The Evolving IP Marketplace


When:
May 4-5, 2009
Where:
Wells Fargo Room
Haas School of Business
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA  94720


The Event

The Federal Trade Commission is conducting a series of public hearings to explore changes in intellectual property law, patent-related business models, and new learning regarding the operation of the IP marketplace since the FTC issued its October 2003 report, To Promote Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and Patent Law and Policy A Report by the Federal Trade Commission (October 2003) [PDF]. 

Some of the most significant recent changes in markets for intellectual property have occurred through the emergence of new business models involving the buying, selling and licensing of patents. The April 17 hearing will explore how corporations, inventors and patent intermediaries value and monetize patents, strategies for buying and selling patents and the role of secondary markets for intellectual property. It also will showcase some of the recent academic scholarship about the development and functioning of markets for intellectual property and the policy implications surrounding them.  The May sessions, in Berkeley, CA, will explore how markets for patents and technology operate in different industries, whether those markets operate efficiently, and how patent policy might be adjusted to respond to problems in those markets in order to better promote innovation and competition.

The first hearing, held on December 5, 2008, examined broad aspects of the evolving IP marketplace, including developing business models, recent and proposed changes in remedies law, and legal doctrines that affect the value and licensing of patents. The set of hearings held on February 11-12, 2009, focused on remedies in patent infringement cases. The hearings held on March 18-19, 2009, examined the operation of markets for IP and technology, the notice function of patents and the impact of patent policies on those markets. The Commission will hold its last set of hearings on May 4-5, 2009 in Berkeley, California in conjunction with the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. Information about the May hearings will be posted on this website.

The Commission seeks the views of the legal, academic, and business communities on the issues to be explored at the hearings. In its Federal Register Notice the agency set out a list of specific questions on which it is particularly seeking comments. The agency will consider any comments received by May 15, 2009.

Prior to each hearing the Commission will publish a detailed agenda on this website. The hearings will be transcribed; the transcript will be placed on the public record; and any written comments received will also be placed on the public record.

Background

The patent system has experienced significant change since the FTC released its IP Report in October 2003, and more changes are under consideration. The courts and patentees are exploring the full implications of Supreme Court and Federal Circuit decisions on injunctive relief, patentability and licensing issues. Congress has considered sweeping legislative patent reform, and new debates on the appropriate methods for calculating infringement damages have engaged the patent community. New business models for buying, selling and licensing patents have emerged and evolved since 2003. In addition, there is new learning regarding the operation of the patent system and its contribution to innovation and competition.

Changes and proposed changes in the law, together with evolving business models for buying, selling and licensing IP, could significantly influence a patent’s economic value and the operation of the IP marketplace. The extent and cumulative impact of these changes and proposed changes on the patent system are poorly understood. They could potentially significantly influence a patent’s economic value and a patentee’s compensation. If patentees were systematically under-compensated due to legal doctrines that drive down the value received through remedies and licensing, patents would be devalued. This would undermine the patent system’s incentives to innovate, to the detriment of consumers who benefit tremendously from innovation. On the other hand, if the relevant legal rules operate to systematically overcompensate patentees, supra-competitive prices for technology would unduly dampen future innovation, and prices for products incorporating patented inventions would increase unjustifiably. Both under- and overcompensation of patentees present the potential for consumer and competitive harm. The hearings will consider the impact of these changes on innovation, competition and consumer welfare.

MAY 4th-5th HEARING IN BERKELEY, CA

(Co-sponsored by The Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and The Berkeley Competition Policy Center)

 

APRIL 17th HEARING

 

MARCH 18th - 19th HEARING

FEBRUARY 11th - 12th HEARING

DECEMBER 5th HEARING

PRE-REGISTRATION

All of the sessions in this series are free and open to the public. Attendees will be required to display a current driver's license or other valid form of photo identification. Pre-registration for the May workshop is recommended. To pre-register, email your name and affiliation to IPMarketPlace@ftc.gov by 5 p.m.(EDT)/2:00 p.m.(PDT) on April 30, 2009. 

NOTE: When you pre-register, we will collect your name, affiliation, and your email address. This information will be used to estimate how many people will attend. We may use your email address to contact you with information about the workshop.

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. 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 comprehensive Privacy Policy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Erika Meyers
Office of Policy and Coordination,
Bureau of Competition,
601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580
Phone: 202-326-2541
or e-mail, IPMarketPlace@ftc.gov