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Event Description

The Intersection of Competition Policy and Patent Policy: Implications for Promoting Innovation workshop was sponsored by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission.

The workshop was held at the USPTO's campus at 600 Dulany Street, Madison Building Auditorium, Alexandria, VA.

In recent years, federal agencies and the courts have recognized that patents and competition share the overall purpose of promoting innovation and enhancing consumer welfare. Timely, high-quality patents promote investment in innovation. The competitive drive of a dynamic marketplace fosters the introduction of new and improved products and processes. By contrast, delay, uncertainty, and poor patent quality can create barriers to innovation. Additionally, where standards for violating antitrust law are unclear, or where the threshold for antitrust violations is set too low or too high, innovation can be stifled. The workshop will address ways in which careful calibration and balancing of patent policy and competition policy can best promote incentives to innovate.

 

  • Request for Comments

    FILING A COMMENT

    The Commission invites interested persons to submit written comments on issues related to this workshop. All comments in response to the Federal Register Notice or to inform discussion at the workshop must be received by May 15, 2009.

    Comments should be captioned “Evolving IP Marketplace – Comment, Project No. P093900” and submitted according to the instructions below.

    To File Electronically:

    Follow the instructions and fill out the form at https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-ipmarketplace

    To File in Paper Form:

    A comment filed in paper form should include the reference to “Evolving IP Marketplace – Comment, Project No. P093900” in both the text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the following address:

    Federal Trade Commission
    Office of the Secretary
    600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
    Room H-135 (Annex I)
    Washington, DC 20580

    Because postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay, please consider submitting your comments in electronic form, as described above. The FTC requests that you send any comment by courier or overnight service, if possible.

    To Request Confidential Treatment:

    To request confidential treatment, you must file in paper form and clearly label the first page of the document with “Confidential” and comply with Commission Rule 4.9(c). 15 C.F.R. § 4.9(c).

FTC Privacy Policy

Under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) or other laws, we may be required to disclose to outside organizations the information you provide when you pre-register for events that require registration. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments, whether filed in paper or electronic form, and as a matter of discretion, we make every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from the public comments before posting them on the FTC website.

The FTC Act and other laws we administer permit the collection of your pre-registration contact information and the comments you file to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. For additional information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see the Commission’s Privacy Act system for public records and comprehensive privacy policy.

This event will be open to the public and may be photographed, videotaped, webcast, or otherwise recorded.  By participating in this event, you are agreeing that your image — and anything you say or submit — may be posted indefinitely at ftc.gov or on one of the Commission's publicly available social media sites.