Antitrust Considerations: Refusal to License Intellectual Property in the U.S. and EC

Antitrust Considerations: Refusal to License Intellectual Property in the U.S. and EC
Valentine Korah

ISBN 978-90-411-3136-2
Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands

In both jurisdictions the courts have held that a firm with significant market power may be under a duty to supply goods or services to its competitors in exceptional circumstances, but in the U.S. recently this duty has been minimized generally by the Supreme Court. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears all federal IP appeals, has held that there is an almost absolute right not to license intellectual property rights (IPRs). The extent of a duty to license under EC law is less clear, and there may well be a duty on dominant firms to grant licenses.