanding New Global Antitrust Institute Filing on Indian Discussion Paper Regarding Standard Essential Patents
Over the past year, the Global Antitrust Institute (GAI) at George Mason University School of Law has released some of the most thoughtful critiques of foreign governments’ proposed new guidance documents on competition law. The GAI’s March 31 comments (see here) in response to the India Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion’s Discussion Paper on ... Outstanding New Global Antitrust Institute Filing on Indian Discussion Paper Regarding Standard Essential Patents
The Obama Administration’s Latest Attack on IP Rights Threatens the Development of Innovative Biologic Drugs
The Obama Administration regrettably continues its campaign to weaken intellectual property (IP) rights, moving beyond antitrust policy (see articles by me, here and here) to the realm of substantive legislation. In his fiscal year 2017 budget proposal, President Obama proposed to reduce the period of exclusivity granted producers of “biologic” drugs from twelve to seven ... The Obama Administration’s Latest Attack on IP Rights Threatens the Development of Innovative Biologic Drugs
Competition, not Price Controls
In an effort to control drug spending, several states are considering initiatives that will impose new price controls on prescription drugs. Ballot measures under consideration in California and Ohio will require drug companies to sell drugs under various state programs at a mandated discount. And legislators in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have drafted bills that would create new government commissions ... Competition, not Price Controls
